Asian American demographics by city

[Docere]

Originally Posted by proghousehead

Can you please pull the “Canadian” groupings for say top 5 US metros and City proper based on 2021 ACS? I’ve tried playing around with that site to no avail. Cheers!

Unfortunately information on the detailed Asian subgroups is hard to come by.

[Docere]

What is the South Asian population in NYC for example? I have no idea. Bangladeshis are one of the largest immigrant groups in the city, but since they're not one of the "big six" Asian nationalities in the Census Bureau.

[RST500]

Countries with over 10,000 growth between 2011-2021 by Urban Area

New York City - 18
Dominican Republic: 162,318
China: 103,149
India: 78,700
Bangladesh: 42,313
Colombia: 27,680
Egypt: 20,371
Nigeria: 19,105
Jamaica: 17,819
Guyana: 16,230
El Salvador: 16,061
Guatemala: 15,690
Brazil: 14,248
Uzbekistan: 13,884
Venezuelan: 13,831
Ghana: 12,728
Ecuador: 11,611
Ukraine: 11,288
Honduras: 10,437

Houston - 12
Honduras: 35,988
India: 33,659
Nigeria: 28,328
Venezuela: 26,049
El Salvador: 25,458
Vietnam: 25,117
China: 20,226
Cuba: 19,655
Colombia: 13,369
Guatemala: 13,324
Philippines: 11,589
Pakistan: 10,073

Miami/Fort Lauderdale - 9
Cuba: 128,424
Venezuela: 94,075
Haiti: 38,356
Colombia: 35,880
Brazil: 19,212
Jamaica: 18,950
Guatemala: 14,834
Dominican Republic: 11,843
Honduras: 10,071

Dallas/Fort Worth - 7
India: 62,757
El Salvador: 18,753
Nigeria: 14,378
Vietnam: 14,136
China: 11,795
Honduras: 11,171
Nepal: 10,882

Washington DC - 7
El Salvador: 30,272
India: 27,092
Ethiopia: 22,708
China: 16,248
Guatemala: 14,658
Afghanistan: 11,310
Honduras: 10,751

Boston - 7
China: 36,406
Dominican Republic: 31,241
India: 25,585
Haiti: 15,651
El Salvador: 14,731
Brazil: 12,781
Cabo Verde: 10,062

Los Angeles - 5
China: 83,845
Vietnam: 17,063
India: 15,152
Armenia: 11,175
Guatemala: 10,988

Seattle/Tacoma - 4
India: 52,869
China: 37,427
Vietnam: 10,605
Philippines: 10,032

Atlanta - 4
India: 43,138
Jamaica: 15,197
China: 12,583
Nigeria: 10,101

Tampa - 4
Cuba: 31,097
Puerto Rico: 21,587
India: 11,374
Venezuela: 10,430

Detroit - 4
India: 20,987
Iraq: 17,754
Yemen: 11,433
Bangladesh: 10,187

Orlando – 3
Venezuela: 22,301
Haiti: 13,378
Brazil: 10,870

San Jose - 3
India: 53,799
China: 47,403
Vietnam: 10,439

Philadelphia - 3
India: 25,247
Dominican Republic: 17,995
China: 15,888

Las Vegas - 3
Philippines: 38,949
Cuba: 11,500
China: 10,119

Sacramento - 3
India: 17,258
Philippines: 11,886
Vietnam: 10,643

Chicago - 3
India: 38,352
China: 14,232
Philippines: 10,813

San Francisco - 2
India: 40,985
China: 31,860

Minneapolis/St. Paul - 2
Somalia: 14,719
Ethiopia: 11,577

Charlotte - 2
India: 18,008
Honduras: 10,252

San Diego - 2
India: 12,711
China: 11,840

Phoenix - 1
India: 19,532

Austin - 1
India: 18,787

Baltimore - 1
Nigeria: 10,805

San Antonio - 1
Mexico: 20,586

Portland, OR - 0

Denver - 0

Riverside/San Bernardino - 0

[Docere]

Population by Asian subgroup, 2021 ACS (5000+)

New York City

Chinese 589,541
Indian 233,980
Bangladeshi 81,275
Korean 80,107
Filipino 73,609
Pakistani 50,402
Japanese 23,195
Vietnamese 16,222
Taiwanese 13,459
Nepalese 11,797
Thai 7,395
Burmese 5,307
Sri Lankan 5,238

