Salvadoran Population in California by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, the Salvadoran population in California stands at 756,584. Every county reports a non-zero population, with Los Angeles County leading at 435,192, followed by San Bernardino County (39,628) and Orange County (33,884). The combined total across counties is slightly lower than the statewide figure - a gap that may reflect rounding, data lag, or unassigned residents in certain census tracts. This analysis ranks all counties in California by their Salvadoran population, offering a localized perspective on how the community is distributed across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Salvadoran population in California

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  • 1
    Los Angeles County
    Salvadoran population in Los Angeles County is 435,192
    4.42% of Los Angeles County population is Salvadoran
  • 2
    San Bernardino County
    Salvadoran population in San Bernardino County is 39,628
    1.81% of San Bernardino County population is Salvadoran
  • 3
    Orange County
    Salvadoran population in Orange County is 33,884
    1.07% of Orange County population is Salvadoran
  • 4
    Contra Costa County
    Salvadoran population in Contra Costa County is 30,185
    2.60% of Contra Costa County population is Salvadoran
  • 5
    Riverside County
    Salvadoran population in Riverside County is 29,988
    1.22% of Riverside County population is Salvadoran

Overview of Salvadoran population in California

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents California with 756,584 Salvadoran residents (1.9% of 39.2 million total state population), ranking the state at the 100th percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Salvadoran demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate California's Salvadoran population of 1.9% exceeds the national average of 0.75% by a factor of 2.6.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates California's 756,584 Salvadoran residents constitute 30.5% of the nation's total Salvadoran population of 2.5 million, placing the state among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 30.5% of all American Salvadoran Americans residing within state boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey document California with 4.9 Salvadoran Americans per square mile, more than six times the national average density of 0.7 per square mile, placing the state among jurisdictions with significantly elevated demographic concentrations nationally.
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55 Counties in California Ranked by Salvadoran Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Salvadoran populations across every county in California, with demographic distributions ranging from the highest population in Los Angeles County to the lowest in $rank_n_geo_name. 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 Salvadoran population count
Rank by Salvadoran Population
County
Salvadoran Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total California Salvadoran Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Los Angeles County 435,192 4.42% 57.52%
2 San Bernardino County 39,628 1.81% 5.24%
3 Orange County 33,884 1.07% 4.48%
4 Contra Costa County 30,185 2.60% 3.99%
5 Riverside County 29,988 1.22% 3.96%
6 San Mateo County 23,173 3.11% 3.06%
7 Alameda County 22,660 1.37% 3.00%
8 16,630 1.99% 2.20%
9 16,555 0.87% 2.19%
10 12,074 1.33% 1.60%
11 11,865 1.17% 1.57%
12 10,851 0.69% 1.43%
13 10,363 0.32% 1.37%
14 7,621 0.91% 1.01%
15 7,575 1.68% 1.00%
16 7,543 0.96% 1.00%
17 7,498 1.72% 0.99%
18 4,955 1.02% 0.65%
19 3,710 1.43% 0.49%
20 3,614 0.65% 0.48%
21 3,048 0.64% 0.40%
22 2,868 0.65% 0.38%
23 2,174 0.82% 0.29%
24 2,062 0.50% 0.27%
25 1,465 0.51% 0.19%
26 1,223 0.56% 0.16%
27 1,210 0.63% 0.16%
28 820 0.52% 0.11%
29 786 0.58% 0.10%
30 692 0.39% 0.09%
31 593 0.28% 0.08%
32 526 0.19% 0.07%
33 452 0.68% 0.06%
34 448 0.29% 0.06%
35 293 0.45% 0.04%
36 257 0.14% 0.03%
37 234 0.53% 0.03%
38 228 0.42% 0.03%
39 223 0.22% 0.03%
40 211 0.21% 0.03%
41 200 0.29% 0.03%
42 185 0.20% 0.02%
43 184 0.14% 0.02%
44 156 0.80% 0.02%
45 107 0.13% 0.01%
46 65 0.75% 0.01%
47 62 0.15% 0.01%
48 50 0.16% 0.01%
49 49 0.18% 0.01%
50 37 0.08% 0.00%
51 20 0.07% 0.00%
51 20 0.11% 0.00%
52 7 0.26% 0.00%
53 5 0.02% 0.00%
53 5 0.04% 0.00%
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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 Salvadoran population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

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

Sources

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