Portuguese Population in California by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, California is home to 314,069 Portuguese residents. Alameda County contains the largest Portuguese community with 22,694 individuals, followed by Los Angeles County (22,494), Stanislaus County (21,731), and several other counties contributing to this statewide total. The remaining difference may reflect Portuguese populations in lower-population counties not listed above or minor reporting adjustments in the census data. This demographic breakdown ranks all counties in California by their Portuguese population, offering insights into community patterns across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Portuguese population in California

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  • 1
    Alameda County
    Portuguese population in Alameda County is 22,694
    1.37% of Alameda County population is Portuguese
  • 2
    Los Angeles County
    Portuguese population in Los Angeles County is 22,494
    0.23% of Los Angeles County population is Portuguese
  • 3
    Stanislaus County
    Portuguese population in Stanislaus County is 21,731
    3.94% of Stanislaus County population is Portuguese
  • 4
    Santa Clara County
    Portuguese population in Santa Clara County is 19,772
    1.04% of Santa Clara County population is Portuguese
  • 5
    Sacramento County
    Portuguese population in Sacramento County is 19,119
    1.21% of Sacramento County population is Portuguese

Overview of Portuguese population in California

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data indicate California contains 314,069 Portuguese residents (0.8% of 39.2 million total state population), positioning the state at the 100th percentile nationally among U.S. states for Portuguese population concentrations.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate California's Portuguese population of 0.8% exceeds the national average of 0.41% by a factor of 2.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates California's 314,069 Portuguese residents constitute 23.2% of the nation's total Portuguese population of 1.4 million, placing the state among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 23.2% of all American Portuguese Americans residing within state boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey document California with 2 Portuguese Americans per square mile, five and one-quarter times the national average density of 0.38 per square mile, placing the state among jurisdictions with significantly elevated demographic concentrations nationally.
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55 Counties in California Ranked by Portuguese Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Portuguese population in California distributed across multiple counties, led by Alameda County, Los Angeles County, Stanislaus County, and Santa Clara County, while several other counties recorded no residents identified as Americans of Portuguese ancestry. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all counties included in this analysis*.
counties in California ranked by Portuguese population count
Rank by Portuguese Population
County
Portuguese Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total California Portuguese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Alameda County 22,694 1.37% 7.23%
2 Los Angeles County 22,494 0.23% 7.16%
3 Stanislaus County 21,731 3.94% 6.92%
4 Santa Clara County 19,772 1.04% 6.30%
5 Sacramento County 19,119 1.21% 6.09%
6 San Diego County 17,638 0.54% 5.62%
7 San Joaquin County 15,700 1.99% 5.00%
8 15,408 1.33% 4.91%
9 14,838 5.20% 4.72%
10 10,978 0.35% 3.50%
11 10,697 1.06% 3.41%
12 10,480 2.20% 3.34%
13 7,490 0.31% 2.38%
14 7,304 1.77% 2.33%
15 6,983 1.44% 2.22%
16 6,566 0.30% 2.09%
17 6,085 0.82% 1.94%
18 6,036 3.95% 1.92%
19 5,428 1.93% 1.73%
20 5,144 1.14% 1.64%
21 4,254 0.51% 1.35%
22 4,216 0.97% 1.34%
23 4,059 1.53% 1.29%
24 4,025 2.09% 1.28%
25 3,834 0.42% 1.22%
26 3,676 1.75% 1.17%
27 3,630 0.43% 1.16%
28 3,400 0.77% 1.08%
29 2,596 1.92% 0.83%
30 2,486 0.96% 0.79%
31 2,181 1.00% 0.69%
32 2,169 1.37% 0.69%
33 2,124 1.17% 0.68%
34 1,738 1.28% 0.55%
35 1,718 3.13% 0.55%
36 1,583 1.55% 0.50%
37 1,464 1.61% 0.47%
38 1,306 1.98% 0.42%
39 1,242 2.83% 0.40%
40 1,171 1.18% 0.37%
41 1,126 1.65% 0.36%
42 1,043 3.64% 0.33%
43 959 1.15% 0.31%
44 821 1.79% 0.26%
45 743 1.81% 0.24%
46 717 1.09% 0.23%
47 658 2.41% 0.21%
48 501 2.56% 0.16%
49 466 2.13% 0.15%
50 363 1.16% 0.12%
51 221 0.12% 0.07%
52 128 0.97% 0.04%
53 92 0.49% 0.03%
54 64 0.74% 0.02%
55 0 - -
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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 county in California by their Portuguese population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Portuguese 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 Portuguese 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 Portuguese alone, while others identify as Portuguese along with another race (such as Portuguese and German).
  • We’ve used the “Portuguese alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Portuguese population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Portuguese alone or in combination in county. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Portuguese .
  2. % of Total California Portuguese Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Portuguese 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 Portuguese 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.
  • County that don’t have any reported Portuguese 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 Portuguese populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

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