In this article
About 16.9 million Californians, 45.3% of residents age 5 and over, speak a language other than English at home. In Los Angeles County the share is 55.2%, or about 5.1 million people. After Spanish, the most common languages statewide are Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean. In Los Angeles County, Armenian ranks fourth.
Key figures
16.9 million
Californians speak a language other than English at home, 45.3% of residents age 5 and over
55.2%
of Los Angeles County residents do, about 5.1 million people
198,707
Armenian speakers in Los Angeles County, its fourth most common language other than English
17.5%
of Californians speak English less than "very well" (2020 to 2024 estimates)
California: the top 20 languages
| Language | Speakers | Speak English less than "very well" | Change since 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | 10,754,818 | 39.4% | +0.7% (not significant) |
| Chinese | 1,334,399 | 51.4% | +4.7% |
| Tagalog | 820,806 | 32.5% | +0.3% (not significant) |
| Vietnamese | 559,609 | 59.6% | -3.9% (not significant) |
| Korean | 350,520 | 52.2% | -2.1% (not significant) |
| Persian (Farsi, Dari) | 263,138 | 36.8% | +17.2% |
| Hindi | 253,073 | 18.9% | +22.9% |
| Arabic | 223,882 | 35.7% | +18.5% |
| Armenian | 222,071 | 43.8% | +14.0% |
| Russian | 188,555 | 43.7% | +13.4% |
| Punjabi | 186,435 | 43.2% | +25.8% |
| Japanese | 132,602 | 39.2% | +0.4% (not significant) |
| French | 131,065 | 12.9% | +6.0% (not significant) |
| Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian or other Austronesian | 113,411 | 32.3% | -10.3% |
| Portuguese | 90,179 | 24.5% | -0.9% (not significant) |
| German | 84,819 | 9.7% | -4.7% (not significant) |
| Other Indo-European languages | 83,842 | 27.6% | +14.5% |
| Telugu | 77,429 | 15.2% | +16.8% |
| Other languages of Asia | 72,213 | 42.8% | +7.8% (not significant) |
| Thai, Lao or other Tai-Kadai | 71,808 | 50.3% | -4.9% (not significant) |
Spanish, with 10,754,818 speakers, did not change significantly since 2019. Among languages with at least 50,000 speakers, Ukrainian and other Slavic languages grew fastest, up 102.6%. Punjabi grew 25.8%, the Nepali, Marathi and other Indic group 25.5%, Hindi 22.9%, Arabic 18.5% and Persian 17.2%.
Los Angeles County: the top 15 languages
| Language | Speakers | Margin of error | Speak English less than "very well" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | 3,489,855 | ±26,372 | 42.4% |
| Chinese | 383,333 | ±13,799 | 57.3% |
| Tagalog | 224,158 | ±12,636 | 29.7% |
| Armenian | 198,707 | ±13,177 | 45.6% |
| Korean | 147,864 | ±9,799 | 59.7% |
| Persian (Farsi, Dari) | 74,454 | ±8,772 | 37.5% |
| Vietnamese | 71,281 | ±7,810 | 62.7% |
| Russian | 58,392 | ±7,860 | 46.1% |
| Arabic | 49,754 | ±6,664 | 39.5% |
| Japanese | 47,680 | ±4,972 | 37.8% |
| French | 34,590 | ±5,392 | 17.2% |
| Hindi | 27,281 | ±4,727 | 21.1% |
| Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian or other Austronesian | 26,704 | ±4,276 | 35.1% |
| Thai, Lao or other Tai-Kadai | 22,033 | ±3,494 | 55.8% |
| Hebrew | 21,983 | ±3,893 | 13.3% |
Los Angeles County has 198,707 Armenian speakers, 89.5% of all Armenian speakers in California, and more Korean, Persian and Russian speakers than most states. The share who speak English less than "very well" is highest among Vietnamese (62.7%), Korean (59.7%) and Chinese (57.3%) speakers.
Counties with the highest share of residents who need language help
Statewide, 17.5% of Californians age 5 and over speak English less than "very well" in the 2020-2024 five-year estimates. The share is highest in Imperial County (34.2%), Monterey County (25.1%), Los Angeles County (23.4%) and Tulare County (22.1%). Los Angeles County alone has 2,174,450 such residents, about a third of the state total.
Planning interpreter coverage
For the share of residents with limited English in every California county, see the California county table. For which of these languages California courts certify interpreters in, see California's designated languages. AMS schedules interpreters across Los Angeles in Armenian, Korean, Farsi and the other languages listed here.
About the data
- Counts are residents age 5 and over who speak each language at home, whatever their English ability.
- The comparison year is 2019 because the Census Bureau did not publish standard 1-year estimates for 2020.
- The Census Bureau groups some languages, for example Ilocano, Samoan and Hawaiian.
SourcesU.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, table B16001, 2024 and 2019, for California and Los Angeles County, and American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table C16001, for the statewide and county shares who speak English less than "very well", retrieved October 24, 2026.