Demographics ofCalifornia
Population pyramid of California in 2019
Population	38,940,231 (2023)[1]

California is the most populousU.S. state, with an estimated population of 38.9 million as of 2023.^[1] The state has people from a wide variety ofethnic,racial,national, andreligious backgrounds.

California is the most populated sub-national entity in North America. If it were an independent country, California would rank 38th in population in the world. Until recently, it had a larger population thanCanada.^[6] Its population is one third larger than that of the next most populous state,Texas.^[7] California surpassedNew York to become the most populous state in 1962.^[8] California's population growth has slowed dramatically in the 21st century.^[9][10] In 2010, the state's five most populous counties wereLos Angeles,San Diego,Orange,Riverside, andSan Bernardino, with Riverside County having the largest percentage increase in population.^[11] Thelargest metro areas in California, as of 2010, areLos Angeles, theSan Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, theInland Empire, andSacramento.^[12] From 2006 until 2016, the state lost a net population of about 1 million people from emigration to other states,^[13] yet the population of the state continued to grow due to immigration from overseas and more births than deaths.^[14]

As of 2006, California had an estimated population of 37,172,015, more than 12 percent of the US population. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 1,557,112 people (i.e., 2,781,539 births minus 1,224,427 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 751,419 people. Immigration resulted in a net increase of 1,415,879 people, and migration from within the US resulted in a net decrease of 564,100 people. California is the 13th fastest-growing state. As of 2023, the total fertility rate was 1.52 which is on par with Canada.^[15]

Thecenter of population of California is located at35°27′49″N119°19′31″W / 35.463595°N 119.325359°W /35.463595; -119.325359 inKern County, near the town ofShafter.^[16]

No single ethnic group forms a majority of California's population, making the state aminority-majority state. Hispanics (of any race) are the largest single ethnic group in the state.^[17]Spanish is the state's second most widely spoken language. Areas with especially large Spanish speaking populations include the Los Angeles metropolitan area, theCalifornia-Mexico border counties of San Diego andImperial, and theSan Joaquin Valley. Nearly 43% of Californian residents speak a language other than English at home, a proportion far higher than any other state.^[18]

In 2011, there were an estimated 2.6 millionundocumented immigrants residing in California.^[19] California is home to almost 25% of the country's undocumented population, making up 6% of California's residents overall. Two-thirds of California's undocumented population have lived in the state for more than 10 years.^[20]

About 52% of California'spublic school students in the 2011–2012 school year identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino and 26% as non-Hispanic Caucasian. The following ethnic groups made up the rest of the statewide public school student body: Asians (11%), African Americans (7%), Native Americans (0.7%), and Pacific Islanders (0.6%). Students of mixed race made up about 2% of the public schools. Hispanics have made up the majority of the state's public schools since 2010.Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest school district in California and second largest in the nation, is 73% Hispanic, 10% African American, 9% non-Hispanic Caucasian, 6% Asian, 0.5% Native American, and 0.4% Pacific Islander.^[21]

In 2020, amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, California's population fell for the first time in history, resulting in its first loss of acongressional seat.^[22] The state's population declined again in 2021 and 2022.^[23] The main causes of the decline are: a highmortality rate, a decliningnatality, a fall ininternational migration and emigration to other states.^[23] The latter phenomenon is sometimes calledCalifornia exodus.^[24] Population loss was noticed in 34 out of 58 counties in the state between January 2020 and July 2022.^[25] According to theCalifornia Department of Finance, the state's population will stay constant at around 39.5 million until 2060.^[26][27] In 2020–2021, California saw an annual loss of 398,795 people. Between 2021 and 2022, there was a lower loss in population at 113,649 people.^[25] The slowing down of population loss as seen in 2022 would continue into 2023 seeing a loss of 75,423 people making it a 0.2% population loss from the previous year as compared to 2022 having a 0.3% loss in 2023.^[28] In the 2024 population estimate from the US Census Bureau the population of California grew by 232,570 people.^[29]

According to the2020 US census, California's population was 34.7%Non-Hispanic White, 5.4%Non-Hispanic African American, 0.4%Non-Hispanic Native American, 15.1%Non-Hispanic Asian, 0.4%Non-Hispanic Pacific Islander, 4.1%Non-Hispanic Multiracial, and 39.4%Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[33] Hispanics are the largest racial/ethnic group in California. Non-Hispanic Whites have decreased from about 76.3% of the state's population in 1970^[34] to 33.7% in 2022.^[35] California is the second-most racially diverse state in the US, afterHawaii.^[36] The population of minorities (defined as anyone who is not fully non-Hispanic white) in the US accounted for 139.8 million out of 331.5 million residents in 2020, with 25.8 million, or 18.5% of the total minority population, living in California (2020).^[37] WhileNew Mexico has a higher percentages of Hispanics (47.7%), California has thehighest total number of Hispanics of any US state, at over 15 million.

