Census: Asian American population growing fastest among U.S. ethnic groups

BLASTING NEWS

Asian/Americans are the majority in Hawaii.

Asian Americans continue to be the country’s fastest growing racial group, now numbering 21.4 million nationwide, according to population estimates released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The data also shows that Hawaii is the only state where AAPI are in the majority. California has the distinction of being the country's most diverse state.

In the six years following the 2010 Census, the country’s Asian/American population grew 21%; in contrast, the nation’s total population grew less than 5% over the same period. The country added 3.7 million Asian/Americans between 2010 and 2016 and 629,813 between 2015 and 2016 alone.

Immigration is the primary reason for the rapid increase. The majority of new immigrants to the U.S. come from Asian countries, led by China, India and the Philippines.

Sam Garrow, a Census Department demographer, said Asians have been the fastest-growing race group since about 2000, and the main driving force is international migration. In 2013, China replaced Mexico as the top sending country for immigrants to the United States, officials said.

Approximately 65% of the Asian/American population growth nationwide between 2010 and 2016 was attributable to immigration; in contrast, 23% of Latino population growth over the same period was due to immigration. According to the U.S. State Department, over 87% of immigrant visas issued in 2016 to those from Asia were issued to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or under family-based preferences.

According to the new data, Asian/American populations are growing both in traditional hubs like California, Texas, and New York and in states with emerging communities, like North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa. 

RELATED: Asian Americans surpass Latinos as fastest growing group

Between 2010 and 2016, California (+904,589), Texas (+401,081), New York (+298,308), Washington (+163,864), and Florida (+147,819) saw the greatest numeric increases in Asian American population. Over the same period, Asian American populations grew fastest in North Dakota (+63.10%), South Dakota (+58.02%), Iowa (+42.82%), Nebraska (+39.83%), and Indiana (+39.00%).

“We already knew our communities were growing outside California, New York, and Hawai’i”, said Daniel Ichinose, Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles’ Demographic Research Project and head of its Census Information Center (CIC). “While the 2000s brought Asian/American population growth to places like Nevada, Arizona, and North Carolina, the 2010s are bringing new growth to the heartland of America.”

California has the largest number of most racial and ethnic groups, with more Hispanics, whites, Asians and American Indians than any other state. New York state has more blacks than any other state, and Hawaii has the largest numeric population of Native Hawaiians than any other state.

Other highlights of the report, "Detailed Population Estimates by Age, Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin," can are: be found here.

• The Asian population grew by 3.0 percent to 21.4 million.
• The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population grew by 2.1 percent to 1.5 million.
• California had the largest Asian population of any state (6.6 million), and the largest numeric increase (152,400). Hawaii had the highest percentage for this group (57.0 percent).
• Among counties, Los Angeles County, Calif., had the largest Asian population of any county (1.7 million), as well as the largest numeric increase (22,400). Honolulu County, Hawaii, had the highest percentage in the nation for this group (61.3 percent).
• Hawaii had the largest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population of any state in 2016 (381,000). Since 2015, this group increased the most in California (4,900). Hawaii had the highest percentage of its population in this group in 2016 (26.7 percent).
• Among counties, Honolulu County, Hawaii, had the largest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population (245,600) in 2016, and Clark County, Nev., had the largest increase during the last year (1,500).
• Among states, more people who identified as being of two or more races lived in California (1.5 million) than in any other state, with an increase of 32,900 from 2015. Hawaii had the highest percentage for this group (23.7 percent).
• Among counties, Los Angeles County, Calif., had the largest population of two or more races in 2016 (305,000). Maricopa County, Ariz., had the highest numeric increase since 2015 (5,300). Hawaii County, Hawaii, had the highest share for this group (30.1 percent).