Census: AANHPI community is fastest growing group in the US but there's danger ahead

AANHPI fought for disagregated data leading up to the 2020 Census.

America's reputation as the land of opportunity and promise is taking a hit among would-be immigrants thus achieving Donald Trump's goal of the making America white again.

In addition, In a series of executive orders and policy shifts, the Trump regime has moved to fundamentally reshape how the U.S. Census Bureau counts the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community—a move advocates warn could leave the "fastest-growing" group in America both underrepresented and underfunded.

Population growth in the United States has slowed significantly with an increase of only 1.8 million, or 0.5%, between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, according to the new Vintage 2025 population estimates released Jan. 27 by the US Census Bureau.

This was the nation’s slowest population growth since the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the population grew by a historically low 0.2% in 2021. The slowdown also comes after a sizeable uptick of growth in 2024, when the country added 3.2 million people and grew by 1.0%, the fastest annual population growth rate since 2006.

“The slowdown in US population growth is largely due to a historic decline in net international migration, which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million in the period from July 2024 through June 2025,” said Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections at the Census Bureau. “With births and deaths remaining relatively stable compared to the prior year, the sharp decline in net international migration is the main reason for the slower growth rate we see today.”

Currently, the estimates of NIM are trending toward negative net migration. If those trends continue, it would be the first time the United States has seen net negative migration in more than 50 years.

Despite the slowdown in immigration growth, AANHPI is still the fastest growing demographic in the US according to Census estimates.

if you’ve been following this blog, you know the "model minority" myth usually hides the real struggle. While the Bureau hasn't released a 2026-specific "America Counts" report yet, the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates just went live on January 29, 2026, and they tell a story of a community that's growing fast but still fighting for visibility.

About us:

Here’s the breakdown on what the numbers say about us:

Strength in Numbers: The AANHPI community has topped 26.8 million—with 25.2 million identifying as Asian (alone or in combo) and 1.6 million as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

The Big Three: Chinese (5.5M), Asian Indian (5.2M), and Filipino (4.6M) remain the largest groups followed by Vietnamese (2.3M) and Korean (2.0M).

NHPI Community: Native Hawaiians are the largest detailed group (approx. 693,679), followed by Samoan (268,539) and Chamorro (159,845).

Citizenship & Veterans: Roughly 73.2% of the Asian population and 85.9% of the NHPI population are US citizens. Military service remains prominent in the NHPI community, with 6.6% of adults identifying as veterans.

The Education Gap: On the surface, 56.6% of Asians have a bachelor’s degree, but look closer—the NHPI community sits at 25.6%. This is why we keep screaming for data disaggregation; you can't fix what you don't count.

Hustle and Business: There are now over 650,000 Asian-owned firms with employees, proving we aren't just part of the workforce—we’re the ones creating the jobs.

Regional Concentration: Nearly half of the NHPI population continues to reside in Hawaii and California. For the Asian population, more than half live in just four states:
California, New York, Texas, and Washington.

View From the Edge: Danger ahead

The Trump regime's suspicion of the immigrant community could undermine Census' collection for disaggregated data, something the ANNHPI community has been asking for for decades.

Here is what will happen if the Census Bureau sticks to Trump's edicts:

Undocumented neighbors disappear: By directing the Department of Commerce to exclude undocumented residents from the count used for congressional apportionment, the administration is effectively erasing a portion of our community. Since many AANHPI families live in mixed-status households, this move creates a "chilling effect" that keeps even legal residents from opening their doors to census workers.

Cutting the advocacy cord: On day one, the administration revoked Executive Order 14031, which officially shuttered the White House Initiative on AANHPI. Without this body and its advisory commission, the community loses its primary seat at the table for ensuring the census provides linguistic access and accurate data disaggregation.

Expert voices muted: The official disbanding of the Census Bureau National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations in June 2025 means there are fewer experts in the room to explain why a Hmong farmer in Minnesota or a Tongan family in Utah might be missed by generic counting methods.

Trump's "New Census": The Trump regime has proposed a new data collection model that may rely on administrative records and election info rather than traditional door-knocking. For communities with high numbers of non-citizens or limited-English speakers, this shift risks a massive undercount that could drain resources from local hospitals, schools, and infrastructure for a decade to come.

With billions of dollars and political power at stake, these changes aren't just administrative—they’re personal. An undercount doesn't just mean a smaller number; it means our concerns go unheard and our resources are misallocated.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

US Census: Asian American population growth tops the nation last year; more Native Hawaiians on the Mainland than in Hawaii.

Asian American population growth is outpacing the rest of the country.

The Asian population of the United States continues to grow at a faster rate than other ethnic groups, based on data released by the US Census Bureau June 22.

Immigration drove Asian growth last year, accounting for two-thirds of the 577,000-person increase in people who identify as Asian, including those who identify with more than one race. That 2.4% bump was the largest of any race or ethnic group, and there were 24.6 million Asians in the U.S. last year.

King County, Washington — home to Seattle — added almost 21,500 Asian residents, the most of any US county last year.

However, Asian Americans and immigrants from Asia continue to flock to California, which already is home to the largest number of Asians.

RELATED: US Census releases updated stats on AANHPI population

“Immigrant and refugee communities bring talent, culture and a set of skills that are needed in our community,” said Arrey Obenson, president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis, which helps newcomers adapt to life in the U.S.

There were more than 1.7 million Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in the US last year, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year. Clark County, Nevada, home to Las Vegas, had the biggest increase, with almost 1,500 new residents.

