06 March 2002

Chinese Largest Asian Group in U.S. According to 2000 Census

Six Asian groups top one million in 2000 census

By Stephen La Rocque
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Almost 12 million people in the United States describe themselves as Asian or part Asian, according to the 2000 Census.

A Census 2000 Brief entitled "The Asian Population 2000" reports that people of Asian ancestry in the United States number 11,898,828. The 2000 Census put the total U.S. population at 281.4 million, with people of Asian ancestry thus making up 4.2 percent of that number.

Among 25 categories that people could use to describe themselves, including Bhutanese, Hmong, and "other Asian, not specified," those of Chinese origin topped the list, with a total of 2,734,841. Coming in second were people from the Philippines, with 2,364,815. Asian Indians held third place, with 1,899,599. Other nationalities represented by more than a million people were Koreans, with 1,228,427; Vietnamese, with 1,223,736; and Japanese, with 1,148,932.

In terms of mixing with other groups, the Asian nationalities in the Census displayed a range of integration with other Americans, with people of Japanese background most likely to have a background of more than one ethnicity.

Among the groups with more than one million people, 30.7 percent of those who identified themselves as of Japanese origin also listed another race or ethnicity. Filipinos came in second, with 21.8 percent listing a second background. Chinese came in third, with 15.4 percent listing a second ethnic or racial background. Koreans were fourth, with 12.3 percent; Asian Indians were fifth, with 11.6 percent; and Vietnamese were sixth, with 8.3 percent listing a second ethnicity or race.

Of the total number of people who listed themselves as having Asian background, 10.2 million listed themselves as only of Asian background, while another 1.7 million listed Asian and another race. In the latter group, 52 percent of the respondents designated themselves as Asian and white.

The report noted that 49 percent of America's Asian population lives in the West, with 51 percent of America's Asian population residing in three states -- California, New York and Hawaii.

Among cities, Honolulu, Hawaii had the highest percentage of people of Asian ancestry at 67.7 percent, with Daly City, California coming in at second with 53.6 percent.

In America's two largest metropolises, New York and Los Angeles, people of Asian ancestry numbered 872,777 and 407,444 respectively, or 10.9 and 11.0 percent of the population of the two cities. Among America's top 10 cities by population, San Diego (number 7) had the highest percentage of people of Asian ancestry with 15.5 percent, or 189,413 people out of a total population of 1,223,400.