Counties with the most born-and-bred residents in California
Counties with the most born-and-bred residents in California
In certain corners of the U.S., the only way you’ll ever be considered a local is if you were born there. Elsewhere, particularly in major metropolitan centers, the constant influx of new businesses, college students, and families can transform neighborhoods every few years and certainly decade over decade.
Americans change their addresses at higher rates than most other countries, but that “move, move, move” mentality may be shifting. In 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that only 11.2% of respondents had moved within the last year. Additionally, 72% of Americans reported living in or close to the city they grew up in. To learn more about where people are staying put, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most born-and-bred residents in California using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest percentage of residents that were born in the state as of 2019.
Keep reading to discover which counties in your state have the most born-and-bred residents.
#30. San Bernardino County
- Born in California: 1,380,871 (64.3% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 296,430 (13.8% of population)
--- Midwest (3.9%), Northeast (2.3%), South (4.3%), West (3.1%)
- Born in another country: 451,036 (21.0% of population)
--- Africa (0.4%), Asia (5.2%), Europe (0.6%), Latin America (14.5%), North America (0.2%), Oceania (0.1%)
#29. Placer County
- Born in California: 248,056 (64.3% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 89,147 (23.1% of population)
--- Midwest (7.2%), Northeast (4.2%), South (4.9%), West (6.6%)
- Born in another country: 43,865 (11.4% of population)
--- Africa (0.3%), Asia (5.4%), Europe (2.3%), Latin America (2.9%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.1%)
#28. Nevada County
- Born in California: 63,932 (64.4% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 29,155 (29.4% of population)
--- Midwest (9.7%), Northeast (6.5%), South (5.4%), West (7.7%)
- Born in another country: 4,764 (4.8% of population)
--- Africa (0.1%), Asia (0.8%), Europe (1.8%), Latin America (1.7%), North America (0.5%), Oceania (0.0%)

#27. San Joaquin County
- Born in California: 480,072 (64.6% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 81,824 (11.0% of population)
--- Midwest (2.9%), Northeast (1.4%), South (3.5%), West (3.0%)
- Born in another country: 173,091 (23.3% of population)
--- Africa (0.3%), Asia (9.7%), Europe (0.8%), Latin America (12.1%), North America (0.1%), Oceania (0.3%)
#26. Kings County
- Born in California: 97,795 (64.9% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 22,668 (15.0% of population)
--- Midwest (3.3%), Northeast (1.8%), South (6.3%), West (3.4%)
- Born in another country: 28,441 (18.9% of population)
--- Africa (0.3%), Asia (2.6%), Europe (0.8%), Latin America (15.0%), North America (0.1%), Oceania (0.1%)
#25. Siskiyou County
- Born in California: 28,427 (65.4% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 12,191 (28.0% of population)
--- Midwest (6.5%), Northeast (2.9%), South (4.7%), West (13.8%)
- Born in another country: 2,353 (5.4% of population)
--- Africa (0.0%), Asia (0.9%), Europe (1.2%), Latin America (2.8%), North America (0.4%), Oceania (0.1%)
#24. Mendocino County
- Born in California: 57,494 (65.9% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 17,955 (20.6% of population)
--- Midwest (6.5%), Northeast (4.2%), South (4.1%), West (5.8%)
- Born in another country: 10,805 (12.4% of population)
--- Africa (0.1%), Asia (1.7%), Europe (0.9%), Latin America (9.4%), North America (0.2%), Oceania (0.1%)
#23. Yuba County
- Born in California: 50,442 (66.1% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 15,240 (20.0% of population)
--- Midwest (4.5%), Northeast (2.7%), South (7.1%), West (5.5%)
- Born in another country: 9,741 (12.8% of population)
--- Africa (0.2%), Asia (3.6%), Europe (0.7%), Latin America (7.8%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.1%)

#22. San Luis Obispo County
- Born in California: 187,280 (66.4% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 62,522 (22.2% of population)
--- Midwest (7.3%), Northeast (4.2%), South (4.8%), West (5.7%)
- Born in another country: 28,533 (10.1% of population)
--- Africa (0.3%), Asia (2.0%), Europe (1.3%), Latin America (5.9%), North America (0.5%), Oceania (0.1%)

