EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, SEPTEMBER 4, 1998 (FRIDAY) Public Information Office CB98-161 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Larry Sink/Amy Smith 301-457-2461 California Leads States and Los Angeles County, Calif., Tops Counties in Asian and Pacific Islander Population Increase, Census Bureau Reports The number of Asians and Pacific Islanders residing in California jumped by 829,623 between 1990 and 1997, the largest increase of any state, and Los Angeles County, Calif., led all counties with an increase of more than 190,000 Asians and Pacific Islanders during the same period, according to new rankings released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The embargoed tabulations can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/dcmd/www/embargo/embargo.html. Call the Public Information Office to obtain access information. After the release time, the state data can be accessed at http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/statepop.html and the county data, at http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/countypop.html.) Following California's lead were New York, which added 243,609 new Asian and Pacific Islander residents between 1990 and 1997, followed by Texas (192,544), New Jersey (146,714) and Florida (96,674). California remained the state with the most Asians and Pacific Islanders at 3.8 million in 1997. New York was a distant second at 952,736, followed by Hawaii at 748,748, Texas at 523,972 and New Jersey at 423,738. There were several changes in the positioning of the top 10 states in Asians and Pacific Islander populations between 1990 and 1997: New Jersey (423,738) moved from sixth to fifth place; Illinois (382,806) dropped from fifth to sixth; while Washington (311,310) remained seventh, Florida (253,118) moved from ninth to eighth; Virginia (232,930) dropped from eighth to ninth; and Massachusetts (209,871) remained in the 10th spot. Among counties, Orange County, Calif., was No. 2 in Asian and Pacific Islander population increase for the seven-year period, with 91,501 new Asian and Pacific Islander residents. Others in the top five were Santa Clara County (San Jose), Calif. (76,905); Queens County, N.Y. (75,220); and San Diego County, Calif. (73,383). Los Angeles County, Calif., maintained its position in 1997 as the county in the United States with the highest number of Asians and Pacific Islanders (1.2 million). Honolulu County, Hawaii, was second (559,752), followed by Orange County, Calif. (344,330); Santa Clara County (San Jose), Calif. (343,387); and Queens County, N.Y. (317,893). As a percentage of a county's total population, Honolulu and Kauai counties in Hawaii were tied for first with 64 percent of their populations made up of Asians and Pacific Islanders. Maui County, Hawaii, was third at 59 percent, followed by Hawaii County, Hawaii, at 58 percent, San Franciso County, Calif., at 35 percent and Santa Clara County, Calif., at 21 percent.-X-Editor's Note: The Public Information Office now has a media-access server for embargoed news releases and data sets. It is available to accredited media representatives only. To gain access, please contact us for a username and password. The media-access server's Internet address is http://www.census.gov/dcmd/www/embargo/embargo.html> We would appreciate any comments you may have about the site. The Census Bureau pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In more than 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
