Population Trends: Native Americans

How Native Americans are counted has never been a neutral process, and Census measurement protocols have consistently undercounted a population whose presence on the Central Coast predates every other demographic category in this data center.*

However, across the tri-county region considerably larger numbers of Native Americans identify as multiracial compared to those reporting a single race. There were nearly 39,700 Native American residents reporting either multiracial or single race identity in the Central Coast in 2021. Overall, the tri-county region is home to 4 percent of the state’s multiracial Native American population.*For more on this and related issues of measurement, see https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-the-federal-government-needs-to-change-how-it-collects-data-on-native-americans/.

Insights & Analyses: Native American Population (Alone or in Combination)

• The Central Coast is home to 4 percent of the state’s multiracial Native American population, with nearly 39,700 residents.
• Across the tri-county region, there are a larger number of multiracial Native Americans compared to those only reporting a single race. There are nearly 39,700 multiracial Native American residents in the Central Coast, compared to 4,000 of those reporting Native American as their singular race. 
• In San Luis Obispo, there are nearly 5,800 multiracial Native Americans.
• Santa Barbara County has the second highest number of multiracial Native Americans in the tri-county region with nearly 11,700 multiracial Native Americans compared to about 1,500 of those reporting Native American as their only race.
• Ventura County has the highest number of multiracial Native Americans of all counties in the Central Coast region. There are about 22,300 multiracial Native Americans, compared to 1,600 identifying as Native American only.

Insights & Analyses: Native American Population (Reporting Single Race)

• The number of people who reported being Native American has declined across the Central Coast region between 1980 and 2021 from 7,000 residents to 4,000 residents. It is projected to further decline between 2030 and 2060, going down to around 2,400 residents by 2060. 
• It is important to note here that the population decline is for those who reported being Native American as a single racial identifier in the census and does not include those who reported being Native American and another racial group.