This article is about the U.S. population of Americans of Asian ancestry. For populations of Asians across the Americas, see Asians in the Americas. For the documentary series, see Asian Americans (film series).
Asian Americans
Distribution of Asian Americans by county
Total population
24,009,902 (alone and in combination) 7.2% of the population (2020)[1] Chinese Americans: 5,143,982 Indian Americans: 4,506,308 Filipino Americans: 4,089,570 Vietnamese Americans: 2,162,610 Korean Americans: 1,894,131 Japanese Americans: 1,542,195 Pakistani Americans: 526,956 Thai Americans: 329,343 Hmong Americans: 320,164 Cambodian Americans: 300,360 Laotian Americans: 262,229 Taiwanese Americans: 213,774 Bangladeshi Americans: 213,372 Burmese Americans: 189,250 Nepalese Americans: 175,005 Indonesian Americans: 116,869 Sri Lankan Americans: 61,416
Regions with significant populations
California
7,045,163
New York
2,173,719
Texas
1,849,226
New Jersey
1,046,732
Washington
939,846
Illinois
875,488
Florida
843,005
Hawaii
824,143
Virginia
757,282
Pennsylvania
603,726
Massachusetts
582,484
Languages
English
Several Asian languages
Religion
Christian (42%) Unaffiliated (26%) Buddhist (14%) Hindu (10%) Muslim (6%) Sikh (1%) Other (1%) including Jain, Zoroastrian, Tengrism, Shinto, and Chinese folk religion (Taoist and Confucian), Vietnamese folk religion[2]
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).[3] Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peoples of the continent of Asia, the usage of the term "Asian" by the United States Census Bureau only includes people with origins or ancestry from the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent[4] and excludes people with ethnic origins in certain parts of Asia, including West Asia who are now categorized as Middle Eastern Americans.[5][6] Furthermore, Central Asians are not mentioned in any census racial category.[7] The "Asian" census category includes people who indicate their race(s) on the census as "Asian" or reported entries such as "Chinese, Indian, Bangladeshi, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani, Malaysian, and Other Asian".[8] In 2020, Americans who identified as Asian alone (19,886,049) or in combination with other races (4,114,949) made up 7.2% of the U.S. population.[9]
Chinese, Indian, and Filipino Americans make up the largest share of the Asian American population with 5 million, 4.3 million, and 4 million people respectively. These numbers equal 23%, 20%, and 18% of the total Asian American population, or 1.5% and 1.2% of the total U.S. population.[10]
Although migrants from Asia have been in parts of the contemporary United States since the 17th century, large-scale immigration did not begin until the mid-19th century. Nativist immigration laws during the 1880s–1920s excluded various Asian groups, eventually prohibiting almost all Asian immigration to the continental United States. After immigration laws were reformed during the 1940s–1960s, abolishing national origins quotas, Asian immigration increased rapidly. Analyses of the 2010 census have shown that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the United States.[11]
^"Asian and Pacific Islander Population in the United States census.gov". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
^"Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths". The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Pew Research Center. July 19, 2012. Archived from the original on July 16, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013. Christian 42%, Buddhist 14%, Hindu 10%, Muslim 6%, Sikh 1%, Jain *% Unaffiliated 26%, Don't know/Refused 1%
^Karen R. Humes; Nicholas A. Jones; Roberto R. Ramirez (March 2011). "Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
^"State & Country QuickFacts: Race". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 30, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
^Cite error: The named reference autogenerated1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Middle East was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"About the Topic of Race".
^Cite error: The named reference centech was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Table 1 – Population By Race: 2010 and 2020" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
^Caitlin Brophy (December 23, 2020). "Asian American Population in the United States Continues to Grow Origin: 2020".
^"U.S. Census Show Asians Are Fastest Growing Racial Group". NPR. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
AsianAmericans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those...
Americans, including Multiracial Americans identifying as part Asian. This made AsianAmericans 5.6 percent of the total American population. The largest ethnic...
Asian/Pacific American (APA) or Asian/Pacific Islander (API) or AsianAmerican and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) or AsianAmerican and Native Hawaiians/Pacific...
Notable AsianAmericans include: Manjul Bhargava, mathematician Raj Chetty, professor of economics Leon O. Chua, computer scientist S. I. Hayakawa, professor...
AsianAmericans represent a growing share of the national population and of the electorate. The lower political participation of AsianAmericans has been...
among Asian people of all ethnicities, as well as multiracial solidarity among AsianAmericans, African Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, and Native...
South AsianAmericans or Desi Americans are Americans of South Asian ancestry. The term refers to those who can trace back their heritage to South Asia, which...
first major wave of Asian immigration occurred in the late 19th century, primarily in Hawaii and the West Coast. AsianAmericans experienced exclusion...
group of AsianAmericans after Chinese Americans. Indian Americans are the highest-earning ethnic group in the United States. In the Americas, the term...
subgroups in California are Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Indian Americans, and Vietnamese Americans. AsianAmericans in California are concentrated...
Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Asian Hispanics or Asian Latinos, are Americans of Asian ancestry and ancestry from Latin America. It...
AsianAmericans, who are Americans of Asian descent, have fought and served on behalf of the United States since the American Revolutionary War. During...
Samoa, or other Pacific Islands". Previously called Asian Pacific American, along with AsianAmericans beginning in 1976, this was changed in 1997. As of...
Asia–United States relations AsianAmericansAsianAmerican immigration history AsianAmerican political history Military history of AsianAmericans Asian...
of AsianAmericans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. The first Asians documented...
This is a list of AsianAmericans and Pacific Islander Americans in the U.S. Congress. AsianAmericans are Americans of Asian descent. The term refers...
Asian Latin Americans (sometimes Asian-Latinos) are Latin Americans of Asian descent. Asian immigrants to Latin America have largely been from East Asia...
Korean Americans (Korean: 한국계 미국인) are Americans who are of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. The majority of Korean Americans trace their ancestry...
Chinese Americans and other AsianAmericans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a poll done in 2022, 33 percent of Americans believe Asian Americans...
AsianAmerican activism broadly refers to the political movements and social justice activities involving AsianAmericans. Since the first wave of Asian...
Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East AsianAmericans which also constitute a subgroup of...
rather than authentic depictions of East Asian cultures, customs, traditions, and behaviors. East AsianAmericans have experienced discrimination and have...
AsianAmericans have been involved in the entertainment industry since the first half of the 19th century, when Chang and Eng Bunker (the original "Siamese...
and others of Asian descent. They were held across the United States in 2021 in response to racial discrimination against AsianAmericans relating to the...
Multiracial Americans or mixed-race Americans are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race...
association with East AsianAmericans. As such, the 'Brown Asian' label sees some usage to further differentiate South and Southeast AsianAmericans from those of...
until the 1970s. The lack of Asian immigration in Greater Houston was due to historical restrictions on AsianAmericans. According to the 1980 U.S. census...
from Asia began. Today, the largest self-identified AsianAmerican sub-groups, according to census data, are Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Indian...
the third largest Asian alone ethnicities behind Indian Americans, and Chinese Americans. When including multiracial AsianAmericans, the total population...
Global Information
24,009,902 (alone and in combination)