Languages Spoken in California: Map and County Data
Languages Spoken Across California Counties
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 15.8 million people age 5 and older in California speak a language other than English at home, representing 43.9% of the state's population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 10.3 million speakers, followed by Chinese and Tagalog / Filipino.
Most Spoken Non-English Languages in California
The most spoken non-English languages in California are Spanish, Chinese, and Tagalog / Filipino. Spanish is spoken at home by about 10.3 million people, or roughly 28.6% of the state's population age 5+.
Key Language Findings for California
About 15.8 million people in California speak a language other than English at home, representing 43.9% of residents age 5 and older.
The most spoken non-English languages in California are Spanish, Chinese, and Tagalog / Filipino.
Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in California, with about 10.3 million speakers, representing roughly 28.6% of residents age 5 and older.
Los Angeles County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in California, with about 3.7 million speakers.
Los Angeles County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 5.3 million residents.
While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, Chinese is the leading non-English language in San Francisco County.
How Language Use Varies Across California Counties
Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the leading non-English language across most of California, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking Chinese, Tagalog / Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Armenian, Hmong, Persian, and other languages.
Los Angeles County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Imperial County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population. In San Francisco County, Chinese is the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.
English Proficiency and Language Access in California
Speaking a language other than English at home does not necessarily mean someone has limited English proficiency. Census table B16001 also separates language groups by whether residents report speaking English "very well" or less than "very well," providing additional context for organizations planning language access services. For a broader look at limited English proficiency across the country, explore Boostlingo's LEP State Map.
Plan Language Access Around the Communities You Serve
Boostlingo helps healthcare, government, education, legal, and business organizations connect people with interpreting and translation services across hundreds of languages.
Explore Interpreter ServicesSearch or sort the full county dataset to compare the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home and the six most spoken non-English languages in each county.
| County | % Other Language | Other-Language Speakers | #1 Language | #2 Language | #3 Language | #4 Language | #5 Language | #6 Language | Population Age 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County | 122,217 | Spanish 119,375 | Chinese 619 | Tagalog / Filipino 487 | Korean 222 | Arabic 220 | Other Native North American 149 | 163,547 | |
| Los Angeles County | 5,334,691 | Spanish 3,703,685 | Chinese 364,931 | Tagalog / Filipino 230,956 | Korean 183,717 | Armenian 171,297 | Vietnamese 80,051 | 9,396,753 | |
| Monterey County | 211,862 | Spanish 185,326 | Tagalog / Filipino 5,513 | Arabic 2,034 | Vietnamese 1,932 | Korean 1,923 | Chinese 1,786 | 395,093 | |
| Merced County | 126,334 | Spanish 104,010 | Portuguese 4,636 | Hmong 4,625 | Other Indic 4,492 | Tagalog / Filipino 1,332 | Chinese 1,087 | 242,322 | |
| Santa Clara County | 905,125 | Spanish 325,446 | Chinese 137,761 | Vietnamese 117,650 | Tagalog / Filipino 56,848 | Other Asian 47,686 | Hindi 38,100 | 1,745,752 | |
| Tulare County | 210,588 | Spanish 193,113 | Portuguese 2,754 | Tagalog / Filipino 2,689 | Other Asian 1,923 | Other Pacific Island 1,452 | Laotian 1,361 | 413,709 | |
