Sri Lankan Population in California by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Sri Lankan population in California totals 15,934, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Leading cities include Los Angeles (2,556), followed by San Jose (800) and San Francisco (701), each hosting visible segments of the community. While these urban centers anchor much of the population, the statewide total points to a broader presence in unincorporated areas and smaller towns beyond major city boundaries. The analysis below explores how Sri Lankan residents are distributed across California''s urban and rural landscape.

Top 5 cities with the largest Sri Lankan population in California

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  • 1
    Los Angeles
    Sri Lankan population in Los Angeles is 2,556
    0.07% of Los Angeles population is Sri Lankan
  • 2
    San Jose
    Sri Lankan population in San Jose is 800
    0.08% of San Jose population is Sri Lankan
  • 3
    San Francisco
    Sri Lankan population in San Francisco is 701
    0.08% of San Francisco population is Sri Lankan
  • 4
    Sacramento
    Sri Lankan population in Sacramento is 446
    0.09% of Sacramento population is Sri Lankan
  • 5
    San Diego
    Sri Lankan population in San Diego is 438
    0.03% of San Diego population is Sri Lankan

Overview of Sri Lankan population in California

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data indicate California contains 15,934 Sri Lankan residents (0.041% of 39.2 million total state population), positioning the state at the 100th percentile nationally among U.S. states for Sri Lankan population concentrations.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate California's Sri Lankan population of 0.041% exceeds the national average of 0.023% by a factor of 1.7.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates California's 15,934 Sri Lankan residents constitute 20.5% of the nation's total Sri Lankan population of 77,570, placing the state among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 20.5% of all American Sri Lankan Americans residing within state boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data indicates California's density of 0.1 Sri Lankan Americans per square mile exceeds the national average of 0.022 per square mile by more than quadruple, establishing the state as a significant concentration center for Sri Lankan demographic communities.
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473 Cities in California Ranked by Sri Lankan Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Sri Lankan population in California present in Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco, along with several other incorporated cities reporting non-zero populations. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in California ranked by Sri Lankan population count
Rank by Sri Lankan Population
City
Sri Lankan Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total California Sri Lankan Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Los Angeles 2,556 0.07% 16.04%
2 San Jose 800 0.08% 5.02%
3 San Francisco 701 0.08% 4.40%
4 Sacramento 446 0.09% 2.80%
5 San Diego 438 0.03% 2.75%
6 Oakland 318 0.07% 2.00%
