Salvadoran Population in San Luis Obispo County, CA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Salvadoran population in San Luis Obispo County, CA is reported at 526 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Several cities in San Luis Obispo County - including San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, and others - contribute to the Salvadoran population, but the total county figure of 526 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 San Luis Obispo County

View All
  • 1
    San Luis Obispo
    Salvadoran population in San Luis Obispo is 197
    0.41% of San Luis Obispo population is Salvadoran
  • 2
    Pismo Beach
    Salvadoran population in Pismo Beach is 73
    0.91% of Pismo Beach population is Salvadoran
  • 3
    Grover Beach
    Salvadoran population in Grover Beach is 40
    0.32% of Grover Beach population is Salvadoran
  • 4
    El Paso De Robles (Paso Robles)
    Salvadoran population in El Paso De Robles (Paso Robles) is 37
    0.12% of El Paso De Robles (Paso Robles) population is Salvadoran
  • 5
    Atascadero
    Salvadoran population in Atascadero is 29
    0.10% of Atascadero population is Salvadoran

Overview of Salvadoran population in San Luis Obispo County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document San Luis Obispo County with 526 Salvadoran residents (0.19% of 281,486 total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 88th percentile nationally among counties and 41st percentile within California for Salvadoran population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data indicate San Luis Obispo County's Salvadoran population of 0.19% remains below California's state average of 1.9% and the national average of 0.75%, placing the county below demographic benchmarks across multiple geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates San Luis Obispo County contains 526 Salvadoran residents, representing less than 1% of California's total Salvadoran population of 756,584.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey show San Luis Obispo County maintains fewer than 0.16 Salvadoran Americans per square mile, compared to California's average of 4.9 per square mile, placing the county among jurisdictions with minimal demographic representation within the state.
  • Need additional overviews? Extended research data available for purchase and license. ➔

7 Cities in San Luis Obispo County Ranked by Salvadoran Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Salvadoran populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, and El Paso De Robles (Paso Robles). The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 7 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in San Luis Obispo County, CA ranked by Salvadoran population count
Rank by Salvadoran Population
City
Salvadoran Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total San Luis Obispo County Salvadoran Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 San Luis Obispo 197 0.41% 37.45%
2 Pismo Beach 73 0.91% 13.88%
3 Grover Beach 40 0.32% 7.60%
4 El Paso De Robles (Paso Robles) 37 0.12% 7.03%
5 Atascadero 29 0.10% 5.51%
6 Arroyo Grande 0 - -
6 Morro Bay 0 - -
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 San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo 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.