TLDR
- California has a young, dispersed, and slowly growing Albanian community, roughly 5,000 residents (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024, Table B04006; margin of error plus or minus 835)
- The main centers are the Greater Los Angeles area and San Diego, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area
- The community is often described as professional, drawn by tech, entertainment, business, and education
- Most growth is recent, from families moving west and newer arrivals from Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia
- The community is spread across a huge state rather than concentrated in one enclave
- ALB Connection lists verified Albanian-owned businesses across California
Where Albanians Live in California
Greater Los Angeles
The Greater Los Angeles area is home to the largest concentration of Albanians in California: 1,599 residents of Albanian ancestry in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area in the Census Bureau count (margin of error plus or minus 389), including 971 in Los Angeles County and 628 in Orange County. Drawn by the region’s diverse economy, its entertainment industry, and its business and real estate opportunities, Albanian families and professionals are spread across Los Angeles County and the surrounding suburbs. Southern California’s warm climate and cosmopolitan character have made it a natural landing spot for Albanians moving west.San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, including Silicon Valley, has a smaller Albanian population than Southern California. The Census Bureau counts 534 residents of Albanian ancestry in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area and 330 in the San Jose metro area. San Diego is actually larger, with 1,161 (margin of error plus or minus 455), the largest single-county total in the state, and Sacramento has about 300.A Brief History
California’s Albanian community is one of the newer chapters in the Albanian-American story. Unlike the century-old communities of the Northeast, which grew from early-1900s factory migration, California’s Albanian population is largely a product of recent decades. Some families moved west from the traditional hubs of New York, Michigan, and the Northeast in search of new opportunities, while others arrived more directly from Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia after the fall of communism in 1991 and the Kosovo war of 1999. What distinguishes the California community is its professional and entrepreneurial character. Rather than clustering in a single working-class enclave, Albanians in California are spread across the state, and many work in technology, entertainment, business, and the professions. This reflects both the nature of California’s economy and the aspirations of a younger, highly mobile generation of Albanian-Americans.Community Life
Because California’s Albanian community is spread across an enormous state, it stays connected in modern ways: through family and professional networks, social media, and periodic cultural gatherings rather than a single dense neighborhood. Cultural events, including Independence and Flag Day celebrations each November, bring families together, and volunteer groups such as the Malesia Association of CA in Southern California help organize community life. Faith, food, and business remain important threads. Albanian-owned restaurants, cafes, and businesses, together with volunteer associations, provide the main gathering points and a taste of home. The community’s professional profile also means that networking, mentorship, and business ties, especially in tech and entertainment, play an unusually large role in how California’s Albanians connect and support one another.Community Organizations and Notable Figures
In Northern California, Arberesh of Sacramento represents the Arberesh community, descendants of medieval Albanians who settled in southern Italy, and works to preserve Arberesh language and traditions. California is also home to Albanian cultural entrepreneurs such as Florentina Beck, who after a 20-year acting career in Kosovo moved to Los Angeles and created Përshëndetje Fëmijë, a platform helping Albanian children abroad learn their language and culture. See our full directory of Albanian American organizations.Albanian Population in California
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, Table B04006), roughly 5,000 California residents report Albanian ancestry. Given California’s enormous size, the community is more dispersed than the dense enclaves of the Northeast, but it is growing slowly (from 4,581 in the 2010 to 2014 estimates to 4,983), especially among professionals. As everywhere, the figure undercounts the true community, because the ancestry question excludes many ethnic Albanians who report their origin as Kosovo, North Macedonia, or Montenegro, so the count is a floor. No named community estimate for California could be verified.
Hungry? Find Albanian restaurants near you, searchable by city or ZIP code.
Curious how this compares nationwide? See our guide to the Albanian population in the United States and the 2026 State of Albanian-Owned Business in America report.
Find Albanian-Owned Businesses in California
Albanian entrepreneurs and professionals are active across California, in technology, real estate, hospitality, construction, and professional services. Top business categories include:- Technology & Professional Services
- Real Estate & Services
- Restaurants & Hospitality
- Construction & Trades
Featured Albanian Business Owners in California
California’s Albanian community includes entrepreneurs like Blerina Sanocki, who left a 14-year career at Google to found TideBorn Capital. Read more in our featured business owner series.Own an Albanian Business in California?
If you run an Albanian-owned business in California, list it for free on ALB Connection. Make it easier for the community to find and support you. Add your listing today.California Albanian Ancestry by Metro Area, County and City
The table below gives the U.S. Census Bureau figures for people who report Albanian ancestry, from the ACS 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024 (Table B04006). Each number is a survey estimate with a margin of error at the 90 percent confidence level. In a state of about 39 million people, a group of about 5,000 produces wide margins, so city figures are rough indications only.
| Place | Residents reporting Albanian ancestry | Margin of error |
|---|---|---|
| California | 4,983 | ±835 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area | 1,599 | ±389 |
| San Diego metro area (San Diego County) | 1,161 | ±455 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area | 534 | ±219 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area | 415 | ±252 |
| San Jose metro area (Santa Clara County) | 330 | ±142 |
| Sacramento metro area | 304 | ±198 |
| Los Angeles County | 971 | ±288 |
| Orange County | 628 | ±272 |
| Ventura County | 229 | ±174 |
| Contra Costa County | 211 | ±141 |
| San Diego city | 571 | ±255 |
| Los Angeles city | 475 | ±192 |
The pattern over time differs from one metro area to the next. San Diego’s estimate has risen in each of the last three non-overlapping periods, from 606 in 2010 to 2014 to 780 in 2015 to 2019 and 1,161 in 2020 to 2024, although the margins of error overlap. The Los Angeles metro area moved from 1,774 to 1,476 to 1,599 over the same periods, which is no clear change. Statewide, the estimate was 3,854 in 2006 to 2010 and is 4,983 now.