California has thehighest number and second highest percentage of Asian Americans by state, with 15.5% of the population identifying as Asian alone, and 18.4% identifying as Asian alone or in combination.^[38] OnlyHawaii has a higher Asian American percentage than California. The highest percent of Asians in California is found in theSan Francisco Bay area, where they make up 30% of the total population.^[39]

The largest named ancestries in California areMexican (32.5%),German (6.5%),British (6.0%),Irish (5.6%),Chinese (4.8%), andFilipino (4.4%).^[40][41][42] There are over 65 other ethnicities with sizable populations in California, includingArabs,Albanians,Armenians,Australians,Brazilians,^[43]Canadians,Croatians,Guatemalans,Haitians,Iranians/Persians,Italians,Japanese,Koreans,Salvadorans,Russians, andVietnamese. Both the Los Angeles and San Francisco metro areas have large numbers of residents withAfrican-American,British,Central American,Chinese,Filipino,French,Italian, Iranian/Persian,^[44]German,Mexican,Russian,Scandinavian, andVietnamese ancestry.^[45]

California has thelargest total population of non-Hispanic white Americans in the US, totaling over 13.7 million as of the 2020 census, although the share of non-Hispanic whites as a percent of the population, at 34.7%, is the second lowest in the country, after Hawaii. The state has the fifth largest population of African Americans in the US, an estimated 2.1 million residents. California's Asian population is estimated at 7.0 million, almost 30% of the nation's estimated 24 million Asian Americans. California's Native American population of 156,085 is the 4th-largest of any state, behind Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico.^[33]

Since the2000 US census, California has been known as the second state in US history (after Hawaii since its statehood in 1959) to becomemajority minority (it has since been joined by Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Maryland, and Georgia), and since 2014, the second state, afterNew Mexico, to have a Latino plurality (of any race). Some projections have showed the possibility of Latinos becoming a majority in the mid 21st century.^[46]

According to 2022 US Census Bureau one-year estimates, California's population by race (where Hispanics are allocated to the individual racial categories) was 38.9%White, 15.5%Asian, 19.5% Other Race, 5.4% Black orAfrican American, 1.3%Native American orAlaskan Native, 0.4%Pacific Islander, and 19.0%Mixed race or Multiracial.^[35]

If Hispanics are treated as if a separate race and removed from the racial categories, the breakout is 33.7% Non-Hispanic White, 15.3% Non-Hispanic Asian, 0.6% Non-Hispanic Other Race, 5.2% Non-Hispanic Black, 0.3% Non-Hispanic Native American or Alaskan Native, 0.4% Non-Hispanic Pacific Islander, 4.1% Non-Hispanic Multiracial, and 40.3%Hispanic-Latino (of any race).^[35]

Latinos in California primarily identify as Other Race (46.7%) or Multiracial (36.6%), making up the vast majority of individuals in the state who identify as 'some other race'. Smaller amounts of Hispanics identify as white (12.8%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (2.6%), Asian (0.6%), or Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (0.2%).^[35]

California has the largest population ofEuropean Americans of any state, with around 15 million people identifying as white alone, and 13 million as non-Hispanic white.^[55] Excluding the ~1 million white Californians who identify as Iranian/Persian, Arab, or Armenian,^[56] the population of European descent (alone) in the state can be estimated at around 14 million.^[57] In 2000, California had moreBulgarian Americans,Romanian Americans andHungarian Americans than any other US state. Los Angeles and San Francisco have largeRussian American andUkrainian American populations; and a long history ofBritish,Irish,Italian,German, andPolish communities established by immigrants in the late 19th century. There are also manyEnglish Americans,Irish Americans, andFrench Americans whose ancestors were the original 49ers, also known as theCalifornia gold rush immigrants.

