Salvadoran Population in Los Angeles County, CA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Salvadoran population in Los Angeles County, CA is reported at 435,192 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Several cities in Los Angeles County - including Los Angeles, Palmdale, Long Beach, and others - contribute to the Salvadoran population, but the total county figure of 435,192 indicates additional presence beyond municipal borders. The sections below explores how Salvadoran residents are distributed in California and the U.S.

Top 5 cities with the largest Salvadoran population in Los Angeles County

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  • 1
    Los Angeles
    Salvadoran population in Los Angeles is 260,137
    6.74% of Los Angeles population is Salvadoran
  • 2
    Palmdale
    Salvadoran population in Palmdale is 12,017
    7.26% of Palmdale population is Salvadoran
  • 3
    Long Beach
    Salvadoran population in Long Beach is 8,848
    1.93% of Long Beach population is Salvadoran
  • 4
    Lancaster
    Salvadoran population in Lancaster is 6,973
    4.10% of Lancaster population is Salvadoran
  • 5
    South Gate
    Salvadoran population in South Gate is 5,987
    6.52% of South Gate population is Salvadoran

Overview of Salvadoran population in Los Angeles County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Los Angeles County contains 435,192 Salvadoran residents (4.4% of 9.8 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 100th percentile nationally among counties and 98th percentile within California for Salvadoran demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Los Angeles County's Salvadoran population of 4.4% surpassing both California's state average of 1.9% and the national average of 0.75%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates Los Angeles County hosts 435,192 Salvadoran residents, constituting 57.5% of California's total Salvadoran population of 756,584, creating a demographic concentration where more than half of the state's Salvadoran community resides within a single county—a geographic clustering pattern rarely documented in American demographic research.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Los Angeles County maintains 107.2 Salvadoran Americans per square mile, representing just over twenty-two times California's average of 4.9 per square mile, establishing the county as an exceptional concentration center comparable to major metropolitan demographic areas.
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86 Cities in Los Angeles County Ranked by Salvadoran Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Salvadoran populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Los Angeles, Palmdale, Long Beach, and Lancaster. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 86 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Los Angeles County, CA ranked by Salvadoran population count
Rank by Salvadoran Population
City
Salvadoran Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Los Angeles County Salvadoran Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Los Angeles 260,137 6.74% 59.78%
2 Palmdale 12,017 7.26% 2.76%
3 Long Beach 8,848 1.93% 2.03%
4 Lancaster 6,973 4.10% 1.60%
5 South Gate 5,987 6.52% 1.38%
6 Santa Clarita 5,891 2.57% 1.35%
7 Downey 5,068 4.53% 1.16%
8 4,850 4.59% 1.11%
9 4,740 7.26% 1.09%
10 4,537 8.46% 1.04%
11 4,258 2.87% 0.98%
12 4,068 2.12% 0.93%
13 3,547 4.13% 0.82%
14 3,470 2.54% 0.80%
15 3,402 3.64% 0.78%
16 3,284 8.49% 0.75%
17 3,121 9.51% 0.72%
18 2,861 2.67% 0.66%
19 2,850 2.83% 0.65%
20 2,640 4.34% 0.61%
21 2,591 4.22% 0.60%
22 2,583 3.65% 0.59%
23 2,574 4.90% 0.59%
24 2,568 2.44% 0.59%
25 2,527 10.28% 0.58%
26 2,491 4.17% 0.57%
27 2,431 2.83% 0.56%
28 2,331 2.17% 0.54%
29 2,258 7.26% 0.52%
30 2,196 2.84% 0.50%
31 2,006 8.99% 0.46%
32 1,977 2.43% 0.45%
33 1,726 4.61% 0.40%
34 1,473 1.03% 0.34%
35 1,454 2.90% 0.33%
36 1,228 5.60% 0.28%
37 1,223 2.38% 0.28%
38 1,164 1.45% 0.27%
39 1,161 4.90% 0.27%
40 1,105 2.24% 0.25%
41 1,022 3.00% 0.23%
42 919 0.98% 0.21%
43 675 1.13% 0.16%
44 660 1.41% 0.15%
45 648 3.36% 0.15%
46 631 1.68% 0.15%
47 525 1.35% 0.12%
47 525 0.57% 0.12%
48 516 0.74% 0.12%
49 462 0.92% 0.11%
50 438 3.17% 0.10%
51 416 2.14% 0.10%
52 403 1.10% 0.09%
53 295 2.44% 0.07%
53 295 0.55% 0.07%
54 294 0.53% 0.07%
55 292 0.82% 0.07%
56 287 0.59% 0.07%
57 231 0.58% 0.05%
58 227 1.41% 0.05%
59 184 0.60% 0.04%
60 183 0.52% 0.04%
61 169 0.64% 0.04%
62 120 0.52% 0.03%
63 113 0.55% 0.03%
64 101 1.29% 0.02%
65 91 0.33% 0.02%
66 89 0.53% 0.02%
67 70 0.22% 0.02%
68 58 0.50% 0.01%
69 43 2.07% 0.01%
70 39 2.88% 0.01%
71 37 0.18% 0.01%
71 37 0.34% 0.01%
72 26 0.14% 0.01%
73 15 0.04% 0.00%
74 13 0.07% 0.00%
75 10 0.30% 0.00%
76 8 0.14% 0.00%
77 3 0.03% 0.00%
78 0 - -
78 0 - -
78 0 - -
78 0 - -
78 0 - -
78 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 Los Angeles County, CA 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 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 Salvadoran .
  2. % of Total Los Angeles County 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.
  • City 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.