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

The Puerto Rican population in Orange County, CA is reported at 12,867 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Several cities in Orange County - including Anaheim, Lake Forest, Fullerton, and others - contribute to the Puerto Rican population, but the total county figure of 12,867 indicates additional presence beyond municipal borders. The sections below explores how Puerto Rican residents are distributed in California and the U.S.

Top 5 cities with the largest Puerto Rican population in Orange County

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  • 1
    Anaheim
    Puerto Rican population in Anaheim is 1,464
    0.42% of Anaheim population is Puerto Rican
  • 2
    Lake Forest
    Puerto Rican population in Lake Forest is 951
    1.11% of Lake Forest population is Puerto Rican
  • 3
    Fullerton
    Puerto Rican population in Fullerton is 836
    0.59% of Fullerton population is Puerto Rican
  • 4
    Huntington Beach
    Puerto Rican population in Huntington Beach is 805
    0.41% of Huntington Beach population is Puerto Rican
  • 5
    Irvine
    Puerto Rican population in Irvine is 725
    0.24% of Irvine population is Puerto Rican

Overview of Puerto Rican population in Orange County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Orange County with 12,867 Puerto Rican residents (0.41% of 3.2 million total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 97th percentile nationally among counties and 90th percentile within California for Puerto Rican population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data indicate Orange County's Puerto Rican population of 0.41% remains below California's state average of 0.57% and the national average of 1.8%, placing the county below demographic benchmarks across multiple geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents Orange County with 12,867 Puerto Rican residents, representing 5.7% of California's total Puerto Rican population of 224,544.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Orange County maintains 16.2 Puerto Ricans per square mile, representing eleven and one-quarter times California's average of 1.4 per square mile, establishing the county as an exceptional concentration center comparable to major metropolitan demographic areas.
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34 Cities in Orange County Ranked by Puerto Rican Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Puerto Rican populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Anaheim, Lake Forest, Fullerton, and Huntington Beach. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 34 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Orange County, CA ranked by Puerto Rican population count
Rank by Puerto Rican Population
City
Puerto Rican Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Orange County Puerto Rican Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Anaheim 1,464 0.42% 11.38%
2 Lake Forest 951 1.11% 7.39%
3 Fullerton 836 0.59% 6.50%
4 Huntington Beach 805 0.41% 6.26%
5 Irvine 725 0.24% 5.63%
6 Orange 720 0.52% 5.60%
7 Buena Park 566 0.68% 4.40%
8 562 0.61% 4.37%
9 462 0.72% 3.59%
10 444 0.70% 3.45%
11 408 0.13% 3.17%
12 392 0.76% 3.05%
13 372 0.22% 2.89%
14 369 0.78% 2.87%
15 316 0.29% 2.46%
15 316 0.51% 2.46%
16 309 0.62% 2.40%
17 264 0.47% 2.05%
18 254 0.32% 1.97%
19 224 0.27% 1.74%
20 187 0.53% 1.45%
21 154 0.50% 1.20%
22 151 0.61% 1.17%
23 150 0.39% 1.17%
24 139 0.27% 1.08%
25 104 0.15% 0.81%
26 89 0.27% 0.69%
27 73 0.15% 0.57%
28 42 0.05% 0.33%
29 41 0.71% 0.32%
30 21 0.14% 0.16%
31 20 0.09% 0.16%
32 5 0.04% 0.04%
33 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 city in Orange County, CA by their Puerto Rican population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Puerto Rican 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 Puerto Rican .
  2. % of Total Orange County Puerto Rican Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Puerto Rican 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 Puerto Rican 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 Puerto Rican 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 Puerto Rican populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

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