The Nepali Community in California: Where to Live, Work and Shop
California hosts a large and widely spread Nepali population, including a significant resettled Bhutanese-Nepali community around Sacramento.
Whether you have just landed, are moving from another state, or have been here for years and want to find more of the community, here is the practical picture.
Where Nepalis live in California
Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Fresno
These are where you will find Nepali grocery stores, restaurants, temples and the community organisations that run the Dashain and Teej programs. If you have a choice about where to settle, being near one of these makes everything else — finding a room, finding work, finding people — dramatically easier.
Nepali businesses in California, by city
Hamro App lists 205 Nepali-owned businesses across 88 cities in California. Where those businesses cluster is the most reliable signal of where the community is settled — restaurants, grocery stores and temples do not open where there is nobody to serve.
| City | Nepali businesses listed |
|---|---|
| San Francisco | 22 |
| Los Angeles | 13 |
| San Jose | 12 |
| Sunnyvale | 12 |
| Fremont | 11 |
| Berkeley | 10 |
| Sacramento | 9 |
| San Diego | 5 |
These are businesses listed in Hamro App as of August 2026, not a population count. The directory grows as people add places, so treat the ranking as a guide to where the community is dense rather than an exact census.
By type, California listings are mostly restaurant & food (140), community & religious (30), grocery & markets (21), professional services (14).
Work
Tech, healthcare, hospitality, retail, agriculture in the Central Valley.
Housing and cost
The highest housing costs of any state on this list; wages are correspondingly higher.
Rooms in the Nepali community are usually found through community listings rather than the big rental sites, and rarely require credit history — the main practical reason people look inside the community first.
Hamro App filters rooms, jobs, businesses and community posts by state — so you see California, not the whole country. Free.
Open Hamro App for California →Finding the community
- The grocery store noticeboard — still the best source of rooms and jobs in any Nepali neighbourhood
- State Nepali association — most run Dashain, Tihar and Teej programs, and they are the easiest way in if you are new
- Temples and community organisations — a reliable weekly gathering point
- Community apps — where day-to-day rooms, jobs and questions circulate now
Frequently asked questions
Where do most Nepalis live in California?
The main Nepali areas in California are Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Fresno. By Nepali businesses listed in Hamro App, the densest cities are San Francisco (22), Los Angeles (13), San Jose (12), Sunnyvale (12) — restaurants, grocery stores and temples cluster where the community is settled.
How many Nepali businesses are there in California?
Hamro App lists 205 Nepali-owned businesses across 88 cities in California, mostly restaurant & food, community & religious, grocery & markets. That is what is listed rather than a full count, and it grows as people add places.
What work is available for Nepalis in California?
Tech, healthcare, hospitality, retail, agriculture in the Central Valley.
How do I meet other Nepalis in California?
Start with the state Nepali association — most run Dashain, Tihar and Teej programs that are open to everyone. Nepali grocery stores and temples are the other reliable gathering points, and community apps carry the day-to-day rooms, jobs and questions.
Rooms and jobs near you, Nepali stores and restaurants, live NPR rates, the Bikram Sambat calendar, festivals, and the Nepali community in your state. No subscription.
Download Hamro App →Related: Finding a Job in America · The Nepali Community in Texas · The Nepali Community in New York