Counties in California by foreign-born share of the population

Santa Clara County had the highest foreign-born share of the population of 58 counties in 2023, at 41%. Sierra County had the lowest, at 2.3%. The median was 19.4% and the figure for California was 26.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Lowest2.3Sierra County
Median19.458 counties
California26.7History

All counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Santa Clara CountySanta Clara County: 41 %41San Mateo CountySan Mateo County: 35.6 %35.6San Francisco CountySan Francisco County: 34.2 %34.2Alameda CountyAlameda County: 34.1 %34.1Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County: 33.4 %33.4Imperial CountyImperial County: 30.8 %30.8Orange CountyOrange County: 29.9 %29.9Monterey CountyMonterey County: 28.8 %28.8Colusa CountyColusa County: 27.5 %27.5Contra Costa CountyContra Costa County: 26.2 %26.2Merced CountyMerced County: 26.1 %26.1San Joaquin CountySan Joaquin County: 24.5 %24.5San Diego CountySan Diego County: 22.5 %22.5Sutter CountySutter County: 22.4 %22.4Napa CountyNapa County: 22.1 %22.1Santa Barbara CountySanta Barbara County: 22.1 %22.1Ventura CountyVentura County: 22 %22Tulare CountyTulare County: 21.9 %21.9Yolo CountyYolo County: 21.6 %21.6Riverside CountyRiverside County: 21.6 %21.6Sacramento CountySacramento County: 21.4 %21.4San Bernardino CountySan Bernardino County: 21.4 %21.4Solano CountySolano County: 20.5 %20.5Stanislaus CountyStanislaus County: 20.5 %20.5Madera CountyMadera County: 20.2 %20.2Fresno CountyFresno County: 19.8 %19.8Kern CountyKern County: 19.7 %19.7Marin CountyMarin County: 19.6 %19.6Kings CountyKings County: 19.5 %19.5San Benito CountySan Benito County: 19.3 %19.3Santa Cruz CountySanta Cruz County: 17.7 %17.7Sonoma CountySonoma County: 16.6 %16.6Mono CountyMono County: 16.3 %16.3Glenn CountyGlenn County: 15.9 %15.9Placer CountyPlacer County: 12.3 %12.3Mendocino CountyMendocino County: 11.6 %11.6Yuba CountyYuba County: 11 %11Tehama CountyTehama County: 10.8 %10.8San Luis Obispo CountySan Luis Obispo County: 9.6 %9.6Lake CountyLake County: 9.3 %9.3El Dorado CountyEl Dorado County: 9.1 %9.1Inyo CountyInyo County: 8.2 %8.2Butte CountyButte County: 8 %8Mariposa CountyMariposa County: 7.9 %7.9Del Norte CountyDel Norte County: 7.6 %7.6Modoc CountyModoc County: 6.6 %6.6Nevada CountyNevada County: 6.5 %6.5Humboldt CountyHumboldt County: 6.4 %6.4Trinity CountyTrinity County: 6.3 %6.3Amador CountyAmador County: 6.1 %6.1Lassen CountyLassen County: 6 %6Siskiyou CountySiskiyou County: 5.9 %5.9Calaveras CountyCalaveras County: 5.8 %5.8Tuolumne CountyTuolumne County: 5.1 %5.1Shasta CountyShasta County: 4.9 %4.9Alpine CountyAlpine County: 4.8 %4.8Plumas CountyPlumas County: 3.6 %3.6Sierra CountySierra County: 2.3 %2.3
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Santa Clara County41+0.7 pts
2San Mateo County35.6+0.4 pts
3San Francisco County34.2+0.4 pts
4Alameda County34.1+0.8 pts
5Los Angeles County33.40 pts
6Imperial County30.8+0.2 pts
7Orange County29.9+0.4 pts
8Monterey County28.8-0.2 pts
9Colusa County27.5-1.1 pts
10Contra Costa County26.2+0.8 pts
11Merced County26.1-0.2 pts
12San Joaquin County24.5+0.6 pts
13San Diego County22.5-0.1 pts
14Sutter County22.4+0.6 pts
15Napa County22.1-0.1 pts
16Santa Barbara County22.1-0.1 pts
17Ventura County22+0.5 pts
18Tulare County21.9-0.2 pts
19Yolo County21.6-0.4 pts
20Riverside County21.6-0 pts
21Sacramento County21.4+0.2 pts
22San Bernardino County21.4+0.3 pts
23Solano County20.5+0.9 pts
24Stanislaus County20.5+0.3 pts
25Madera County20.2-0.1 pts
26Fresno County19.8-0.2 pts
27Kern County19.70 pts
28Marin County19.6+1 pts
29Kings County19.5+1.1 pts
30San Benito County19.3-0.1 pts
31Santa Cruz County17.7+0.3 pts
32Sonoma County16.6+0.3 pts
33Mono County16.3-2.5 pts
34Glenn County15.9+0.8 pts
35Placer County12.3+0.2 pts
36Mendocino County11.6+0.3 pts
37Yuba County11-1.5 pts
38Tehama County10.8+1 pts
39San Luis Obispo County9.6+0.1 pts
40Lake County9.3-0.3 pts
41El Dorado County9.1-0.2 pts
42Inyo County8.2+1.1 pts
43Butte County8+0.5 pts
44Mariposa County7.90 pts
45Del Norte County7.60 pts
46Modoc County6.6+0.5 pts
47Nevada County6.5+0.2 pts
48Humboldt County6.4+0.3 pts
49Trinity County6.3-1 pts
50Amador County6.1+0.3 pts
51Lassen County6+0.6 pts
52Siskiyou County5.9-0.1 pts
53Calaveras County5.8+0.6 pts
54Tuolumne County5.1+0.1 pts
55Shasta County4.9-0.3 pts
56Alpine County4.8+1.4 pts
57Plumas County3.6-0.3 pts
58Sierra County2.3-0.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People who were not US citizens at birth, as a percentage of the total population. Includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, temporary migrants and unauthorized immigrants. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Based on place of birth, not nationality: a naturalized citizen counts as foreign born, and people born in Puerto Rico, the US island areas or abroad to American parents count as native. Not comparable with foreign_population_share, which counts foreign nationals in Spain and the EU. Calculated from counts in ACS table B05002, which are stored as inputs.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Use this data in your AI agent

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Rank Counties in California by foreign-born share of the population using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest foreign-born share of the population?

Santa Clara County, with 41% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest foreign-born share of the population?

Sierra County, with 2.3% in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Foreign-born population share: other rankings

Counties in California: more rankings