In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian
Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to
coincide with two important anniversaries: the arrival in the United States
of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and the completion of the
transcontinental railroad (May 10, 1869). In 1992, Congress expanded the
10-day observance to a monthlong celebration. 13.1 million
The estimated number of U.S. residents who say they are Asian or Asian in
combination with one or more other races. This group comprises 5 percent
of the total population. Since Census 2000, the number of people who are
part of this group has increased 9 percent, the highest growth rate of any
race group. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/hispanic_origin_population/001130.html>
943,000
The estimated number of U.S. residents who say they are native Hawaiian
and other Pacific islander or native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander
in combination with one or more other races. This group comprises 0.3
percent of the total population. Since Census 2000, the number of people
who are part of this group has increased 4 percent.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/hispanic_origin_population/001130.html>
33.4 million
The projected number of U.S. residents who will identify themselves as
Asian alone in 2050. They would comprise 8 percent of the total population
by that year.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html>
213%
The projected percentage increase between 2000 and 2050 in the population
of people whose only race is Asian. This compares with a 49 percent increase
in the population as a whole over the same period. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html>
Income and Poverty
$52,018
The 2002 median income of households whose householders reported their
race as either Asian or native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander (and
who may or may not have reported any other race). This income level represented
a 4.5 percent decline in real dollars from 2001, but is still much higher
than the 2002 median of $42,409 for all households.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/001371.html>
10.2%
The poverty rate in 2002 for those who reported their race as either Asian
or native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander (and may or may not have
reported any other race). This rate is not statistically different from
the rate for Asians and Pacific islanders in 2001.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/001371.html>
Education
47%
The percentage of Asians and Pacific islanders age 25 and over with a
bachelor’s degree or higher. Asians and Pacific islanders have the
highest proportion of college graduates of any race or ethnic group in
the country. The corresponding rate for all adults in this age group is
27 percent.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/000818.html>
87%
The percentage of Asians and Pacific islanders 25 and over who are high
school graduates. The corresponding rate for all adults in this age group
is 84 percent.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/000818.html>
16%
The percentage of Asians and Pacific islanders 25 and over with an advanced
degree (e.g., master’s, Ph.D., M.D. or J.D.). This amounts to 1.3
million Asians and Pacific islanders. The corresponding rate for all adults
in this age group is 9 percent.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/000818.html>
Languages
2.0 million
The number of people who speak Chinese at home. Next to Spanish, Chinese
is the most widely spoken non-English language in the country. French
and German rank third and fourth, but Tagalog (1.2 million) ranks fifth,
Vietnamese (1.0 million) sixth and Korean (894,000) eighth. The number
of Vietnamese speakers and the number of Italian speakers (in seventh
place) are not statistically different.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/census_2000/001406.html>
Coming to America
8.3 million
The number of foreign-born residents in the United States who were born
in Asia. Asian-born residents comprise one-fourth of the nation’s
total foreign-born population.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/foreignborn_population/000815.html>
48%
The percentage of the foreign-born population from Asia who are naturalized
U.S. citizens. The corresponding rate for the foreign-born population
as a whole is 37 percent.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/foreignborn_population/000815.html>
1.5 million
The number of foreign-born people from China. Next to Mexico, China is
the leading country of birth for the nation’s foreign-born. Also
among the top 10 countries of birth for the foreign-born population are
the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Korea.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/census_2000/001623.html>
Serving Our Nation
351,000
The number of Asian American military veterans. There are 57,000 veterans
who are of native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander heritage.
<http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=DEC&_lang=en&_ts=>
Jobs
About 75 percent of Asian and Pacific islander men age 16 and over and
59 percent of women are in the civilian labor force. Among these, 41 percent
of men and 37 percent of women are in managerial and professional occupations.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/race/001127.html>
105,300
The number of physicians and surgeons who report Asian as their only race
and who are not Hispanic. People of this race comprise 15 percent of all
U.S. physicians and surgeons, compared with 4 percent of the total population.
Asians are represented in a wide variety of occupations. For instance,
there are about 89,000 non-Hispanic Asian postsecondary teachers; 43,000
chief executives; 20,000 lawyers; 3,000 news analysts, reporters and correspondents;
and 200 legislators.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/census_2000/001633.html>
Population Distribution
Nation
A total of 2.7 million Asian American residents are Chinese (excluding
Taiwanese) or Chinese (excluding Taiwanese) in combination with one or
more other races or Asian groups, making Chinese the leading Asian group.
Filipino (2.4 million) and Asian Indian (1.9 million) follow. The largest
Pacific islander groups are native Hawaiian (401,000) and Samoan (133,000).
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02cn59.html>
and
<http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-14.pdf>
95%
The percentage of Asian and Pacific islanders who live in metropolitan
areas. Fifty-one percent of Asians and Pacific islanders live in the Western
part of the United States.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/race/001127.html>
States
4.5 million
The number of California residents who are Asian, making the Golden State
home to the largest number of Asian Americans of any state. Hawaii has
the largest number of native Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders at
271,000. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001342.html>
58%
The percentage of Hawaii’s population that is Asian, tops in the
nation. For native Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders, Hawaii is also
the leader, with 22 percent of the state’s population belonging
to this race group. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001342.html>
Counties
1.3 million
The number of people in Los Angeles County, Calif., who are Asian. Los
Angeles leads all the nation’s counties in number of Asians. Honolulu
County, Hawaii, had the largest native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander
population with 179,000.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001341.html>
62%
The percentage of Honolulu County, Hawaii, residents who are Asian American.
Honolulu is the only county in the nation where Asians comprise a majority
of the total population. Meanwhile, Hawaii County, Hawaii, with 30 percent
of its population being native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander, leads
in that race category. (Rankings limited to counties with minimum populations
of 100,000.)
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001341.html>
Age Distribution
26%
The percentage of Asians and Pacific islanders who are under 18. At the
other end of the age spectrum, 7 percent are 65 or older. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/race/001127.html>
Children and Families
73%
The percentage of Asian and Pacific islander households made up of families.
Among these, nearly 2-in-10 have five or more members. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/race/001127.html>
Housing
70%
The percentage of Asians and Pacific islanders who are naturalized-citizen
householders and who own their homes. For Asians and Pacific islanders
born in the United States, the homeownership rate is 57 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/foreignborn_population/001399.html>
Note: Whenever possible, data are provided separately for Asians and
for native Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders. For example, Census
2000 tabulations provide information on these groups separately, while
survey tabulations generally do not. |