Los Angeles Almanac Logo
Home | All Almanac Topics | Population

Asian Ethnic Origin
Los Angeles County

Census Counts/Estimates for 2010, 2020, & 2021

Wat Thai Temple Festival

A procession at Wat Thai Buddhist Temple in North Hollywood. Los Angeles is home to the largest Thai population outside of Thailand. Los Angeles Almanac Photo


Also see:
-- Asian Ethnic Origin by City and Community, Los Angeles County
-- Asian Ethnic Origin, Los Angeles County, 2000 Census


Los Angeles County has, by far, the largest Asian population of any county in the United States. According to U.S. Census 2021 estimates, Los Angeles County is home to 1.48 million persons of Asian descent (racially Asian alone; 1.68 million when mixed with other races). This is a little more than twice the Asian population in second-place Santa Clara County, California (736,650). In terms of what percentage of the total population is Asian, however, Los Angeles County’s Asian population makes up only about 15 percent of the county’s total population (compared to 38 percent for Santa Clara County and even 21 percent for Orange County, California. Nevertheless, Los Angeles County is also home to the largest populations that are ethnically Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino, Korean, Cambodian, Thai, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, Mongolian and Malaysian (and the second largest ethnic Japanese population only after Honolulu County, Hawaii).


Also see: How the San Gabriel Valley Became America's "Suburban Chinatown".



Population that is Asian Alone. Some data were not available for some categories in some years.

Ethnic Origin 2022 Census Estimates* 2020 Census Estimates* 2010 Census
Population Percent Population Percent Population Percent
Total Asian 1,473,634 100.00% 1,488,626 100.00% 1,390,049 100.00%
East Asian
Chinese (except Taiwanese) 434,338 29.47% 445,822 29.95% 380,445 27.37%
Hmong 1,206 0.08% 1,109 0.07% 710 0.05%
Japanese 96,020 6.52% 96,810 6.50% 110,986 7.98%
Ethnic Origin 2022 Census Estimates* 2020 Census Estimates* 2010 Census
Population Percent Population Percent Population Percent
Korean 203,328 13.80% 207,483 13.94% 221,031 15.90%
Mongolian 2,199 0.15% 2,696 0.18% --- ---
Okinawan 154 0.01% 147 0.01% --- ---
Taiwanese 34,863 2.37% 29,400 1.97% 43,836 3.15%
Other East Asian 41 0.00% --- --- --- ---
Ethnic Origin 2022 Census Estimates* 2020 Census Estimates* 2010 Census
Population Percent Population Percent Population Percent
Southeast Asian
Burmese 5,985 0.41% 4,706 0.32% 4,995 0.36%
Cambodian 31,772 2.16% 31,881 2.14% 35,879 2.58%
Filipino 335,080 22.74% 339,427 22.80% 331,642 23.86%
Indonesian 8,856 0.60% 9,341 0.63% 10,004 0.72%
Ethnic Origin 2022 Census Estimates* 2020 Census Estimates* 2010 Census
Population Percent Population Percent Population Percent
Laotian 3,006 0.20% 3,223 0.22% 3,676 0.26%
Malaysian 805 0.05% 767 0.05% 1,291 0.09%
Mien 183 0.01% --- --- --- ---
Singaporean 371 0.03% --- --- --- ---
Thai 21,700 1.47% 24,670 1.66% 27,058 1.95%
Ethnic Origin 2022 Census Estimates* 2020 Census Estimates* 2010 Census
Population Percent Population Percent Population Percent
Vietnamese 97,523 6.62% 99,342 6.67% 99,517 7.16%
Other Southeast Asian 219 0.01% --- --- --- ---
South Asian
Asian Indian 99,158 6.73% 103,124 6.93% 83,206 5.99%
Bangladeshi 7,080 0.48% 5,080 0.34% 5,018 0.36%
Ethnic Origin 2022 Census Estimates* 2020 Census Estimates* 2010 Census
Population Percent Population Percent Population Percent
Bhutanese 0 0.00% 8 0.00% 41 0.00%
Nepalese 2,753 0.19% 2,541 0.17% 1,171 0.08%
Pakistani 11,933 0.81% 11,797 0.79% 10,114 0.73%
Sikh 528 0.04% --- --- --- ---
Sri Lankan 3,786 0.26% 4,108 0.28% 4,952 0.36%
Other South Asian 317 0.02% --- --- --- ---
Ethnic Origin 2022 Census Estimates* 2020 Census Estimates* 2010 Census
Population Percent Population Percent Population Percent
Central Asian
Kazakh 361 0.02% --- --- --- ---
Uzbek 267 0.02% --- --- --- ---
Other Central Asian 2,373 0.16% --- --- --- ---
Other Asian, specified 282 0.02% 2,162 0.15% 1,948 0.14%
Ethnic Origin 2022 Census Estimates* 2020 Census Estimates* 2010 Census
Population Percent Population Percent Population Percent
Other Asian, not specified 7,582 0.51% 7,846 0.53% 12,529 0.90%
Two or More Asian Groups 59,565 4.04% 55,136 3.70% --- ---

* U.S. Census estimates based upon data and surveys collected by the American Community Survey over the preceding five-year period. These estimates are issued annually between full Decennial Census counts conducted each decade.

Some data were not available for some categories in some years.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau


The 1860 U.S. Census was the first to specifically identify Asian persons residing in Los Angeles County. The census of that year counted 11 "Asiatic" persons (later classified as Chinese) in Los Angeles County.