California has over one million residents each who can trace their ancestry directly toSpain orPortugal, not including over ten million more with indirect Spanish or Portuguese roots fromLatin America.^[58] Significant Portuguese and Spanish communities can be found along coastal parts of the state such as San Diego,Long Beach,Camarillo,Santa Clara Valley (includingCupertino,Gilroy andSan Jose),Salinas Valley,Santa Maria Valley, andSan Joaquin Valley. A small wave ofDanish Americans,Dutch Americans andSwedish Americans immigrants founded towns likeLathrop near Stockton,Artesia near Los Angeles,Kingsburg south of Fresno,Solvang north of Santa Barbara in the late 1800s and the private community ofSveadal located 15 miles south ofSan Jose and populated entirely by members of the Swedish American Patriotic League.^[59] Small colonies of early 19th-centuryRussian settlement under theRussian American Company are inFort Ross,^[60]Calistoga and theRussian River Valley inSonoma andNapa counties. California also has the third largestGreek American population in the United States, behindNew York andMassachusetts. The Los Angeles Harbor area ofSan Pedro has a sizeableCroatian American population. SmallAmish/Mennonite colonies exist in an area bordered by the towns Oakdale, Riverbank and Ripon nearModesto and in Reedley, Sanger and Orange Cove near Fresno in theSan Joaquin Valley; and in the outerSalinas Valley.^[61]

The most important Italian community in California is inNorth Beach District atSan Francisco. 60% of Italian Americans in California are from northern Italy.^[62] Others numerous groups are from Tuscany and Sicily.^[62]Many Italians also live inSan Diego, withLittle Italy having San Diego's largest Italian population.

There is also a largeDutch community in California.^[63] The Dutch settled in Redlands, Ontario, Ripon, and Bellflower.^[64]

California has the largest populations ofArab-Americans,Iranian Americans, andArmenian-Americans in the US, with these groups collectively numbering over 1 million in the state.^[55]

Little Arabia is anethnic enclave inOrange County, California,^[65] the center for Orange County'sArab Americans, who number more than 24,000 (as of 2000).^[66] It is sometimes referred to as "Little Gaza" which was a play on the original designation of this area as the "Garza Island."^[67][68] Little Arabia grew significantly in the 1990s with the arrival of immigrants from theMiddle East, and is the home to thousands of Arab Americans predominantly hailing from Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Yemen.^[69]

More than 500,000Iranian Americans live throughout Southern California, including about 20% of the population ofBeverly Hills.^[70] Iranian American communities also flourish in theSan Fernando Valley, Orange County, San Diego, and the San Joaquin Valley. The majority of Iranian Americans immigrated after thePahlavi dynasty wasoverthrown in 1979.

California is also home to manyArmenian Americans; the highest concentration of Americans of Armenian descent is inGreater Los Angeles, where 166,498 people have identified themselves as Armenian in the 2000 US census, comprising over 40% of the 385,488 people who identified Armenian origins in the US at the time. Many of these live inGlendale north of Los Angeles, as well as a large community inFresno. The size of the Armenian American population is disputed, however. According to a 1988 news article, California had about 500,000 ethnic Armenians with over half of them living in Greater Los Angeles.^[71]

More than 1,300,000Jewish Americans live in California, the majority of whom areAshkenazi Jews.^[72] In addition, there are more than 250,000Israeli Americans live in theLos Angeles area, according to theIsraeli American Council.^[73] There are also significant Israeli American populations in theBay Area,San Francisco, andSan Jose areas of Northern California. The largestKaraite Jewish population outside ofIsrael exists in theBay Area, consisting of several hundreds descendants of refugees from theEgyptian Karaite community, as well as some recent converts.^[74] Their community is centered around the only Karaite synagogue outside the Middle East,Congregation B'nai Israel, located inDaly City.^[75] The Moroccan Jewish community in California is one of the largest in North America, approximately 10,000Moroccan Jews reside in Greater Los Angeles, mostly inPico-Robertson,North Hollywood, andBeverly Hills. Many are the descendants of community members who first emigrated to the United States in the aftermath ofWorld War II. Many others came later in the 20th century from Israel, and beginning in the early 21st century from France due to increasingantisemitism there.^[76] The community has their own synagogues as well as acommunity center.

Over 50,000Afghan Americans are concentrated in theEast Bay primarily inAlameda County and its communities ofFremont andHayward; Afghans also live throughout the state (esp. Orange andVentura Counties).

There is also a large population ofAssyrian descent living in the Central Valley, with large communities inModesto,Ceres, andTurlock, as well as throughout the Central Coast and the California Desert (i.e. theCoachella andImperial Valleys). San Diego has one of the largest concentrations of Chaldean-Assyrian immigrants in the United States.^[77]

About an estimated 3,000Moroccan Americans are living in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Santa Ana.^[78]

Turkish Americans andAzerbaijani Americans form moderately-sized communities in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. The state also has over 2,000Circassian Americans with a little community inAnaheim.

California has 2.3 millionAfrican Americans as of 2010, the largest population of black or African Americans of the Western US states,^[79] and the 5th largest black population in the United States.