New York MSA

Chinese 793,204
Indian 685,207
Filipino 203,461
Korean 194,018
Pakistani 104,893
Bangladeshi 94,626
Japanese 42,526
Vietnamese 31,740
Taiwanese 22,447
Nepalese 14,913
Thai 11,994
Sri Lankan 10,177
Indonesian 6,825
Burmese 6,366

[Docere]

Los Angeles MSA

Chinese 574,834
Filipino 424,338
Vietnamese 313,035
Korean 305,584
Indian 160,234
Japanese 129,293
Taiwanese 45,347
Cambodian 39,876
Thai 27,820
Pakistani 18,413
Indonesian 12,353
Bangladeshi 7,028
Laotian 6,203
Sri Lankan 5,943
Burmese 5,855

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by Chef

I don't know about now but when I moved to the Twin Cities in the late '80s Ramsey County (St Paul) had the highest unemployment rate and poverty rate for Asians among urban counties in the US. Refugees generally have a different economic arc than immigrants and take longer to establish themselves. This was especially an issue for the Hmong who were living a very primitive rural lifestyle before they got sucked into the wars in southeast Asia and ended up in the US. They came here completely unprepared to live in an urban, developed country.

The Hmong are the largest Asian ethnicity in the Twin Cities but they are only a little more than half of the Asian population. They probably get the most press because there aren't a lot of Hmong in the rest of the country. There are also a fair number of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Lao and Chinese in the Twin Cities.

There is a large Hmong population in the Central Valley cities of CA, especially Fresno if I recall correctly.

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by Docere

Los Angeles MSA

Chinese 574,834
Filipino 424,338
Vietnamese 313,035
Korean 305,584
Indian 160,234
Japanese 129,293
Taiwanese 45,347
Cambodian 39,876
Thai 27,820
Pakistani 18,413
Indonesian 12,353
Bangladeshi 7,028
Sri Lankan 5,943
Burmese 5,855

The Filipinos may overtake the Chinese as the #1 Asian group in many cities. They already are #1 in San Diego where I live. Many Filipinos since at least the 1910s served in the U.S. Navy, especially in the positions that keep the ships running, like cooks, mess boys,
servers, laundry, etc. Remember that the Philippines was administered by the U.S. since the SA War, and didn't gain independence until after WW2, so the group had a head start. San Diego as a Navy town has for many decades had a substantial Filipino population, and chain migration has added to the numbers. The relative poverty in the Philippines has also favored migration to the U.S. In San Diego, many Filipinos work for the Post Office, and in general manufacturing and assembly. Many nurses are also Filipino. The hospitals couldn't run without them.

Another rapidly growing Asian group: the Indians. Traditionally, many operated small retail stores like 7/11 and also motels. Now increasingly with college degrees they are moving into professional positions in science, technology, engineering, medicine, education etc. As with the Filipinos, the high poverty rate in India is a powerful driver for migration. The fact that many if not most Indians speak fluent English also eases their rise into the professions. Attesting to their English skills and intelligence, look at the dominance of Indian kids in the spelling bees.

[Docere]

LA is a relatively weak performer when it comes to South Asians, who represent only about a tenth of the Asian population.

And NY has few Southeast Asians.

LA has 10 times as many Vietnamese as NY. NY has 4 times as many Indians, 13 times as many Bangladeshis.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by Docere

LA is a relatively weak performer when it comes to South Asians, who represent only about a tenth of the Asian population.

Relative to which US metros?

[Docere]

They represent a small percentage of the Asian population. LA has a huge Asian population but Indian American population share is pretty average.

LA is #1 for most non-Chinese/non-South Asian groups.

[Docere]

San Francisco MSA

Chinese 502,339
Filipino 249,380
Indian 229,323
Vietnamese 67,118
Korean 50,378
Japanese 39,072
Taiwanese 17,242
Pakistani 13,907
Laotian 7,904
Cambodian 7,297
Thai 6,570
Burmese 6,037
Nepalese 5,418

San Jose MSA

Chinese 206,744
Indian 189,528
Vietnamese 138,215
Filipino 85,236
Korean 33,145
Japanese 25,002
Taiwanese 15,136
Pakistani 5,006

[Docere]

More SoCal

Riverside MSA

Filipino 110,094
Chinese 67,485
Vietnamese 31,910
Indian 28,527
Korean 25,081
Japanese 9,593
Pakistani 7,205
Taiwanese 6,037
Cambodian 6,006

San Diego MSA

Filipino 154,539
Chinese 60,151
Vietnamese 47,953
Indian 45,084
Korean 21,962
Japanese 17,661
Cambodian 5,835

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by Docere

San Francisco MSA

Chinese 502,339
Filipino 249,380
Indian 229,323
Vietnamese 67,118
Korean 50,378
Japanese 39,072
Taiwanese 17,242
Pakistani 13,907
Laotian 7,904
Cambodian 7,297
Burmese 6,037
Nepalese 5,418

San Jose MSA

Chinese 206,744
Indian 189,528
Vietnamese 138,215
Filipino 85,236
Korean 33,145
Japanese 25,002
Taiwanese 15,136
Pakistani 5,006

I have noticed there are quite a few Burmese restaurants in the Bay Area.