7 San Ramon 315 0.37% 1.98%
8 292 0.09% 1.83%
9 282 0.57% 1.77%
10 250 0.35% 1.57%
11 239 0.16% 1.50%
12 231 0.49% 1.45%
13 218 0.63% 1.37%
14 217 0.45% 1.36%
15 208 0.07% 1.31%
16 207 0.25% 1.30%
17 202 0.16% 1.27%
18 194 0.25% 1.22%
19 191 0.17% 1.20%
20 188 0.15% 1.18%
21 182 0.05% 1.14%
22 181 0.16% 1.14%
23 177 0.08% 1.11%
24 166 0.10% 1.04%
25 159 0.31% 1.00%
26 150 0.10% 0.94%
27 149 0.36% 0.94%
28 141 0.10% 0.88%
29 138 0.44% 0.87%
30 129 0.09% 0.81%
31 115 0.44% 0.72%
32 111 0.09% 0.70%
33 98 0.10% 0.62%
34 95 0.09% 0.60%
35 94 0.11% 0.59%
36 90 0.81% 0.56%
36 90 0.36% 0.56%
37 86 0.04% 0.54%
38 84 0.08% 0.53%
39 82 0.12% 0.51%
40 79 0.03% 0.50%
41 78 0.04% 0.49%
42 76 0.07% 0.48%
43 74 0.09% 0.46%
44 72 0.09% 0.45%
45 71 0.08% 0.45%
46 70 0.01% 0.44%
47 68 0.04% 0.43%
47 68 0.05% 0.43%
48 67 0.12% 0.42%
49 66 0.25% 0.41%
50 62 0.03% 0.39%
51 61 0.01% 0.38%
52 59 0.28% 0.37%
53 56 0.06% 0.35%
54 55 0.40% 0.35%
54 55 0.03% 0.35%
54 55 0.47% 0.35%
54 55 0.17% 0.35%
54 55 0.11% 0.35%
55 53 0.09% 0.33%
56 52 0.04% 0.33%
57 49 0.24% 0.31%
58 48 0.04% 0.30%
59 47 0.06% 0.30%
60 46 0.40% 0.29%
61 45 0.04% 0.28%
61 45 0.12% 0.28%
61 45 0.05% 0.28%
62 43 0.01% 0.27%
62 43 0.12% 0.27%
63 42 0.03% 0.26%
63 42 0.06% 0.26%
63 42 0.09% 0.26%
64 41 0.07% 0.26%
65 40 0.16% 0.25%
66 38 0.42% 0.24%
67 37 0.04% 0.23%
67 37 0.05% 0.23%
68 36 0.03% 0.23%
68 36 0.02% 0.23%
68 36 0.11% 0.23%
68 36 0.02% 0.23%
69 34 0.08% 0.21%
70 33 0.12% 0.21%
70 33 0.20% 0.21%
70 33 0.02% 0.21%
71 32 0.10% 0.20%
71 32 0.13% 0.20%
71 32 0.42% 0.20%
71 32 0.05% 0.20%
72 30 0.06% 0.19%
72 30 0.23% 0.19%
73 29 0.03% 0.18%
73 29 0.05% 0.18%
74 28 0.09% 0.18%
74 28 0.12% 0.18%
74 28 0.03% 0.18%
75 27 0.03% 0.17%
75 27 0.05% 0.17%
75 27 0.09% 0.17%
75 27 0.04% 0.17%
75 27 0.03% 0.17%
75 27 0.02% 0.17%
75 27 0.02% 0.17%
76 26 0.05% 0.16%
76 26 0.04% 0.16%
77 24 0.09% 0.15%
78 23 0.03% 0.14%
78 23 0.03% 0.14%
78 23 0.06% 0.14%
79 22 0.29% 0.14%
79 22 0.04% 0.14%
80 21 0.03% 0.13%
80 21 0.02% 0.13%
80 21 0.15% 0.13%
81 20 0.07% 0.13%
82 19 0.03% 0.12%
82 19 0.05% 0.12%
82 19 0.01% 0.12%
82 19 0.02% 0.12%
82 19 0.02% 0.12%
83 18 0.02% 0.11%
83 18 0.02% 0.11%
83 18 0.01% 0.11%
84 17 0.03% 0.11%
84 17 0.02% 0.11%
84 17 0.03% 0.11%
85 16 0.01% 0.10%
85 16 0.08% 0.10%
85 16 0.03% 0.10%
85 16 0.03% 0.10%
86 15 0.18% 0.09%
86 15 0.02% 0.09%
87 14 0.01% 0.09%
87 14 0.13% 0.09%
87 14 0.02% 0.09%
87 14 0.02% 0.09%
88 12 0.09% 0.08%
88 12 0.02% 0.08%
88 12 0.01% 0.08%
88 12 0.01% 0.08%
88 12 0.02% 0.08%
88 12 0.01% 0.08%
89 11 0.04% 0.07%
89 11 0.06% 0.07%
89 11 0.72% 0.07%
89 11 0.01% 0.07%
90 10 0.03% 0.06%
91 9 0.02% 0.06%
91 9 0.01% 0.06%
91 9 0.02% 0.06%
91 9 0.01% 0.06%
91 9 0.00% 0.06%
92 8 0.01% 0.05%
92 8 0.01% 0.05%
92 8 0.01% 0.05%
92 8 0.02% 0.05%
92 8 0.00% 0.05%
92 8 0.01% 0.05%
93 7 0.04% 0.04%
93 7 0.02% 0.04%
93 7 0.00% 0.04%
94 6 0.01% 0.04%
95 5 0.03% 0.03%
96 4 0.01% 0.03%
97 3 0.01% 0.02%
97 3 0.01% 0.02%
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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 California by their Sri Lankan population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

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

Sources

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