African Americans are concentrated in Greater Los Angeles, the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, and Sacramento region.^[80]

Most African Americans in California have origins from Southern states likeLouisiana,Texas,Arkansas, andOklahoma.^[81]

California has a number ofWest Indian (Afro-Caribbean American) and African immigrants from countries such asCape Verde,Eritrea,Ethiopia,Ghana,Kenya,Nigeria,Senegal,Somalia,South Africa,Tanzania, andYemen across from the Horn of Africa. Immigrants from these countries have established communities in a number of cities in the state, such asLittle Ethiopia inWest Los Angeles. In addition to the Ethiopian community inLos Angeles, there is a significant Ethiopian population inOakland/Berkeley.Nuer refugees fromSouth Sudan have migrated to theSacramento area. There areCape Verdean communities inSolano County, theSanta Clara Valley, and theSan Diego area. As of 2019, there are 13,061Jamaicans in the state.^[82][83]

As of 2010, California'sNative American population of 362,801 was the most of any state.^[84] It also has themost Native American tribes, indigenous to the state or not. ManyCalifornian Indian tribesbecame extinct in the late 19th century, while most of them have been strongly reduced in population, but there are currently 109 federally recognized tribes indigenous to California, more than any other state.^[85] Census figures from 2010 place the population of Indigenous Californian tribes collectively at around ~100,000, significantly less than their estimated population of over 300,000 prior to colonization.^[86] The US census also includesLatin American Indians, especially immigrants who belonged to Indigenous ethnic groups from Mexico, Central America, and South America, as Native Americans. This group makes up the majority of Native Americans in California as of 2023, with over 80% of the state’s 546,942 Native Americans identifying as Hispanic.^[55]

TheCherokee Nation is the largest tribe in the state with a population of 28,000 in 2025,^[87] although the number self identifiedCherokee descendants is estimated at 110,000 in the earlier census taken in 2010, and any persons residing in California with any degree of Cherokee descent is estimated at up to 300,000. Their tribal nation is located in the northeast part ofOklahoma, but they live across the state and neighboring states. Cherokees in California are often descendants ofDust Bowl refugees in the 1930s and 1940s, who migrated from Oklahoma to the state's farming counties and urban areas for jobs. The largest urban American Indian communities are found in Los Angeles/Long Beach, San Francisco/Oakland, Sacramento, and San Diego areas.^[88]

California also has significant populations of theApache,Chickasaw,Choctaw,Muscogee,Seminole,Tlingit,Hopi,Zuni,Navajo,Blackfeet,Shoshone,Nez Perce,Paiute,Pueblo, andTohono Oʼodham, in addition toIndigenous Californian tribes such as theCahuilla,Chumash,Karuk,Yurok, andYokuts tribes. The Cahuilla in the Coachella Valley have profited from real estate land leases, and much ofIndio andPalm Springs are tribal-owned lands under legal tribal jurisdiction.^[89]

California has the largest Asian population in the United States, with Asian Americans numbering 7,176,032 in the state, making up 18.4% of the total population.^[90] The state has a long history of establishedEast,South, andSoutheastAsian American communities, including Chinese since the 1850s, Japanese since the 1880s, Indians since the 1890s, and Filipinos for over a century since 1900. A large wave of Asian immigration since 1965, following theImmigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which ended theban on Asian immigration, brought in more Chinese and Filipinos, along with many Koreans and Southeast Asians after theVietnam War ended in the late 1970s. South Asians are currently the fastest-growing group of Asians in the state.

As of the2010 census there were a total of 17,941,286 respondents in the United States who claimed to beAsian American and Asian.^[91] Out of these respondents in the United States,^[92] 30.9% lived in California, with 5,556,592 Asian Americans being counted by the 2010 census.^[93] This is a 1.5 million growth in population from the 2000 census, making Asian Americans 14.9 percent of the state's population in 2010.^[94] Out of those almost 5.6 million Asian Americans in California there were 1,474,707Filipinos, 1,349,111Chinese, 647,589Vietnamese, 590,445Indians, 505,225Koreans, 428,140Japanese, 109,928Taiwanese, 102,317Cambodians, 91,224Hmong, 69,303Laotians, 67,707Thais, 53,474Pakistanis, 39,506 Borneans, Sumatrans, andIndonesians, 17,978Burmese, 11,929Sri Lankans, 10,494Bangladeshis, 6,231Nepalese, 5,595Malaysians, 4,993Mongolians, 1,513Singaporeans, 1,377Ryukyuans, and 750Bhutanese.^[93]

Chinese Americans are numerous inSan Francisco, Oakland, theEast Bay,South Bay, theCentral Coast of California,Sacramento,San Diego, and theSan Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. The San Francisco Bay Area has a greater concentration of Cantonese-speaking Chinese than any other region in the United States. The Mexican border community ofCalexico, California in addition toMexicali has large numbers of Chinese Mexican Americans, that is, Mexican Americans of Chinese ancestry. Smaller Chinese communities can also be found inSan Jacinto Valley,Lake Elsinore, andVictorville.

