Guam Population 2026 | LIVE Population By Village

Guam in Numbers: A Military Island Where No Single Group Is the Majority

Guam’s population for 2026 stands at approximately 165,715. Behind that single figure sits one of the more unusual ethnic breakdowns of any U.S. territory: no group, not the Indigenous Chamorro population, not the sizable Filipino community, holds an outright majority.

Guam is a plurality society, and understanding its population means understanding how three forces, Indigenous heritage, generations of Filipino migration, and a permanent U.S. military footprint, have layered on top of each other without any one fully displacing the others.

Guam Population: Ethnic breakdown

• Chamorro (alone or in combination): around 32 to 37 percent, the Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands
• Filipino: around 29 to 33 percent, nearly matching the Chamorro share
• Other Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and others): roughly 32 percent when counted in combination categories
• White: approximately 7 percent, concentrated among active-duty military, federal employees, and business expatriates
• Other Pacific Islander: around 13 percent, reflecting migration from the Freely Associated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau

The core statistics for 2026:

A Population That Shrank, Then Bounced Back

Guam’s 2020 U.S. Census count came in at 153,836, a 3.5 percent decline from the 159,358 recorded in 2010. That decade of decline reflected a real and specific problem: young Guamanians, holding U.S. citizenship by birth, left the island in meaningful numbers for the U.S. mainland, drawn by better wages, lower costs of living, and broader opportunity, a form of internal migration that carries none of the legal friction of international emigration since Guam residents are already U.S. citizens.

Since then, the trend has reversed. Current projections put Guam’s population back above 168,000 to 170,000, a recovery driven by two forces working together: a major expansion of U.S. military infrastructure on the island, including the ongoing relocation of thousands of Marines from Okinawa, Japan, and continued immigration from the Freely Associated States under the Compact of Free Association agreements, which allow citizens of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau to live and work in Guam without a visa.

Why the Military Matters So Much to the Numbers

Guam hosts two major U.S. military installations, Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam, and the ongoing Marine Corps relocation from Okinawa is projected to eventually bring several thousand additional service members and their families to the island over the coming years. This is not a marginal factor in Guam’s demographics; it is one of the primary variables determining whether the island’s population grows or shrinks in any given period, since military personnel rotations, family accompaniment policies, and base construction timelines move the population count by thousands at a time in ways that dwarf normal birth and death rate fluctuations.

The Filipino Story Nobody Outside Guam Talks About Enough

Filipino migration to Guam did not start recently, and it did not happen all at once. It began under Spanish colonial administration, when both Guam and the Philippines were Spanish territories and cross-Pacific movement between them was routine. It accelerated substantially under U.S. Navy administration between 1898 and 1941, surged again during the massive postwar reconstruction effort after World War II devastated the island, and has continued steadily since as Filipino workers have filled critical roles in Guam’s healthcare, education, hospitality, and military support sectors.

The result, over more than a century, is a Filipino community on Guam large enough to sit within a few percentage points of the Indigenous Chamorro population itself, a demographic reality that shapes everything from local cuisine to church congregations to the island’s political conversations about identity and self-determination.

Chamorro Identity in a Minority Position at Home

The Chamorro people, Guam’s Indigenous population, now hold a minority position within their own homeland, a status shared by Indigenous populations in several other Pacific U.S. territories but one that carries particular weight in Guam given the island’s unresolved political status and ongoing debate over self-determination.

Roman Catholicism, introduced under Spanish colonization in the seventeenth century, remains the predominant religion among Chamorros and much of the broader population, a legacy of that same colonial period that also produced Guam’s Filipino ties.

English and Chamorro are both official languages, with Chamorro language revitalization efforts ongoing in schools amid concerns about declining fluency among younger generations who have grown up in an increasingly English-dominant, multi-ethnic environment.

Where People Actually Live

Guam’s population concentrates heavily in villages across the island’s central and northern regions, with Dededo, the most populous village, alone accounting for over a quarter of Guam’s total population. Hagåtña, the capital, is comparatively small in resident population despite its administrative significance, a pattern common in territories where the historic seat of government does not align with where the bulk of residents actually live and work.

The Bottom Line

Guam’s population story resists the simpler narratives that work for many small Pacific nations. This is not a story of high fertility driving growth, nor primarily one of emigration driving decline, though both have played supporting roles at different points. It is fundamentally a story about a strategic military location whose population size and composition shift according to defense policy decisions made in Washington and Tokyo, layered onto a genuinely multi-ethnic society built from Chamorro heritage, over a century of Filipino migration, and the ongoing arrival of Micronesian citizens exercising their Compact of Free Association rights.

Ten Questions People Actually Ask

What is Guam’s population in 2026?

Approximately 165,715 people, with some current projections placing the figure closer to 168,000 to 170,000 as military-driven growth continues.

Why did Guam’s population decline between 2010 and 2020?

Outmigration to the U.S. mainland by young, U.S. citizen Guamanians seeking better wages and opportunities drove a 3.5 percent population decline over that decade.

What is the largest ethnic group in Guam?

No group holds an outright majority; Chamorros and Filipinos each represent roughly a third of the population, with the two groups close in size.

Why are there so many Filipinos in Guam?

Filipino migration dates back to the Spanish colonial period and accelerated under U.S. Navy administration and postwar reconstruction, continuing today through healthcare, education, and military support employment.

How does the U.S. military affect Guam’s population?

Major installations and an ongoing Marine Corps relocation from Okinawa directly add thousands of service members and family members to the island’s population.

What is the Compact of Free Association?

An agreement allowing citizens of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau to live and work in U.S. territories including Guam without a visa, contributing to Guam’s Pacific Islander population.

What religion is most common in Guam?

Roman Catholicism, introduced during Spanish colonization, remains the dominant religion among both Chamorros and the broader population.

What language is spoken in Guam?

English and Chamorro are both official languages, though English dominates in most everyday and institutional settings.

What is Guam’s median age?

Approximately 31.6 to 32.7 years, younger than many Pacific territories and closer to the U.S. national median.

Is Guam’s population growing again?

Yes, current estimates show recovery and growth since the 2020 census low point, driven by military expansion and continued Micronesian immigration.

Sources

• United Nations World Population Prospects 2024
• U.S. Census Bureau
• CIA World Factbook
• Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans
• U.S. Department of Defense