Pew Reports: Data shows the diversity and the growing significance of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

It's no surprise that almost half of Asian Americans live in the West. What's surprising is that about 1 in 4 Asian Americans live in the South.

That's just one of the facts that the Pew Research Center has compiled into a huge package chock-full of facts about Asian Americans. The treasure chest of data and information  was released Thursday, days before the beginning of May, which is celebrated as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

California had an Asian population of roughly 6.7 million in 2019, by far the nation’s largest. It was followed by New York (1.9 million), Texas (1.6 million), New Jersey (958,000) and Washington (852,000). A majority of U.S. Asians (55%) lived in these five states.

Aside from Hawaii, where U.S. Asians accounted for 57% of the population in 2019, Asians made up the largest share of the overall population in California (17%), Washington (11%), New Jersey (11%) and Nevada (11%).

While a plurality of Asian Americans lived in the West in 2019, some 24% lived in the South, 19% in the Northeast and 12% in the Midwest.

The Pew fact sheets provide a wealth of information about Asian Americans as media, schools and governments observe AAPI Heritage Month in May. One of the drivers of hate targeting AAPI is that not much is known about the growing segment of America.

Many polls and surveys in the United States often break down to Blacks, White and Hispanics, often labeling Asian American responses as "statistically insignificant." In other words, not enough AAPI were surveyed to come to any general conclusions about their responses as a community.

Much of Asian American history and individual contributions to the U.S. have been ignored or erased contributing to the view held by many non-Asians that AAPI are forever seen as foreigners, even though many have been in this country for generations.

The 2000 Census counted 11.9 million Asian Americans and then nearly doubled to 23.2 million by 2019 – a 95% increase within two decades making them the fastest growing group in the U.S. 

Although the 2020 Census results haven't released its findings yet, the 2019 numbers show Asians now make up about 7% of the nation’s overall population, and their numbers are projected to surpass 46 million by 2060, nearly four times their current total.

Largely due to an immigration rate that has surpassed Mexico, people of Chinese descent make up the largest group, or 23% of Asian Americans. Indian Americans make up 20%, followed by Filipinos, 18%; Vietnamese, 9%; Korean, 8%; and Japanese, 6%. These six groups make up 85% of the Asian American population.

In fact, according to Pew projections, if there are no major immigration policies that would change those predictions, Asian Americans are projected to be the nation’s largest immigrant group by the middle of the century. Single-race, non-Hispanic Asians are projected to become the largest immigrant group in the country, surpassing Hispanics in 2055. By then, Asians are expected to make up 36% of all U.S. immigrants, while Hispanics will make up 34%.

Of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants, 14% of them are from Asian countries. Four nations in Asia were among the top 15 countries of birth for U.S. unauthorized immigrants: India (525,000), China (375,000), the Philippines (160,000) and Korea (150,000).

Which Asian origin group is largest varies by state. In 22 states that are largely concentrated in the Southeast and Midwest, Indian Americans are the largest Asian origin group. Chinese are the largest group in the District of Columbia and 12 states – predominantly in the West and Northeast – while Filipinos are the largest origin group in nine states. Vietnamese Americans are the largest Asian origin group by population in four states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Nebraska); Hmong Americans are the largest in Minnesota and Wisconsin; and Korean Americans are the largest in Alabama.

The population concentrations of Asian Americans in each state reflect each origin group’s migration patterns over time. Many Indians, for example, have recently migrated to the U.S. on work visas and student visas. 

While immigrants from China are still coming to the U.S. in droves, the Chinese population also has a long history in Western states, arriving in California as early as the 19th century. Hmong Americans, meanwhile, entered the U.S. starting in the late 20th century as refugees with many settling in Central California and Minnesota.

The Pew fact sheets cover a wide range of topics, economic status, English proficiency, educational attainment, home ownership, and more. 

Pew, a nonpartisan research agency, acknowledges the wide diversity of Asian Americans and the disparities among the the groups and within single groups. Pew also allows researchers to delve deeper into each ethnic group to uncover the differences within each ethnicity.

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