The Asian and Pacific Islander population is growing rapidly.
In March 1994, the Asian and Pacific Islander population was estimated
at 8.8 million, up from 7.3 million in the 1990 census.1 In both
1994 and 1990, Asians and Pacific Islanders accounted for about 3 percent
of America's population. Since 1990, the Asian and Pacific Islander population
has grown about 4.5 percent per year. Immigration to the United States
accounted for much of this growth (about 86 percent).
The balance was due to natural increase (the number of births minus the
number of deaths). By the year 2000, this population is projected to reach
12.1 million and represent about 4 percent of the total population.
The Asian and Pacific Islander population is a heterogeneous group. Groups
differ in their language, culture, and recency of immigration. Several
Asian groups, such as Chinese and Japanese, have been in this country for
generations; relatively few Pacific Islanders are foreign born. Hawaiians,
of course, are native to this country.
NOTE: The following data are based on the March 1994 Current Population
Survey unless otherwise noted.
The Asian and Pacific Islander population resides mainly in metropolitan
areas.
In 1994, the majority of Asians and Pacific Islanders (6 out of 10) resided
in the West, where they represented 8 percent of the total population.
Asians and Pacific Islanders were more likely than non-Hispanic Whites
to reside in metropolitan areas (95 percent compared with 75 percent).
Similar proportions of both populations (about 52 percent) resided in the
suburbs of metropolitan areas, but Asians and Pacific Islanders were almost
twice as likely to live in central cities (42 percent), compared with non-Hispanic
Whites (23 percent). Asians and Pacific Islanders residing in central cities
were less likely to be homeowners (41 percent) than renters (57 percent);
in suburbs of metropolitan areas they were more likely to be owners (61
percent) than renters (38 percent).
Asians and Pacific Islanders continue to have high educational
attainment.
Educational attainment continues to be high for the Asian and Pacific
Islander population as a whole. In 1994, nearly 9 out of 10 Asian and Pacific
Islander males 25 years old and over, and 8 out of 10 comparable females
had at least a high school diploma. High school graduation rates vary widely
among the Asian and Pacific Islander groups. The 1990 census, the latest
date for which statistically reliable data for the subgroups are available,
showed that among Asians the rates varied from 31 percent for Hmongs, who
are among the most recent Asian immigrant groups, to 88 percent for Japanese,
who have been in the country for several generations. Within the Pacific
Islander group, the proportion with at least a high school diploma ranged
from 64 percent for Tongans to 80 percent for Hawaiians.
In 1994, two-fifths of Asians and Pacific Islanders 25 years old and
over held at least a bachelor's degree. Asian and Pacific Islander males
and females (46 and 37 percent, respectively) were more than 1 1/2 times
as likely to have a bachelor's degree than comparable non-Hispanic White
males and females (28 and 21 percent, respectively). Among the specific
Asian groups, Asian Indians had the highest proportion earning at least
a bachelor's degree (58 percent) and Tongans, Cambodians, Laotians, and
Hmongs the lowest (6 percent or less each) in the 1990 census.
Asians and Pacific Islanders have larger families than non-Hispanic
Whites.
In 1994, the average number of persons per family for Asians and Pacific
Islanders and non-Hispanic Whites was 3.8 and 3.1, respectively. Seventy-three
percent of Asian and Pacific Islander families had three or more persons
in 1994, compared with 55 percent of non-Hispanic White families. Twenty-two
percent of all Asian and Pacific Islander families had five or more persons,
compared with 12 percent of non-Hispanic White families.
Six in ten Asian and Pacific Islander families had related children under
18 years old, compared with almost half (49 percent) of non-Hispanic White
families. In each group, about 80 percent of related children under 18
years old lived with two parents.
Asian and Pacific Islander and non-Hispanic White families have
comparable median family incomes.
In 1993, the median income of Asian and Pacific Islander families ($44,460)
was similar to that of non-Hispanic White families ($41,110). The median
income for Asian and Pacific Islander families maintained by women with
no spouse present ($28,920) was higher than that for comparable non-Hispanic
White families ($21,650). Male householder families with no spouse present
had median family incomes that were not statistically different - $23,130
for Asians and Pacific Islanders and $30,170 for non-Hispanic Whites.
Asian and Pacific Islander married-couple families had a higher median
income than comparable non-Hispanic White families ($49,510 compared with
$45,240). Both the husband and wife worked in about 60 percent of all Asian
and Pacific Islander and non-Hispanic White married-couple families. However,
the husband was the only earner in 18 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander
and in 15 percent of non-Hispanic White married-couple families. The 1990
census showed that 20 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander families, compared
with 13 percent of non-Hispanic White families, had three or more earners.
Asian and Pacific Islander and non-Hispanic White women college
graduates who worked year-round, full-time in 1993 had similar earnings.
In 1993, Asian and Pacific Islander males 25 years old and over who worked
year-round, full-time had median earnings ($31,560) higher than comparable
females ($25,430). Asian and Pacific Islander and non-Hispanic White females
with at least a bachelor's degree had similar earnings ($31,780 versus
$32,920), while comparably educated Asian and Pacific Islander males ($41,220)
earned about $87 for every $100 of non-Hispanic White males' earnings ($47,180).
The poverty rate for Asian and Pacific Islander families varied
by family type.
Despite higher educational attainments and a similar median family income,
the poverty rate for Asian and Pacific Islander families (14 percent) was
higher than that for non-Hispanic White families (8 percent) in 1993. Only
16 percent of both poor Asian and Pacific Islander and non-Hispanic White
families had a householder who worked year-round, full-time.
Twelve percent of Asian and Pacific Islander and 5 percent of non-Hispanic
White married-couple families lived in poverty. There was no statistical
difference in the poverty rates for Asian and Pacific Islander and non-Hispanic
White female householder families with no spouse present, 19 and 25 percent,
respectively.
In 1993, 15 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders were poor, compared
with 10 percent of non-Hispanic Whites. Twenty-eight percent of all poor
Asians and Pacific Islanders 15 years old and over worked, compared with
42 percent of poor non-Hispanic Whites.
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1 The independent estimate of 8.8 million for the Asian and Pacific
Islander population differs substantially from the March 1994 Current Population
Survey (CPS) estimate of 7.4 million for this population. The CPS estimate,
based on a sample, is subject to both sampling and nonsampling errors.
It is not controlled to independent estimates for this population. Estimates
may differ because of different data collection and estimation procedures
and sampling error. However, distributions of characteristics for the Asian
and Pacific Islander population in the March 1994 CPS appear reasonable
when compared to the 1990 census distribution. When comparing data for
the Asian and Pacific Islander population for previous years, caution should
be used.
For Further Information
See: 1990 CP-3-5, 1990 Census of Population, Asians and Pacific Islanders
in the United States.
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