Korean Population in Orange County, CA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Korean population in Orange County, CA is recorded at 116,566 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Each city in Orange County, CA has some Korean population, but the county''s higher total suggests additional rural or non-municipal representation. The analysis below explores how Korean communities are spread across Orange County, CA and comparable counties throughout California.

Top 5 cities with the largest Korean population in Orange County

View All
  • 1
    Irvine
    Korean population in Irvine is 25,344
    8.22% of Irvine population is Korean
  • 2
    Fullerton
    Korean population in Fullerton is 18,744
    13.27% of Fullerton population is Korean
  • 3
    Buena Park
    Korean population in Buena Park is 10,676
    12.85% of Buena Park population is Korean
  • 4
    Anaheim
    Korean population in Anaheim is 7,220
    2.10% of Anaheim population is Korean
  • 5
    Cypress
    Korean population in Cypress is 6,687
    13.50% of Cypress population is Korean

Overview of Korean population in Orange County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Orange County contains 116,566 Korean residents (3.7% of 3.2 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 96th percentile within California for Korean demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Orange County's Korean population of 3.7% surpassing both California's state average of 1.4% and the national average of 0.6%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey indicate Orange County's 116,566 Korean residents constitute 20.6% of California's total Korean population of 565,921, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 20.6% of all California Korean Americans residing within county boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Orange County maintains 147 Korean Americans per square mile, representing forty and a half times California's average of 3.6 per square mile, establishing the county as an exceptional concentration center comparable to major metropolitan demographic areas.
  • Need additional overviews? Extended research data available for purchase and license. ➔

34 Cities in Orange County Ranked by Korean Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] confirm Korean populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Irvine, Fullerton, Buena Park, and Anaheim. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 34 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Orange County, CA ranked by Korean population count
Rank by Korean Population
City
Korean Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Orange County Korean Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Irvine 25,344 8.22% 21.74%
2 Fullerton 18,744 13.27% 16.08%
3 Buena Park 10,676 12.85% 9.16%
4 Anaheim 7,220 2.10% 6.19%
5 Cypress 6,687 13.50% 5.74%
6 Garden Grove 4,380 2.57% 3.76%
7 Yorba Linda 4,255 6.31% 3.65%
8 4,158 8.78% 3.57%
9 3,919 4.96% 3.36%
10 3,793 6.09% 3.25%
11 2,497 1.80% 2.14%
12 2,358 1.20% 2.02%
13 2,333 2.72% 2.00%
14 2,013 3.84% 1.73%
15 1,965 12.78% 1.69%
16 1,453 8.38% 1.25%
17 1,420 1.68% 1.22%
18 1,340 2.09% 1.15%
19 1,308 0.42% 1.12%
20 1,184 4.76% 1.02%
21 1,026 2.00% 0.88%
22 1,014 1.10% 0.87%
23 876 0.79% 0.75%
24 741 1.92% 0.64%
25 693 1.23% 0.59%
26 544 0.86% 0.47%
27 494 0.55% 0.42%
28 465 1.50% 0.40%
29 337 1.48% 0.29%
30 286 0.82% 0.25%
31 269 0.57% 0.23%
32 263 2.23% 0.23%
33 28 0.09% 0.02%
34 17 0.29% 0.01%
Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

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 city in Orange County, CA by their Korean population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Korean population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Korean ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Korean alone, while others identify as Korean along with another race (such as Korean and German).
  • We’ve used the “Korean alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Korean population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Korean alone or in combination in city. 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 Korean .
  2. % of Total Orange County Korean Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Korean 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 Korean 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.
  • City that don’t have any reported Korean 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 Korean populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.