Southern California has perhaps the largest Taiwan-born Chinese American community in the US, particularly in the San Gabriel Valley (i.e.Walnut andDiamond Bar),Buena Park,Cerritos,West Covina,Irvine, communities in theSouth Bay, Los Angeles and southern Orange County. Many minority groups from China also live in California, for example, there areTibetan andMongolian Americans concentrated in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Orange County, and the Los Angeles/Long Beach area.

Large Korean American communities exist in theKoreatown area of Los Angeles, the easternSan Gabriel Valley, theSan Fernando Valley, Cerritos/Long Beach,South Bay, Los Angeles, northern Orange County andSan Diego area. There is another large Korean American population in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Koreans are growing in number in the suburbanInland Empire region, in cities such asChino Hills,Corona,Desert Hot Springs, andLoma Linda south ofSan Bernardino. Since 1990, the Korean American and African American populations relocated westward and northward in the Los Angeles area.

TheSouth Bay area andLittle Tokyo have a large Japanese American community. Japanese Americans, however, are also concentrated inSan Francisco and across the Bay Area,San Jose, theSalinas Valley andSanta Cruz County; and smaller communities in theSacramento,Fresno,Bakersfield,Anaheim,San Diego,San Bernardino,Santa Barbara, andStockton areas. Despite the presence of Japanese goods stores, media outlets and restaurants in the state, most "Little Tokyos" and "Japantowns" were evacuated during the forced relocation of Japanese Americans duringWorld War II (seeJapanese American Internment). As a result, most Japanese Americans in urban areas do not reside in historical Japanese communities.

California has the largest Indian American population in the US. Many live in theLos Angeles Metropolitan Area,San Diego, and theSan Francisco Bay Area. The Los Angeles suburbs ofArtesia andCerritos have large Indian American communities.San Jose,Fremont, and otherSilicon Valley cities have many Indian Americans who are employed in the high-tech industry. Many Indian Americans are inCentral Valley cities such as Stockton, Bakersfield, Fresno,Yuba City, and theImperial Valley. Most South Asians in California are Indian American, but there are also Pakistani Americans, Bangladeshi Americans, and Sri Lankan Americans (seeSinhalese andTamils) especially concentrated in the San Gabriel Valley (Covina Valley) of the Los Angeles area. California is home to the uniquePunjabi Mexican American community, mostly centered around Yuba City.

California has the largest American population of Southeast Asians, concentrated in the Los Angeles-Long Beach, Sacramento, and Fresno areas. This includes theHmong and Vietnamese, includingChinese Vietnamese.Long Beach has one of the largest Cambodian American communities in the United States. The neighboring cities ofWestminster andGarden Grove have the largest Vietnamese American community outside of Vietnam and are often dubbed "Little Saigon". Vietnamese and Cambodian immigrants also settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially San Jose,Santa Clara andSunnyvale, as well across theSan Joaquin Valley and inSan Diego.

Filipino Americans are particularly numerous inLos Angeles,Sacramento,San Francisco,San Diego,San Mateo, andSolano counties, and in southern California communities such asArtesia,Baldwin Park,Carson,Cerritos,Covina,West Covina, and theEagle Rock district of Los Angeles. Around San Diego, many Filipinos live in the communities ofMira Mesa,National City, andChula Vista.Delano near Bakersfield, other towns in theSan Joaquin Valley, theInland Empire ofRiverside-San Bernardino,Coachella Valley-Imperial Valley region,^[95]Salinas,Stockton andLathrop, and theSanta Maria/San Luis Obispo area also have large Filipino American populations.Daly City south ofSan Francisco has a large Filipino population and is the largest percentage wise in the United States. As of the 1980s, Filipinos have been the largest population of Asians in California.^[96] Twenty percent ofregistered nurses, in 2013, in California are Filipino.^[97]

Over 6,000 Laotian Americans live in theFresno area, including an even larger Hmong American community, the second-largest of its kind. Other Hmong colonies in theCentral Valley of California and Northern California developed since the end of the Vietnam War (1975–1979).

California also has a Thai American community of over 250,000, concentrated in Southern California, with small Thai and Southeast Asian communities inPerris andBanning in the Inland Empire region. Los Angeles has the largest Thai population outside of Thailand and is also home to the world's firstThai Town. About 150,000Indonesians live in Southern California, primarily the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.

