2025

Cities in San Diego County, CA ranked by Native American Population

This list ranks the 18 cities in San Diego County based on their American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these cities over the past five years.
Updated Jan 24, 2025

Top 5 cities with the largest Native American population in San Diego County

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  • 1
    San Diego
    Native American population in San Diego is 29,501
    1.83% of San Diego population is Native American
  • 2
    Chula Vista
    Native American population in Chula Vista is 7,219
    2.00% of Chula Vista population is Native American
  • 3
    Oceanside
    Native American population in Oceanside is 5,637
    2.61% of Oceanside population is Native American
  • 4
    Escondido
    Native American population in Escondido is 4,311
    2.32% of Escondido population is Native American
  • 5
    Vista
    Native American population in Vista is 3,200
    2.52% of Vista population is Native American

List of 18 cities in San Diego County, CA by Native American Population

View Methodology
Rank by Native American Population
City
Native American Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total San Diego County Native American Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 San Diego 29,501 1.83% 45.09%
2 Chula Vista 7,219 2.00% 11.03%
3 Oceanside 5,637 2.61% 8.61%
4 Escondido 4,311 2.32% 6.59%
5 Vista 3,200 2.52% 4.89%
6 El Cajon 2,821 2.32% 4.31%
7 San Marcos 2,260 2.00% 3.45%
8 1,941 2.76% 2.97%
9 1,652 1.27% 2.52%
10 1,540 2.23% 2.35%
11 1,266 1.76% 1.93%
11 1,266 3.74% 1.93%
12 952 1.72% 1.45%
13 668 2.03% 1.02%
14 559 0.81% 0.85%
15 398 1.91% 0.61%
16 148 1.04% 0.23%
17 94 2.19% 0.14%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks cities in San Diego County, CA by their American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Native American Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Native American, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Native American alone, while others identify as Native American along with another race (such as Native American and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Native American .
  • We’ve used the “Native American alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Native American population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Native American alone or in combination in cities. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Native American .
  2. % of Total San Diego County Native American Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Native American population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Native American populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Cities that don’t have any reported Native American population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Native American populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.