[Docere]

Other cities with 500,000 Asians.

Asian Alone by Selected Subgroups.

Chicago MSA

Indian 233,647
Filipino 120,634
Chinese 113,717
Korean 53,388
Pakistani 37,022
Vietnamese 27,205
Japanese 15,280
Thai 8,154

Dallas MSA

Indian 212,379
Vietnamese 91,866
Chinese 64,749
Korean 34,779
Filipino 33,819
Pakistani 29,716
Nepalese 16,980
Japanese 8,534
Laotian 8,525
Cambodian 5,406
Thai 5,258

Houston MSA

Indian 146,413
Vietnamese 139,749
Chinese 93,924
Filipino 53,864
Pakistani 43,266
Korean 18,180
Taiwanese 7,073
Cambodian 6,958
Japanese 6,878

Seattle MSA

Chinese 129,083
Indian 122,229
Filipino 82,568
Vietnamese 64,860
Korean 56,434
Japanese 29,068
Cambodian 18,254
Taiwanese 9,524
Laotian 7,568
Pakistani 7,532
Thai 5,561

Washington MSA

Indian 179,919
Chinese 109,244
Korean 84,286
Vietnamese 66,843
Filipino 65,078
Pakistani 41,489
Japanese 12,146
Nepalese 11,909
Thai 8,313
Cambodian 6,918
Taiwanese 6,189
Sri Lankan 5,060

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by Docere

LA is a relatively weak performer when it comes to South Asians, who represent only about a tenth of the Asian population.

Until recently, LA had the largest Sri Lankan community in the U.S., but yes, not as many Indians, Pakistanis, or Bangladeshis here.

[Quixote]

What blows my mind is how Indian Toronto is... about 10% of the entire metro I think. That's way more than London.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Docere

Chicago MSA

Thai 8,154

The funny thing about that stat is that Chicago not only has 8,154 people of Thai descent, it also somehow has 8,154 Thai restaurants to boot.


But seriously, how does one city sustain so many freaking Thai restaurants?

And I like Thai food, but I still don't understand the math of it all.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

But seriously, how does one city sustain so many freaking Thai restaurants?

And I like Thai food, but I still don't understand the math of it all.

I assume many (most?) Thai restaurants in the U.S. aren't actually owned by Thai. Not too many Thai in the U.S., and yet the restaurants are everywhere. Like sushi places, they seem to be generally immigrant owned.

Of course, the places that have the more meat-centric, inland fare are probably Thai owned. But the random pad thai/chicken satay/sticky rice suburban highway joints are likely some immigrant family. I think we have one nearby owned by a Middle Eastern family, though the closest one is Thai-owned.

[Docere]

With the "Canadian" classification.

New York

South Asian 909,816
Chinese 815,651
Filipino 203,461
Korean 194,018
Southeast Asian 45,561
Japanese 42,526

Los Angeles/Riverside

Chinese 693,703
Filipino 534,432
Southeast Asian 443,740
Korean 330,965
South Asian 232,936
Japanese 138,886

San Francisco/San Jose

Chinese 741,461
South Asian 450,875
Filipino 334,616
Southeast Asian 243,098
Korean 83,523
Japanese 64,074

Washington

South Asian 250,179
Chinese 115,433
Southeast Asian 91,062
Korean 84,286
Filipino 65,078
Japanese 12,146

Chicago

South Asian 266,591
Filipino 120,634
Chinese 118,003
Korean 53,388
Southeast Asian 48,212
Japanese 15,280

Seattle

Chinese 138,607
South Asian 134,436
Southeast Asian 83,227
Filipino 82,568
Korean 56,434
Japanese 29,068

Dallas

South Asian 265,572
Southeast Asian 122,257
Chinese 69,702
Korean 34,779
Filipino 33,819
Japanese 8,534

Houston

South Asian 200,004
Southeast Asian 154,606
Chinese 100,997
Filipino 53,864
Korean 18,180
Japanese 6,878

[Docere]

More South Asians in Chicago, DFW and Washington than LA (even including the Inland Empire).