El Cerrito, California demographics

El Cerrito, CA demographics: median age 41.8; 67.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · El Cerrito city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0621796. The survey estimates a population of 25,994 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in El Cerrito is 41.8 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.3 years. There are 10,831 households (±293). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	41.8 ±1.3	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,994
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	4,391 ±393	16.9% ±1.5 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	5,507 ±530	21.2% ±2.0 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	10,733 ±605	41.3% ±2.3 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	5,363 ±391	20.6% ±1.5 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,994
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	12,759 ±358	49.1% ±1.4 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	13,235 ±354	50.9% ±1.4 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,994
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	11,867 ±682	45.7% ±2.6 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	1,424 ±417	5.5% ±1.6 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	281 ±189 · low precision	1.1% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	7,413 ±675	28.5% ±2.6 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	45 ±65 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,131 ±297	4.4% ±1.1 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	3,833 ±538	14.7% ±2.1 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,994
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	22,140 ±609	85.2% ±2.3 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	3,854 ±607	14.8% ±2.3 pp	40.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,831
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	5,173 ±320	47.8% ±2.7 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	464 ±146	4.3% ±1.3 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,150 ±230	10.6% ±2.1 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,891 ±340	26.7% ±3.1 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,153 ±196	10.6% ±1.8 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,831
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,816 ±169	26.0% ±1.4 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	8,015 ±387	74.0% ±3.0 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,831
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,891 ±340	26.7% ±3.1 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,938 ±383	36.4% ±3.4 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,966 ±220	18.2% ±2.0 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,417 ±181	13.1% ±1.6 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	521 ±129	4.8% ±1.2 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	63 ±44 · low precision	0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	35 ±36 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.6%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,994
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	17,826 ±614	68.6% ±2.4 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	8,168 ±611	31.4% ±2.4 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 24,695
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	15,643 ±702	63.3% ±2.8 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	1,921 ±430	7.8% ±1.7 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	299 ±158 · low precision	1.2% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	254 ±127	1.0% ±0.5 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	460 ±202	1.9% ±0.8 pp	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,471 ±401	6.0% ±1.6 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	198 ±108 · low precision	0.8% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	2,055 ±313	8.3% ±1.3 pp	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	30 ±24 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	444 ±204	1.8% ±0.8 pp	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,278 ±337	5.2% ±1.4 pp	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	73 ±51 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	569 ±268	2.3% ±1.1 pp	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 19,863
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	726 ±180	3.7% ±0.9 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	2,237 ±301	11.3% ±1.5 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,535 ±323	12.8% ±1.6 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	945 ±186	4.8% ±0.9 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	7,026 ±468	35.4% ±2.2 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	6,394 ±487	32.2% ±2.3 pp	14.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 25,751
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	21,842 ±671	84.8% ±2.6 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,489 ±474	5.8% ±1.8 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,588 ±351	6.2% ±1.4 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	531 ±269 · low precision	2.1% ±1.0 pp · low precision	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	301 ±143	1.2% ±0.6 pp	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

3.5% of El Cerrito residents (±1.0 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 96.1% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	El Cerrito	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	3.5% ±1.0 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	96.1% ±0.1 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	2.4% ±0.6 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for El Cerrito . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read El Cerrito housing and cost context or return to the city profile.