Vietnamese Population in California by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, California is home to 811,048 Vietnamese residents. Orange County contains the largest Vietnamese community with 240,511 individuals, followed by Santa Clara County (152,550), Los Angeles County (130,974), and several other counties contributing to this statewide total. The remaining difference may reflect Vietnamese populations in lower-population counties not listed above or minor reporting adjustments in the census data. This demographic breakdown ranks all counties in California by their Vietnamese population, offering insights into community patterns across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Vietnamese population in California

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  • 1
    Orange County
    Vietnamese population in Orange County is 240,511
    7.60% of Orange County population is Vietnamese
  • 2
    Santa Clara County
    Vietnamese population in Santa Clara County is 152,550
    8.02% of Santa Clara County population is Vietnamese
  • 3
    Los Angeles County
    Vietnamese population in Los Angeles County is 130,974
    1.33% of Los Angeles County population is Vietnamese
  • 4
    San Diego County
    Vietnamese population in San Diego County is 60,828
    1.85% of San Diego County population is Vietnamese
  • 5
    Alameda County
    Vietnamese population in Alameda County is 42,076
    2.55% of Alameda County population is Vietnamese

Overview of Vietnamese population in California

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents California with 811,048 Vietnamese residents (2.1% of 39.2 million total state population), ranking the state at the 100th percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Vietnamese demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate California's Vietnamese population of 2.1% exceeds the national average of 0.68% by a factor of 3.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates California's 811,048 Vietnamese residents constitute 35.6% of the nation's total Vietnamese population of 2.3 million, placing the state among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 35.6% of all American Vietnamese Americans residing within state boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey document California with 5.2 Vietnamese Americans per square mile, just over eight times the national average density of 0.64 per square mile, placing the state among jurisdictions with significantly elevated demographic concentrations nationally.
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55 Counties in California Ranked by Vietnamese Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Vietnamese population in California distributed across multiple counties, led by Orange County, Santa Clara County, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County, while several other counties recorded no residents identified as Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. 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 Vietnamese population count
Rank by Vietnamese Population
County
Vietnamese Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total California Vietnamese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Orange County 240,511 7.60% 29.65%
2 Santa Clara County 152,550 8.02% 18.81%
3 Los Angeles County 130,974 1.33% 16.15%
4 San Diego County 60,828 1.85% 7.50%
5 Alameda County 42,076 2.55% 5.19%
6 Sacramento County 39,885 2.52% 4.92%
7 Riverside County 23,591 0.96% 2.91%
8 20,165 2.41% 2.49%
9 18,691 0.85% 2.30%
10 14,288 1.23% 1.76%
11 10,724 1.36% 1.32%
12 8,150 1.09% 1.00%
13 5,953 0.71% 0.73%
14 5,845 0.58% 0.72%
15 4,059 0.84% 0.50%
16 4,053 0.90% 0.50%
17 3,338 0.37% 0.41%
18 2,872 1.32% 0.35%
19 2,850 0.69% 0.35%
20 2,748 0.62% 0.34%
21 2,579 0.47% 0.32%
22 1,882 0.73% 0.23%
23 1,878 0.43% 0.23%
24 1,339 0.48% 0.17%
25 956 0.46% 0.12%
26 939 0.35% 0.12%
27 892 0.46% 0.11%
28 874 0.18% 0.11%
29 825 0.29% 0.10%
30 618 0.45% 0.08%
31 515 0.32% 0.06%
32 473 0.57% 0.06%
33 432 0.24% 0.05%
34 413 0.42% 0.05%
35 339 0.37% 0.04%
36 332 0.25% 0.04%
37 287 0.19% 0.04%
38 245 0.60% 0.03%
39 208 0.76% 0.03%
40 189 0.18% 0.02%
41 168 0.09% 0.02%
42 126 0.19% 0.02%
43 110 0.38% 0.01%
44 61 0.11% 0.01%
45 50 0.16% 0.01%
46 49 0.07% 0.01%
47 38 0.06% 0.00%
48 18 0.04% 0.00%
49 15 0.11% 0.00%
50 7 0.04% 0.00%
51 4 0.05% 0.00%
52 3 0.01% 0.00%
52 3 0.01% 0.00%
53 0 - -
53 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 county in California by their Vietnamese population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

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

Sources

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