No city in California comes close to the shares seen in the Northeast. Even in San Diego County, people reporting Albanian ancestry are about 0.04 percent of residents. That is why you will not find one Albanian district in California, and why associations and events matter more here than any single street.
Kosovar Refugees in Southern California in 1999
California took part in the 1999 resettlement of Kosovar Albanians. In April 1999 the United States offered to admit up to 20,000 refugees from the camps in Macedonia, aimed at people with close family in the United States or in vulnerable circumstances, and the State Department later expected about 13,000 admissions, according to a Congressional Research Service report dated September 1, 1999. Many arrived through Fort Dix, New Jersey, and were then placed with relatives or host families around the country.
On May 30, 1999 the Los Angeles Times reported that five Kosovo refugee families were by then living in the San Fernando Valley. Staff writer T. Christian Miller followed one of them, the family of a taxi driver from the border town that Albanians call Hani i Elezit, who were staying with a host family in Calabasas a little more than a week after landing. The paper noted that the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles was the principal agency helping to resettle the family, who are Muslims, and described the youngest daughter, aged seven, being welcomed with gifts by a third-grade class.
Albanian and Arbëreshë Associations in California
With no single neighborhood to anchor it, organized Albanian life in California runs through a few volunteer associations.
- Malesia Association of CA. On its website the group says it was launched in 2019, when members of the Southern California community decided they could do more by working together. It describes itself as a nonprofit run entirely by volunteers, with no paid salaries, that welcomes Albanians in Southern California with roots in all the areas surrounding Albania, and it raises money for scholarships.
- Arberesh of Sacramento. The club’s website describes it as “a celebration of our Sicilian-Albanian heritage” and gives 1990 as its year of incorporation. It holds an Arbëreshë picnic and offers a scholarship program for students of Sicilian-Albanian heritage in the Sacramento area. The Arbëreshë are descendants of Albanians who settled in southern Italy and Sicily centuries ago.
- Active Albanians. This group lists board members based in Los Angeles and Houston, among other cities. Its stated goal is to “strengthen our community, advance, and ultimately give back,” and its website offers scholarships, memberships and volunteering.
You can find more groups in our directory of Albanian American organizations, and community gatherings are posted on our Albanian events calendar when organizers send them in.
For passports and documents, the Embassy of Albania in Washington, D.C. lists one consulate in the United States, the Consulate General in New York. Check with the embassy before you travel for a consular appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Albanians live in California?
About 5,000 California residents report Albanian ancestry (U.S. Census, ACS 2020-2024, Table B04006). The largest concentrations are Greater Los Angeles (1,599) and San Diego (1,161). Ancestry is self-reported and many Albanians from Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro are recorded under other ancestries, so the count is a floor.
Where do most Albanians in California live?
The Greater Los Angeles area has the largest concentration (1,599 in the metro area), followed by San Diego (1,161) and the San Francisco Bay Area (about 860 across the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas), with smaller populations in Riverside-San Bernardino, Sacramento, and other metros.
What kind of work do Albanians in California do?
The community is often described as professional and entrepreneurial, with many people working in technology, entertainment, real estate, business, and the professions, reflecting California’s economy. The Census does not publish a detailed occupation breakdown for Albanian Americans in California.
Are there Albanian businesses in California?
Yes. ALB Connection maintains a directory of Albanian-owned businesses across California. Visit our California business directory to search by city or category.
Is the Albanian community bigger in San Diego or in the Bay Area?
San Diego. The Census Bureau’s ACS 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024, show 1,161 San Diego County residents reporting Albanian ancestry (margin of error 455), compared with 534 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area and 330 in the San Jose metro area. San Diego’s estimate has also risen in each of the last three survey periods.
Were Kosovar refugees resettled in California?
Yes. The Los Angeles Times reported on May 30, 1999 that five Kosovo refugee families were living in the San Fernando Valley, some with host families. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles was the principal agency helping the family the paper profiled. Nationally, the State Department expected about 13,000 Kosovar admissions that year.
Who are the Arbëreshë of Sacramento?
The Arbëreshë are descendants of Albanians who settled in southern Italy and Sicily centuries ago. Arberesh of Sacramento, a club that gives 1990 as its year of incorporation, celebrates that Sicilian-Albanian heritage with a community picnic and a scholarship program for local students, according to its website.
Sources and Further Reading
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, Table B04006 (People Reporting Ancestry)
- Harvard Kennedy School Growth Lab: Statistical Profiling of the Albanian-Americans
- U.S. Census Bureau: ACS 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024, Table B04006, People Reporting Ancestry
- Los Angeles Times: Kosovo Families Adjusting to Life in the Valley (May 30, 1999)
- Congressional Research Service: Kosovo, Refugee Assistance and Temporary Resettlement (September 1, 1999)
- Malesia Association of CA: official website
- Arberesh of Sacramento: official website
- Active Albanians: About
- Embassy of the Republic of Albania in the United States
Related community guides
- Albanians in Texas
- Albanians in Florida
- Albanians in New York
- Albanians in Michigan
- Albanians in Illinois
Author: Dardanë Halimi
Dardanë Halimi is a writer and communications professional with an M.A. in Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication from James Madison University. Her work focuses on storytelling, digital content, higher education, and strategic communication, with experience writing for academic, nonprofit, and marketing organizations in both the United States and Kosovo.
