Population of California 2021
Population
California has been the most populous US state since 1962; today it has twice as many residents as New York State, which was the most populous until then.
Along with Texas, New Mexico and Hawaii, California is one of four so-called majority minority states, states in which non-Spanish-speaking whites make up less than 50 percent of the population. More than 200 languages are spoken in California, with Spanish being the second most widely spoken language after English. Spanish is widely used, especially in Southern California, where Hispanic immigrants are particularly strong due to the border with Mexico. Demographic projections assume that California will have a Hispanic majority population in 2020, due to both higher birth rates and higher immigration rates.
California is the second most populous (member) state in the western hemisphere, surpassed only by the Brazilian state of São Paulo. If California were its own country, it would be the 34th most populous state in the world, ahead of Canada and Australia, which are significantly larger in area.
Top Counties by Population in California
| Rank | County Name | Population | Population Density (per km²) |
| 1 | Los Angeles County | 10,039,118 | 954.74 |
| 2 | San Diego County | 3,338,341 | 306.61 |
| 3 | Orange County | 3,175,703 | 1,293.57 |
| 4 | Riverside County | 2,470,557 | 132.33 |
| 5 | San Bernardino County | 2,180,096 | 41.96 |
| 6 | Santa Clara County | 1,927,863 | 576.51 |
| 7 | Alameda County | 1,671,340 | 874.59 |
| 8 | Sacramento County | 1,552,069 | 620.33 |
| 9 | Contra Costa County | 1,153,537 | 618.52 |
| 10 | Fresno County | 999,112 | 64.69 |
| 11 | Kern County | 900,213 | 42.69 |
| 12 | San Francisco | 881,560 | 7,225.90 |
| 13 | Ventura County | 846,017 | 176.95 |
| 14 | San Mateo County | 766,584 | 659.14 |
| 15 | San Joaquin County | 762,159 | 210.37 |
| 16 | Stanislaus County | 550,671 | 142.22 |
| 17 | Sonoma County | 494,347 | 121.10 |
| 18 | Tulare County | 466,206 | 37.31 |
| 19 | Solano County | 447,654 | 208.70 |
| 20 | Santa Barbara County | 446,510 | 62.97 |
| 21 | Monterey County | 434,072 | 50.45 |
| 22 | Placer County | 398,340 | 109.31 |
| 23 | San Luis Obispo County | 283,122 | 33.09 |
| 24 | Merced County | 277,691 | 55.58 |
| 25 | Santa Cruz County | 273,224 | 236.56 |
| 26 | Marin County | 258,837 | 192.16 |
| 27 | Yolo County | 220,511 | 84.13 |
| 28 | Butte County | 219,197 | 51.60 |
| 29 | El Dorado County | 192,854 | 43.49 |
| 30 | Imperial County | 181,226 | 16.76 |
| 31 | Shasta County | 180,091 | 18.37 |
| 32 | Madera County | 157,338 | 28.42 |
| 33 | Kings County | 152,951 | 42.49 |
| 34 | Napa County | 137,755 | 70.54 |
| 35 | Humboldt County | 135,569 | 14.65 |
| 36 | Nevada County | 99,766 | 40.21 |
| 37 | Sutter County | 96,982 | 62.09 |
| 38 | Mendocino County | 86,760 | 9.55 |
| 39 | Yuba County | 78,679 | 48.21 |
| 40 | Tehama County | 65,095 | 8.52 |
| 41 | Lake County | 64,397 | 19.77 |
| 42 | San Benito County | 62,819 | 17.46 |
| 43 | Tuolumne County | 54,489 | 9.41 |
| 44 | Calaveras County | 45,916 | 17.38 |
| 45 | Siskiyou County | 43,550 | 2.67 |
| 46 | Amador County | 39,763 | 25.33 |
| 47 | Lassen County | 30,584 | 2.59 |
| 48 | Glenn County | 28,404 | 8.34 |
| 49 | Del Norte County | 27,823 | 10.66 |
| 50 | Colusa County | 21,558 | 7.23 |
| 51 | Plumas County | 18,818 | 2.84 |
| 52 | Inyo County | 18,050 | 0.68 |
| 53 | Mariposa County | 17,214 | 4.58 |
| 54 | Mono County | 14,455 | 1.83 |
| 55 | Trinity County | 12,296 | 1.49 |
| 56 | Modoc County | 8,852 | 0.87 |
| 57 | Sierra County | 3,016 | 1.22 |
| 58 | Alpine County | 1,140 | 0.60 |