The state has 150,000 residents withPacific Islander ancestry. Most of them are 80,000Native Hawaiians of measurable Polynesian ancestry; many also have Asian, European, or other ancestries. There are also 25,000Samoan Americans originally fromAmerican Samoa orWestern Samoa. Most live inLong Beach and the Los Angeles suburbs ofCarson, Artesia, Cerritos, andRedondo Beach,Oceanside, andUpland. About 10,000Chamorros fromGuam and theNorthern Mariana Islands live in Northern California, the largest Micronesian community in the mainland United States. An estimated 10,000Tahitians fromFrench Polynesia live in Southern California.

There are also manyPalauan Americans in southern California, specifically in the San Diego area. This includesVista which has a population of 677 Palauan Americans according to the 2010 US census. Members of thePalauan community often also haveMalay,Indonesian,Micronesian,Melanesian,Japanese, and other East Asian ancestries. ManyChuukese or Trukese live in San Diego.

Latinos, mainlyMexican Americans, form the largest collective ethnic group in California, at 15,760,437 or 40.4% of the total population.^[55] They make up major portions of the population of Southern California, especially inLos Angeles, as well as the San Joaquin Valley. The city of Los Angeles is often said to have the largest Mexican community in the United States. Census records kept track of the growth since 1850, but Mexicans and Mexican Americans have lived in California since Spanish colonial times. However, the number and percentage population of Latinos living in California increased rapidly in the late 20th century, from only 9% in 1960 to over 40% in 2023.

TheImperial Valley on the US-Mexican border is about 70–75% Latino; communities with many Latinos can also be found inRiverside County, especially at its eastern end, and theCoachella Valley. TheCentral Valley has many Mexican American migrant farm workers. Latinos are the majority in 11 counties:Colusa,Fresno,Imperial,Kern,Kings,Madera,Merced,Monterey,San Benito,San Bernardino, andTulare counties.

Latinos make up over 20% of theSan Francisco Bay Area. Many live inSan Mateo,Redwood City,Alameda,Contra Costa, andSanta Clara counties, as well inSan Francisco. TheNapa andSalinas Valleys have predominantly Latino communities established by migrant farm workers. San Jose is about 30–35% Latino, the largest Latino community in northern California, while theMission District, San Francisco and Lower/West Oakland havebarrios established by Mexican and Latin American immigrants. The Mexican American communities ofEast Los Angeles andLogan Heights, San Diego, as well theSan Joaquin Valley are centers of historicChicano and Latino cultures.

California has the largest populations of Hispanics/Latinos in the country. Most of the state's Latinos haveMexican ancestry, having the largest Mexican population in the United States, making up about 31 percent of the state population. Despite the Hispanic population being mostly Mexican, California has a large and diverse population of other Hispanic groups, having the largestCentral American, especiallySalvadoran population in the United States.Guatemalan Americans are spread out in Southern California after previously being centered in Los Angeles between 1970 and 2010. California also has manyCuban Americans,Puerto Rican Americans,Honduran Americans, andNicaraguan Americans, along with people ofChilean,Colombian,Peruvian, and otherSouth American ancestry. Los Angeles has had the United States' largest Central American community, as well as the largest Mexican American community, since the 1910s. In fact, the 1900 census record finds 319 to 619 out of 100,000 residents in the city of Los Angeles were "Spanish" or "Mexican". Nearly 31% of Los Angeles itself is of Mexican descent, having the largest Mexican population of any city in the United States. 12,392 Belizeans also live in California.^[98]

InMariposa County, there is a very small community ofCalifornios or Spanish American people as they identify themselves, that dates back before the US annexation of California.Hornitos is home to an estimated 1,000 people and many have Spanish heritage. The community's "Spanish" Californio culture is closely linked with Mexico and other Latin American nations.

Note: Births in table do not add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

• Persons ofHispanic origin may be of any race.

The percentage surviving, is the percent of the population that would survive to certain age, if their life conditions in a given year, were extrapolated to their whole life. Data for 2019.