| Colusa County | 9,315 | Spanish 8,894 | Gujarati 117 | Korean 52 | Japanese 47 | German 41 | Tagalog / Filipino 39 | 19,716 | |
| San Mateo County | 325,338 | Spanish 140,320 | Chinese 55,947 | Tagalog / Filipino 47,333 | Russian 8,008 | Other Asian 7,085 | Other Pacific Island 7,019 | 702,772 | |
| Orange County | 1,337,543 | Spanish 770,012 | Vietnamese 172,876 | Korean 76,934 | Chinese 71,112 | Tagalog / Filipino 48,176 | Persian 31,593 | 2,924,969 | |
| Madera County | 63,229 | Spanish 58,557 | Other Indic 1,223 | Tagalog / Filipino 350 | Greek 338 | Other Pacific Island 327 | Arabic 268 | 141,452 | |
| San Francisco County | 355,121 | Chinese 149,123 | Spanish 89,130 | Tagalog / Filipino 23,147 | Russian 11,835 | Vietnamese 10,588 | French 8,825 | 802,640 | |
| Fresno County | 387,016 | Spanish 297,796 | Hmong 24,159 | Other Indic 14,162 | Laotian 7,099 | Tagalog / Filipino 6,215 | Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 4,492 | 877,304 | |
| Alameda County | 646,809 | Spanish 244,980 | Chinese 124,829 | Tagalog / Filipino 56,410 | Other Asian 28,508 | Vietnamese 28,433 | Hindi 27,558 | 1,487,370 | |
| Kern County | 344,800 | Spanish 306,093 | Tagalog / Filipino 8,738 | Other Indic 7,215 | Arabic 3,069 | Other Pacific Island 2,952 | Chinese 2,331 | 793,138 | |
| San Bernardino County | 801,737 | Spanish 654,678 | Tagalog / Filipino 28,193 | Chinese 25,153 | Korean 11,679 | Arabic 11,183 | Vietnamese 10,742 | 1,939,554 | |
| Stanislaus County | 199,592 | Spanish 155,495 | Other / unspecified 8,176 | Other Indic 4,939 | Portuguese 4,206 | Hindi 3,458 | Tagalog / Filipino 3,430 | 488,228 | |
| Kings County | 56,589 | Spanish 49,821 | Tagalog / Filipino 2,185 | Portuguese 1,203 | Other Indic 436 | Arabic 408 | Chinese 376 | 138,825 | |
| San Joaquin County | 266,669 | Spanish 172,903 | Tagalog / Filipino 18,124 | Other Indic 13,029 | Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 8,662 | Chinese 7,302 | Vietnamese 6,457 | 655,934 | |
| Riverside County | 855,987 | Spanish 706,978 | Tagalog / Filipino 29,331 | Chinese 16,621 | Vietnamese 13,409 | Korean 10,099 | Arabic 9,084 | 2,139,650 | |
| Santa Barbara County | 161,280 | Spanish 133,216 | Chinese 4,428 | Tagalog / Filipino 3,487 | German 2,580 | French 1,661 | Korean 1,474 | 407,609 | |
| San Benito County | 20,658 | Spanish 18,938 | Tagalog / Filipino 329 | Other Indic 221 | Portuguese 142 | Other Pacific Island 102 | German 100 | 53,558 | |
| Ventura County | 302,508 | Spanish 239,140 | Tagalog / Filipino 13,075 | Chinese 8,630 | Other Asian 3,671 | German 3,114 | Vietnamese 3,086 | 786,625 | |
| Glenn County | 9,784 | Spanish 8,930 | Hmong 246 | Tagalog / Filipino 141 | Laotian 135 | Portuguese 70 | Other Indic 42 | 26,025 | |
| San Diego County | 1,127,595 | Spanish 742,225 | Tagalog / Filipino 96,828 | Chinese 43,093 | Vietnamese 41,587 | Arabic 24,262 | Korean 15,427 | 3,012,222 | |
| Sutter County | 32,966 | Spanish 18,678 | Other Indic 9,656 | Tagalog / Filipino 677 | Russian 402 | Chinese 382 | Hmong 370 | 88,685 | |
| Yolo County | 71,299 | Spanish 41,634 | Chinese 7,601 | Russian 3,020 | Other Indic 2,205 | Vietnamese 1,733 | Hindi 1,639 | 195,167 | |
| Napa County | 47,770 | Spanish 37,730 | Tagalog / Filipino 4,128 | Chinese 764 | French 515 | Other Pacific Island 434 | Korean 373 | 132,412 | |
| Contra Costa County | 349,865 | Spanish 181,705 | Chinese 32,658 | Tagalog / Filipino 32,221 | Persian 10,889 | Other Indic 9,297 | Other Asian 9,018 | 1,030,885 | |
| Santa Cruz County | 81,232 | Spanish 65,947 | Chinese 2,774 | German 1,425 | French 1,318 | Tagalog / Filipino 1,213 | Portuguese 1,067 | 254,315 | |
| Sacramento County | 431,129 | Spanish 180,867 | Chinese 32,880 | Russian 24,382 | Tagalog / Filipino 24,334 | Vietnamese 22,069 | Hmong 21,341 | 1,366,795 | |
| Solano County | 117,730 | Spanish 66,326 | Tagalog / Filipino 27,437 | Chinese 3,274 | Other Indic 2,272 | Vietnamese 2,270 | Hindi 2,026 | 399,429 | |
| Sonoma County | 121,051 | Spanish 92,642 | Chinese 2,945 | Tagalog / Filipino 2,179 | French 1,988 | German 1,914 | African languages 1,622 | 468,274 | |
