US Asian population is growing at the fastest rate among all racial and ethnic groups

Asian Americans recorded the fastest population growth rate among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States between 2000 and 2019 which may have economic, political and cultural implications for America's future.

The Asian population in the U.S. grew 81% during that span, from roughly 10.5 million to a record 18.9 million, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, the last before 2020 census figures are released. 

When the final tally of the 2020 Census is released later this year, it is estimated that Asians will number between 22 million and 23 million, according to Census demographers. 

Furthermore, the growth rate will continue through for the next several decades. By 2060, the number of U.S. Asians is projected to more than triple to its 2000 population to over 35.8 million, predict the researchers.

A separate Pew study shows that in 2019, India, China, and the Philippines were the top origin countries of immigrants from Asia. India and China, in fact, outpaced immigration from Mexico, followed by the Philippines.

Even with the strict immigration policies of the Trump administration that seemed to slow down the immigration rate from Asia, Asians still exceeded the growth rate of other ethnicities.

Hispanics saw the second-fastest population growth between 2000 and 2019, followed by Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) at 70% and 61%, respectively, according to Pew data. The nation’s Black population also grew during this period, albeit at a slower rate of 20%. The White population showed virtually no change.

The current rash of anti-Asian violence apparently failed to dissuade the growth of the Asian American population through births of current residents and the boost of immigrants.

In a Pew survey conducted in early March 2021 – before the fatal shooting of six Asian women and two other people in the Atlanta area on March 16 – 87% of Asian Americans said there is a lot of or some discrimination against them in society. Even in a survey conducted in a June 2020, 31% of Asians reported they had been the subject of slurs or jokes since the COVID-19 outbreak began, and 26% said they had feared someone might threaten or physically attack them because of their race or ethnicity. (Asian adults in both surveys were interviewed in English only so it could be assumed that the percentage would be greater if surveys were conducted in Asian languages.)

Despite the slowdown, the U.S. Asian population still had one of the highest growth rates of any major racial and ethnic group in most years since 2000. The exception was between 2005 and 2010, when the growth rate among Hispanic Americans slightly outpaced than of Asian Americans (3.4% vs 3.1% per year), reported Pew.

The Pew study also found that the Asian American population has increased in every state and the District of Columbia over the past two decades. California had an Asian population of roughly 5.9 million in 2019, by far the nation’s largest. It was followed by New York (1.7 million), Texas (1.5 million), New Jersey (870,000) and Illinois (732,000). A majority of U.S. Asians (56%) live in these five states.

In terms of growth rates, North Dakota and South Dakota saw the fastest increases in their Asian American populations between 2000 and 2019. The Asian populations in both states more than tripled during that might seem a lot but but still made up  only 1.7% of the total population of each state.

Indiana, Nevada and North Carolina also saw significant growth as their Asian populations increased by 183%, 176% and 175%, respectively.

California, Texas and New York saw the most robust numerical growth in their Asian American populations between 2000 and 2019. Together, these three states accounted for 43% of overall Asian population growth in the U.S. during that period. The number of Asian Americans grew by over 2 million in California, by 883,000 in Texas and by 617,000 in New York. Notably, the Asian population grew more in Texas than in New York during this span, even though the total number of Asians residing in New York outnumber the Asians in Texas.

Political parties should note that the growth of the Asian population in certain states could have implications for the voting trends of the electorate in states such as West Virginia, which voted for Trump in 2020 and put in conservative Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin. In West Virginia, the Asian population, which lean heavily toward the Democrats, increased between 2000 and 2019 even though the state’s overall population declined. The decrease in West Virginia’s overall population can be largely attributed to the exodus of Whites, who still make up a majority of the state’s populace, although it is a smaller majority.

If Asian American voting preferences continue, in two states Democrats may have strengthened their influence. Asian Americans accounted for more than half of statewide population growth from 2000 to 2019. Asians accounted for 83% of total population growth in New Jersey and 57% in Connecticut during this span.

In four other states, increases in the number of Asian Americans between 2000 and 2019 exceeded the state’s overall population growth. That was especially apparent in Michigan, where the Asian population grew by more than four times as much as the state’s overall population (151,000 vs. 34,000). New York, Illinois and Rhode Island had similar patterns, though to a lesser degree.