Data source: US Mortality DataBase.^[124][125]

As of 2010, 20,379,282 of California residents age 5 and older spokeEnglish at home as aprimary language, while 10,672,610 spokeSpanish, 1,231,425Chinese (which includesCantonese andMandarin), 796,451Tagalog, 559,932Vietnamese, 367,523Korean, 192,980Armenian, andPersian was spoken as amain language by 203,770 of the population over the age of five. In total, 14,644,136 of California's population age 5 and older spoke amother language other than English.^[126]

Comparatively, according to the 2007American Community Survey, 42.6 percent of California's population older than five spoke a language other than English at home, with 73 percent of those also speaking English well or very well, while 9.8 did not speak English at all.^[127]

California had the highest concentration ofVietnamese orChinese speakers in the United States, second highest concentration ofKorean orSpanish speakers in the United States, and third highest concentration ofTagalog speakers in the United States.^[127] California was historically one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world, and is home to more than 70 indigenous languages derived from 64 root languages in 6 language families.^[128][129] A survey conducted between 2007 and 2009 identified 23 different indigenous languages of Mexico that are spoken among California farmworkers.^[130]

Over 200 languages are known to be spoken and read in California, with Spanish used as the state's "alternative" language. California has more than 100 indigenous languages, making California one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world. All of California's indigenous languages areendangered as a direct result of theCalifornia genocide and generations of forced linguistic assimilation atAmerican Indian boarding schools, although there are now tribal-led efforts towardlanguage revitalization, mostly among nations with means to sustain formal language programs.^[m]

Theofficial language of California has been English since the passage ofProposition 63 in 1986.^[131] However, many state, city, and local government agencies still continue to print official public documents in numerous languages.^[132] For example, theCalifornia Department of Motor Vehicles offers the written exam forthe standard C Class driver's license in 31 languages along with English, and the audio exam in 11 languages.^[133] The politics of language is a major political issue in the state, especially in regard tolanguage policy controlling the teaching and official use of immigrant languages.

As a result of the state's increasing diversity and migration from other areas across the country and around the globe, linguists began noticing a noteworthy set of emerging characteristics of spoken English in California since the late 20th century. This dialect, known asCalifornia English, has avowel shift and several other phonological processes that are different from the dialects used in other regions of the country.^[134]

California has the mostCatholics in the United States, ahead ofNew York State, as well as large Protestant, non-religious, Jewish, and Muslim populations. It also has the largestLatter-day Saint population outside ofUtah.^[136] The state also has a largeAmerican Jewish community, the second-largest in the nation, as well as largest in the Western US, and third-largest in the world, mainly concentrated in Los Angeles,Beverly Hills,San Francisco,Oakland,Sacramento, andPalm Springs.^[137]

California also has large Muslim communities in west Los Angeles, San Diego, Beverly Hills, Orange County,Santa Clara County, and theModesto area.

MostCatholics in California are ofMexican,Central American,Irish,German,Italian,Vietnamese,Filipino, andKorean ancestry. The population of Catholic Californians is rapidly growing due to the influx of Latin American, Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Christian immigrants. In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Sunday Mass is celebrated in 42 different languages representing more than 30 ethnic groups from around the world.^[138] The Catholic dioceses of Orange, Los Angeles and San Jose have the largest Catholic diaspora of Vietnamese Catholics in world outside of Vietnam, estimated to be about 250,000-300,000 Catholics out of a total Vietnamese California population of 1.3 Million.^[139]

The largest Christian denominations in California in 2000 were the Catholic Church with 10,079,310; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 529,575; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 471,119. Jewish congregations had in the same year 994,000 adherents, or 3% of the Californian population.^[140]

Hinduism,Buddhism,Shintō,Sikhism, andTaoism were introduced in part by Asian immigrants. As the 20th century came to a close, forty percent of all Buddhists in America resided in Southern California. TheLos Angeles metropolitan area has become unique in the Buddhist world as the only place where representative organizations of every major school of Buddhism can be found in a single urban center.^{[141][verification needed]} TheCity of Ten Thousand Buddhas inNorthern California andHsi Lai Temple inSouthern California are two of the largest Buddhist temples in the Western Hemisphere.

California has the highestHindu population in the United States,^[142] most of themIndian Americans.^[143] Many of the prominent Hindu temples including theMalibu Hindu Temple are located in California.

With more than 1,232,000 Jews as of 2015, California has the highest number of Jews of any state exceptNew York.^[137] Many Jews live in theWest Los Angeles and (esp. west)San Fernando Valley regions of Los Angeles.^[144] Historic synagogues includeBeth Jacob Congregation (Beverly Hills, California),Congregation B'nai Israel (Sacramento, California), andTemple Israel (Stockton, California).Chabad,^[145] TheRohr Jewish Learning Institute,^[146] andAish HaTorah are active in California.