| Yuba County | 16,260 | Spanish 11,536 | Hmong 1,814 | Chinese 765 | Tagalog / Filipino 432 | Italian 203 | Vietnamese 167 | 67,372 | |
| Marin County | 55,960 | Spanish 31,865 | French 2,901 | German 2,425 | Chinese 2,044 | Persian 1,447 | Italian 1,410 | 245,273 | |
| Mono County | 3,059 | Spanish 2,773 | Tagalog / Filipino 116 | German 70 | Portuguese 42 | Italian 20 | Chinese 18 | 13,407 | |
| Mendocino County | 17,202 | Spanish 14,598 | French 332 | Tagalog / Filipino 218 | Other Indic 216 | Chinese 213 | German 191 | 82,476 | |
| Tehama County | 10,912 | Spanish 9,841 | Korean 209 | African languages 161 | German 107 | Tagalog / Filipino 75 | Other Native North American 74 | 59,134 | |
| Lassen County | 5,672 | Spanish 4,614 | Other Pacific Island 169 | Other Native North American 86 | French 82 | Vietnamese 77 | German 70 | 31,226 | |
| San Luis Obispo County | 47,780 | Spanish 37,065 | Chinese 1,353 | Tagalog / Filipino 1,127 | German 912 | Portuguese 764 | French 715 | 262,818 | |
| Inyo County | 2,625 | Spanish 2,204 | Other Native North American 81 | Chinese 70 | Hindi 48 | German 31 | African languages 31 | 17,298 | |
| Placer County | 51,894 | Spanish 24,264 | Tagalog / Filipino 4,574 | Chinese 2,222 | Russian 2,022 | Other Indic 1,841 | German 1,782 | 345,965 | |
| Lake County | 9,031 | Spanish 7,801 | German 196 | French 115 | Chinese 93 | Other Pacific Island 80 | Hindi 78 | 60,522 | |
| Alpine County | 153 | Other Native North American 85 | Spanish 39 | Vietnamese 10 | French 9 | Italian 5 | German 3 | 1,092 | |
| Butte County | 28,727 | Spanish 17,595 | Hmong 3,778 | Chinese 825 | German 751 | Tagalog / Filipino 743 | Other Indic 595 | 210,409 | |
| Del Norte County | 3,579 | Spanish 2,705 | Hmong 144 | Tagalog / Filipino 123 | Other Native North American 121 | German 84 | Other Pacific Island 74 | 26,098 | |
| El Dorado County | 22,748 | Spanish 12,805 | Persian 1,266 | Tagalog / Filipino 1,148 | Hindi 830 | Chinese 739 | German 705 | 173,716 | |
| Modoc County | 1,094 | Spanish 906 | Italian 67 | French 54 | Laotian 19 | Other Native North American 12 | Vietnamese 10 | 8,780 | |
| Amador County | 3,953 | Spanish 2,460 | Polish 250 | German 177 | Hmong 147 | Russian 146 | French 101 | 35,697 | |
| Humboldt County | 14,102 | Spanish 8,483 | Hmong 910 | Chinese 593 | Other Native North American 498 | German 419 | Portuguese 383 | 127,669 | |
| Mariposa County | 1,713 | Spanish 1,192 | Tagalog / Filipino 58 | Hindi 54 | Other Slavic 49 | Korean 41 | Chinese 39 | 17,045 | |
| Plumas County | 1,791 | Spanish 1,170 | German 139 | French 124 | Other Pacific Island 70 | Chinese 55 | Russian 54 | 18,056 | |
| Trinity County | 1,257 | Spanish 945 | German 49 | Other Pacific Island 45 | French 41 | Italian 30 | Portuguese 28 | 12,741 | |
| Sierra County | 278 | Spanish 236 | Italian 27 | Other Asian 13 | Polish 1 | Vietnamese 1 | — | 2,927 | |
| Nevada County | 8,239 | Spanish 4,849 | German 632 | French 508 | Chinese 339 | Japanese 231 | Vietnamese 222 | 94,280 | |
| Shasta County | 14,233 | Spanish 8,011 | Chinese 849 | German 617 | Other Asian 565 | French 522 | Tagalog / Filipino 508 | 168,561 | |
| Siskiyou County | 3,297 | Spanish 2,401 | Chinese 143 | German 107 | Other Pacific Island 91 | Other Native North American 66 | Italian 54 | 41,606 | |
| Calaveras County | 2,995 | Spanish 1,820 | German 215 | French 175 | Other Indo-European 107 | Tagalog / Filipino 98 | Italian 81 | 42,964 | |
| Tuolumne County | 3,651 | Spanish 2,386 | German 168 | Chinese 156 | Other Indic 124 | Italian 115 | Russian 94 | 51,827 |
About the Data
Data on this page comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, table B16001, Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over. Statewide and county estimates use the same Census table so the figures can be compared consistently across the page.
The estimates describe languages spoken at home among residents age 5 and older. Census estimates include margins of error, particularly for smaller counties and less common language groups.