#21. Kern County
- Born in California: 592,067 (66.7% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 112,350 (12.7% of population)
--- Midwest (3.3%), Northeast (1.6%), South (4.6%), West (3.0%)
- Born in another country: 176,874 (19.9% of population)
--- Africa (0.2%), Asia (3.6%), Europe (0.4%), Latin America (15.6%), North America (0.1%), Oceania (0.0%)
#20. Del Norte County
- Born in California: 18,340 (66.7% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 6,769 (24.6% of population)
--- Midwest (5.6%), Northeast (3.0%), South (4.7%), West (11.4%)
- Born in another country: 2,077 (7.6% of population)
--- Africa (0.1%), Asia (2.4%), Europe (1.5%), Latin America (3.1%), North America (0.1%), Oceania (0.3%)
#19. Fresno County
- Born in California: 661,257 (67.2% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 106,639 (10.8% of population)
--- Midwest (2.7%), Northeast (1.3%), South (3.9%), West (2.8%)
- Born in another country: 208,939 (21.2% of population)
--- Africa (0.2%), Asia (5.8%), Europe (0.6%), Latin America (14.3%), North America (0.2%), Oceania (0.1%)

#18. Madera County
- Born in California: 104,890 (67.5% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 18,135 (11.7% of population)
--- Midwest (3.1%), Northeast (1.9%), South (3.9%), West (2.7%)
- Born in another country: 31,458 (20.2% of population)
--- Africa (0.0%), Asia (1.7%), Europe (0.5%), Latin America (17.9%), North America (0.1%), Oceania (0.0%)
#17. Stanislaus County
- Born in California: 366,886 (67.5% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 61,338 (11.3% of population)
--- Midwest (3.0%), Northeast (1.4%), South (3.7%), West (3.0%)
- Born in another country: 110,362 (20.3% of population)
--- Africa (0.2%), Asia (5.0%), Europe (1.0%), Latin America (13.3%), North America (0.1%), Oceania (0.6%)
#16. Glenn County
- Born in California: 18,959 (67.8% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 3,656 (13.1% of population)
--- Midwest (3.4%), Northeast (2.1%), South (2.9%), West (4.5%)
- Born in another country: 5,089 (18.2% of population)
--- Africa (0.0%), Asia (1.8%), Europe (0.3%), Latin America (15.8%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.0%)
#15. Trinity County
- Born in California: 8,608 (67.8% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 3,464 (27.3% of population)
--- Midwest (7.5%), Northeast (4.9%), South (6.6%), West (8.2%)
- Born in another country: 591 (4.7% of population)
--- Africa (0.2%), Asia (1.0%), Europe (0.8%), Latin America (2.5%), North America (0.2%), Oceania (0.0%)
#14. Tulare County
- Born in California: 313,604 (67.9% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 44,097 (9.5% of population)
--- Midwest (2.3%), Northeast (0.9%), South (3.7%), West (2.7%)
- Born in another country: 100,909 (21.8% of population)
--- Africa (0.1%), Asia (2.0%), Europe (0.5%), Latin America (19.1%), North America (0.1%), Oceania (0.0%)
#13. Mariposa County
- Born in California: 11,902 (68.3% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 4,345 (24.9% of population)
--- Midwest (7.7%), Northeast (4.1%), South (7.9%), West (5.3%)
- Born in another country: 1,019 (5.8% of population)
--- Africa (0.5%), Asia (1.3%), Europe (1.4%), Latin America (2.6%), North America (0.1%), Oceania (0.0%)
#12. San Benito County
- Born in California: 41,373 (68.5% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 6,149 (10.2% of population)
--- Midwest (2.6%), Northeast (1.6%), South (3.1%), West (2.8%)
- Born in another country: 12,000 (19.9% of population)
--- Africa (0.4%), Asia (2.0%), Europe (1.4%), Latin America (15.9%), North America (0.2%), Oceania (0.0%)
#11. Inyo County
- Born in California: 12,322 (68.5% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 3,897 (21.7% of population)
--- Midwest (7.1%), Northeast (4.1%), South (3.4%), West (7.0%)
- Born in another country: 1,671 (9.3% of population)
--- Africa (0.2%), Asia (1.7%), Europe (0.6%), Latin America (6.5%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.1%)
#10. Lake County
- Born in California: 44,572 (69.4% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 13,733 (21.4% of population)
--- Midwest (6.8%), Northeast (3.7%), South (5.8%), West (5.1%)
- Born in another country: 5,593 (8.7% of population)
--- Africa (0.0%), Asia (1.3%), Europe (0.9%), Latin America (6.1%), North America (0.4%), Oceania (0.1%)