There were more Native Hawaiians living on the Mainland than in the island state. In 2021, there were about 309,800 Native Hawaiians in Hawaii and about 370,000 in other states. The new 2022 data will add on to those totals.

The exodus from Hawaii is due to the high cost of living there. Most Native Hawaiians can't afford to live in their own state. A $300,000 house in Las Vegas, a popular destination for Native Hawaiians, would cost $1.2 million in Hawaii.

Population estimates released by the US Census show what drove changes in different race, ethnic and age groups last year, as well as since the start of COVID-19’s spread in the US. in April 2020. The country had grown to 333.2 million people by the middle of last year, a 0.4% increase over the previous year, according to the 2022 population estimates.

Highlights of the Asian American Census:

• The Asian population in the United States was 24,683,008 in 2022, up 577,420 or 2.4% from 2021.

• In 2022, California had the largest Asian population (7,242,739), followed by New York (2,085,285) and Texas (1,958,128). California also had the largest-gaining Asian population with an increase of 108,881, while Montana — with an increase of 6.8% (1,276) — had the fastest-growing Asian population.

• California was home to four of the top five counties with the largest Asian populations in 2022. Los Angeles County topped the list with an Asian population of 1,711,002, followed by Santa Clara County (830,790) and Orange County (816,274). Alameda County, California, had the fifth largest Asian population at just over 616,000, and Queens County, New York, ranked fourth with an Asian population of 671,358.

• King County, Washington, had the largest-gaining Asian population, adding 21,498 people.

• Williamson County, Texas, had the fastest growth among counties with an Asian population above 10,000, expanding by 15.9% or 10,742 people.

Highlights of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations:

• The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population rose to 1,759,756, an increase of 1.8% or 31,949 people in 2022.

• Hawaii had the largest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population (393,837), followed by California (373,173) and Washington (109,115).

• South Dakota had the fastest-growing Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population, which increased by 11.4% from 2021 to 2022, while Texas had the largest- gaining, up by 3,871.

• Honolulu County, Hawaii, had the largest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population (254,769), followed by Hawaii County, Hawaii (72,467), and Los Angeles County, California (67,010).

• Clark County, Nevada, had the largest numeric population growth (1,499) among this population group between 2021 and 2022.

• Among counties with Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations above 10,000, Utah County, Utah, with an increase of 5.6% or 723 people, was the fastest growing in 2022.

The 2.4% growth rate of the Asian American population was greater than other groups. Two-thirds of that growth was due to immigration.

The Hispanic population gained over a million residents, reaching 63,664,346 in 2022, an increase of 1.7%

Comprising 15% of the nation’s total population in 2022, the national Black population totaled 50,087,750, up 0.9% from July 2021.
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The White population in the United States was 260,570,291 in 2022, representing an increase of 0.1% or 388,779 people from 2021.

Ironically, to the chagrin of White Supremacists and replacement-theory believers, the White increase is wholly due to immigration. Take away the immigrants, the White-alone population showed a decrease by more than 85,000 people instead of growing meagerly by more than 388,000 residents, or 0.1%.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

AANHPI Heritage Month: Asian Americans now the largest ethnic group in the SF Bay Area

WIKI COMMONS

San Francisco's Chinese New Year Parade is one of the most popular celebrations in the Bay Area.

Since the California Gold Rush of 1849, the San Francisco Bay Area has always been a favorite destination of immigrants from Asia, so much so that Asian Americans are now the majority in the region.

Of the 7.5 million Bay Area residents, Asian Americans make up 33.1% of the population, narrowly edging out Whites, who are 32.9% of the residents.

This is a dramatic change compared to the 2010 Census, when Whites made up 40.3% in the Bay Area and 25.5% were of Asian descent.

Maps created by the SF Chronicle show clusters of AANHPI communities throughout the Bay Area with large concentrations in San Francisco, Daly City, Fremont, Oakland, San Jose and Vallejo.

Overall, the Asian American population in the Bay Area’s nine counties grew by about 30% since 2010. Though the growth in the past decade was highest in Contra Costa County at 44%, data showed Santa Clara County had the largest numerical share of Asian Americans in the Bay Area in 2020 with about a 200,000 growth.

Much of the growth in the Asian American community is due to immigration, say demographers, demonstrating that the Bay Area is still a favorite entry point for immigrants from all over Asia.

 (Image via Bay Area Equity Atlas)

Fremont is among the largest Asian-majority cities in the continental US, Fremont, he said, is among the largest Asian-majority cities in the continental US, James Lai, ethnic studies professor at Santa Clara University, told the SF Chronicle.

Dublin, according to the 2020 Census data, is the Bay Area's fastest growing city, and most of that increase was driven by the growth of Asian American population. These places provide a “sense of community” that pulls people there, Lai said.

“What we’re seeing is direct migration of Asian immigrants not just to big cities but to suburbs,” Lai told the Chronicle. “You want your family to have access to your community, network, a way for you to find your livelihood, your children to find schools, churches and restaurants.”

ASIAN ART MUSEUM

The Asian Art Museum observes Filipino American History Month in October.

The demographic changes in the Bay Area is reflective of what's happening in California where AANHPI make up about 16.5% of the population, an increase of 25% from 2010—the largest percent increase of any major racial or ethnic group in the state.

California is home to one-third of the nation's AANHPI population of 24 million, based on the latest data from the US Census.

It is important to stress that California’s AANHPI residents are not a monolith. Though they may share a common origin from a very broad region of the world, they can be as different from each other as much as the state’s non-AANHPI residents. Diversity, however, doesn't dilute their growing influence whose story will play a key role in shaping the Bay Area's and California's future.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.