California also has the largest Muslim community in the United States, an estimated one percent of the population, mostly residing in Southern California. Approximately 100,000 Muslims reside in San Diego.^[147]

California has more members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints andTemples than any state exceptUtah.^[148]Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have played important roles in thesettlement of California throughout the state's history. For example, a group of a few hundredLatter-day Saint converts from the NortheasternUnited States andEurope arrived at what would becomeSan Francisco in the 1840s aboard the shipBrooklyn, more than doubling the population of the small town. A group of Latter-day Saints also established the city ofSan Bernardino in Southern California in 1851.^[136] According to the LDS Church 2014 statistics, 780,200 Latter-day Saints reside in the state of California, attending almost 1400 congregations statewide.^[136]

TheSeventh-day Adventist Church is headquartered inLoma Linda in San Bernardino county 60 miles east of Los Angeles, where the church members form the majority of the town's population. The SDA church there has a university, a free hospital and a TV station (3ABN or the 3 Angels Broadcasting Network). The town is known for a large number ofcentenarians.^[149]

A Pew Research Center survey revealed, however, that California is less religious than the rest of the United States: 62% of Californians say they are "absolutely certain" of the belief "in God or a universal spirit", while in the nation 71% say so. The survey also revealed that 48% of Californians say religion is "very important", while the figure for the US in general is 56%.^[150]

• 
  Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph inSan Jose
• 
  Mission San Diego de Alcalá
• 
  Hsi Lai Temple inLos Angeles County
• 
  South Indian styleMalibu Hindu Temple
• 
  North Indian styleBAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Chino Hills
• 
  Los Angeles California Temple

According to Pew Forum there are less than 1% Wiccans and other pagans in state withCentral Valley Wicca andReclaiming Wicca as key.^[151]

California's income distribution is quite broad compared to the country's as a whole; its proportions of residents with no income and of residents with income over $100,000 are both higher than the national average. This broad distribution combined with high housing and living costs give California an abnormally high poverty rate. The Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure, calculated by comparing household income to a locally adjusted poverty threshold, reports that 20.7% of California's population has income insufficient for their basic needs, as compared to 12.9% for the US as a whole.^[152] This calculation of income includes thebenefits ofCalifornia welfare programs such asfood stamps and earned income tax credits — without these, the state's poverty rate would be 28%.^[153]

The trends of low income in California are complex; from 1975 to 2014, real (inflation-adjusted) incomes have alternated between rises and sharp declines. These incomes have decreased overall for those outside the top 20th percentile, with the bottom 20th percentile seeing an average decline of 1% per year during that period.^[154][155] Correspondingly, the percent of Californians with income below their poverty threshold has risen and fallen, but has on average increased by a tenth of a percentage point per year.^[156]

Increasingincome inequality has had many effects on Californians' lives, including on life expectancy, which can be taken as a proxy for health or even general welfare. A study conducted by Clarke et al.^[157] related life expectancy to socioeconomic status (SES, an index including income and other related factors), finding that Californians in the top 20% by SES live on average six years longer than those in the bottom 20% (81 years, compared to 75). This disparity becomes even more pronounced whenintersected with race: White males in the top 20% live 14 years longer than African American males in the bottom 20% (for females, the difference is 10 years).^[157]

The complexity of the state's low-income trends were visible when, in response to growing Chinese and Spanish-speaking populations, the city ofOakland implemented the nation's first policy of recruiting bilingual applicants for public-facing city jobs in 2001. This increased the employment of Hispanic and Chinese bilinguals throughout the public workforce, but also lowered (monolingual) Black employment.^[158]

Part of a series on the
Culture of California
Society History Languages California English Chicano English Californian Spanish Indigenous Californian languages Religion Sports People Indigenous Californians Hispanic & Latino Californians Californios Asian Californians Black Californians White Californians
Arts Architecture Oldest buildings Californian Missions Mission Revival Spanish Revival Monterey Colonial California Churrigueresque Visual Arts Early California California Impressionism California Tonalism Bay Area Figurativism Pottery California Clay Movement
Music California sound San Francisco sound Bakersfield sound Chicano rock Chicano soul Surf music Sunshine pop California punk Hardcore punk Nu metal Bay Area thrash Orange County ska Palm Desert Scene Paisley Underground West Coast hip hop West Coast jazz West Coast blues Yuman music
Cuisine Californian Cuisine California wine Mission burrito California roll California-style pizza Cioppino Santa Maria–style barbecue Cobb salad Carne asada fries French dip Mochi ice cream Crab Louie Chiffon cake
Symbols Flag Seal Anthem California Poppy Eureka California grizzly bear
Other World Heritage Sites Protected Areas Museums California Historical Landmarks
California Portal
v t e

• California locations by race
• California statistical areas
• California exodus
• Demographics of the United States
• Mexifornia

Media related toDemographics of California at Wikimedia Commons

• "California Code, CONS SEC. 6".leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

• Demographics of California
• Demographics of the United States by state

• CS1 maint: archived copy as title
• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from March 2013
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• All pages needing factual verification
• Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from January 2010
• Commons category link from Wikidata