#9. Shasta County
- Born in California: 126,024 (70.3% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 42,123 (23.5% of population)
--- Midwest (6.7%), Northeast (2.8%), South (5.2%), West (8.7%)
- Born in another country: 9,825 (5.5% of population)
--- Africa (0.1%), Asia (2.0%), Europe (1.2%), Latin America (1.8%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.1%)
#8. Humboldt County
- Born in California: 95,852 (70.5% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 31,804 (23.4% of population)
--- Midwest (6.1%), Northeast (4.1%), South (5.2%), West (7.9%)
- Born in another country: 7,206 (5.3% of population)
--- Africa (0.1%), Asia (1.6%), Europe (0.8%), Latin America (2.4%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.1%)
#7. Plumas County
- Born in California: 13,179 (70.6% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 4,564 (24.5% of population)
--- Midwest (7.1%), Northeast (2.5%), South (5.1%), West (9.8%)
- Born in another country: 778 (4.2% of population)
--- Africa (0.0%), Asia (1.2%), Europe (0.8%), Latin America (1.6%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.3%)
#6. Amador County
- Born in California: 27,299 (71.0% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 8,693 (22.6% of population)
--- Midwest (7.2%), Northeast (4.1%), South (5.4%), West (5.9%)
- Born in another country: 2,316 (6.0% of population)
--- Africa (0.0%), Asia (1.3%), Europe (1.3%), Latin America (3.0%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.1%)
#5. Butte County
- Born in California: 161,893 (71.7% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 45,470 (20.1% of population)
--- Midwest (5.6%), Northeast (2.9%), South (4.7%), West (6.7%)
- Born in another country: 16,521 (7.3% of population)
--- Africa (0.1%), Asia (2.5%), Europe (0.8%), Latin America (3.5%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.1%)
#4. Lassen County
- Born in California: 22,353 (72.5% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 6,475 (21.0% of population)
--- Midwest (4.7%), Northeast (2.0%), South (4.2%), West (9.9%)
- Born in another country: 1,727 (5.6% of population)
--- Africa (0.1%), Asia (1.1%), Europe (0.5%), Latin America (3.3%), North America (0.0%), Oceania (0.6%)
#3. Tehama County
- Born in California: 46,919 (73.4% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 11,258 (17.6% of population)
--- Midwest (4.9%), Northeast (2.4%), South (4.3%), West (5.9%)
- Born in another country: 5,364 (8.4% of population)
--- Africa (0.2%), Asia (0.8%), Europe (0.3%), Latin America (6.9%), North America (0.1%), Oceania (0.0%)
#2. Calaveras County
- Born in California: 33,641 (73.9% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 9,396 (20.6% of population)
--- Midwest (6.7%), Northeast (3.3%), South (5.5%), West (5.0%)
- Born in another country: 2,205 (4.8% of population)
--- Africa (0.1%), Asia (1.2%), Europe (1.6%), Latin America (1.6%), North America (0.3%), Oceania (0.1%)
#1. Tuolumne County
- Born in California: 40,160 (74.3% of population)
- Born in another U.S. state or territory: 11,029 (20.4% of population)
--- Midwest (6.1%), Northeast (3.2%), South (5.5%), West (5.5%)
- Born in another country: 2,588 (4.8% of population)
--- Africa (0.2%), Asia (1.1%), Europe (1.3%), Latin America (1.8%), North America (0.4%), Oceania (0.0%)