Demographics

General  Overview

 
• As of April 1, 2010 14,674,000 Asians  were living in the United States that is 4.8% of the total U.S. population; and  540,000 or 0.2% of the total U.S. population, were Pacific Islander residents.1
 
• In 2010, Chinese Americans (3.87 million)  were the largest Asian group followed by Filipinos (3.25 million), Asian Indian  (2.95 million), Vietnamese (1.70 million), Koreans (1.64 million), and Japanese  (1.32 million).2
 
• The largest Pacific Islander groups in  2010 were Native Hawaiian (158,221), Micronesian (127,015), Samoans (96,362),  Guamanians (77,038), and Tongans (39,532).3
 
• Hawaii had the largest Asian (38.5%), as  well as Pacific Islander (10.1%) populations in 2011.4 Combined that puts Asian and Pacific Islander at 48.6%, almost half the total  population of Hawaii, where 22.8% of the population is Catholic and over 50% of  the Catholic population is Asian and Pacific Islander.
 
• A survey found that Mass was held in 30  different Asian and Pacific Islander languages across the United States.5
 
• Except for Filipinos, the majority of  Asian people in the United States are followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, and  Islam.6
 
• In 2011, there were 157 seminarians, and  a total of 1,688 priests of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage.7 Also 9 percent of the ordination class of 2012 was of Asian and Pacific  Islander descent.8
 
• Asian and Pacific Islanders represent  only 4% of the Catholic Church in the United States, but they are over-  represented for ordination to the priesthood.9
 
• The top 10 dioceses with the highest  number of Asians in the United States are New York City, Los Angeles, San Jose,  San Francisco, San Diego, Honolulu, Chicago, Galveston-Houston, Oakland, and  Philadelphia.10
 
• The top 7 dioceses with the highest  number of Pacific Islanders, according to the 2010 U.S. census are, Honolulu,  Anchorage, Little Rock, Seattle, Salt Lake, Oklahoma City, and Sacramento.11
 
• Asian Catholics also include members of  the Eastern Catholic Churches of the Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, and Maronite  traditions.
 
• To date, five bishops of Asian and  Pacific Islander origin have been ordained in the United States; only four  remain active.
  

Detailed  Portrait

Asians

Growth

• Asians grew faster than any other race  group from 2000 to 2010, this goes for both Asian Census categories of Asian  Alone and Asian Alone or in combination with another group.12
 
• The Asian population increased 4 times  faster than the total population in the United States.13
 
• Many groups exhibited large growth, but  the Bhutanese were the fastest growing group.14
 
• Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian,  Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese make up 83% of all Asian Americans.15
 
• Asians have grown from 1% of the  population in 1965 to being 5.8% of the population in 2011.16

Families  and Children

• There were a total of 4,644,197 Asian  households in America in 2011. Of that, 74.2%, or 3,445,994 were Family  households.17
 
• 60.0% of all households were married  couples in 2011.18
 
• 57.9% of the population of 15 and over  was married in 2011.19

Foreign  Born 

• The total Asian population was 15,020,419  people in 2011.20
 
• There were 10,003,747 Asian people who  were born abroad in the United States in 2011. That is 66.6% of the total Asian  American population. 21
 
• There were 5,016,672 of the total Asian  population who had been born as natives in the United States in 2011. That is  33.4% of the total population.22

Language 

• The Asian population 5 years and older  was 12,137,003 people. Of that total, 76.7% of those people spoke an Asian  language at home in 2011.23
 
• 23.3% of the 5 years and older  population spoke English only at home.24
 
• 36% speak English less than very well.25

Education 

• School  Enrollment
• The total population in 2011 that was 3  years and older and enrolled in school was, 4,399,666, or 29.3% of the total  Asian population in 2011.26
   
• The percentage enrolled in Preschool was  5.5%.27
   
• The percentage enrolled in Kindergarten  was 4.3%.28
   
• The percentage enrolled in grades 1-8,  or elementary school, was 33.1%.29
   
• The percentage enrolled in High School  was 16.9%.30
   
• The percentage enrolled in College or  Graduate School was 40.3%.31
 
• Educational  Attainment 
  
• The total population 25 years and over  was 10,241,927 in 2011, or 68.1% of the total Asian population.32
   
• The percentage of the 25 and over  population that had achieved their high school diploma was 15.6% in 2011.33
   
• The percentage of those who achieved  some college or their Associate’s Degree was 19.5%34
   
• The percentage of those who achieved  their Bachelor’s Degree was 29.3%35
   
• The percentage of those that achieved a  Graduate or professional degree was 20.7% in 2011.36

Jobs

• The employable population of those 16  years and older was 12,137,003 in 2011. That is 80.8% of the total Asian  population.37
 
• 65.6% were in the Labor Force, with  65.3% being in the Civilian Labor Force, and .3% being in the Armed Forces.38
 
• 60.2% were employed in 2011.39
 
• 5.2% were unemployed in 2011.40
 
• 34.4% were not in the Labor Force  meaning they were not employed or actively seeking a job.41
 
• Asians in the Labor Force made up 7.9%  of the overall Unemployed Labor Force in 2011.42

Businesses 

• 1,549,664 businesses were owned and  operated by Asians in 2007. That is a 40.4% increase since 2002, when the  number was just 1,103,587.43
 
• $507,641,416,000 is how much Asian owned  businesses earned in receipts in 2007, up 55.4% from 2002.44
 
• Asian Indians had 308,514 businesses,  Chinese had 423,609, Filipinos had 163,217, Japanese had 108,361, Korean had  192,465, Vietnamese had 229, 149 businesses, and Other Asians had 153,565  businesses in 2007. 45
 
• The ethnicity with the biggest growth  from 2002 to 2007 was Other Asian with 72.3% change, followed by Vietnamese  with 55.8%, and Chinese with 48.1% growth.46

Catholicism 

• 19% of Asian Americans are Catholic in  2011.47
 
• The percentage of Christianity among  Asian Americans is higher than in their native lands suggesting more Christians  come to America or more immigrants convert once they are here.48
 
• Compared with White Americans, Asian  Americans exhibit more religious commitment with 64% saying religion is very  important in their lives, compared to 54% for White Americans. Also, 6 in 10  Asians say they attend Mass at least once per week, while only 4 in 10 White  Americans say that, and finally, 61% of Asian Americans are more likely to pray  daily, while 55% of White Americans are likely to do the same thing.49

Pacific  Islanders

Growth

• Pacific Islanders grew 40% over the past  decade from 2000 to 2010, making them the second fastest growing group behind  Asians.50
 
• Chuukese was the fastest growing group  in an ethnicity that saw growth across all groups.51
 
• Chamorro/Guamanian, Marshallese, and  Fijians all took in significantly bigger pieces of the Pacific Islander pie in  terms of population growth. The Marshallese more than tripled in size, while  the Chamorro/ Guamanians grew by 1.5%, and the Fijians grew 1.1% or almost  19,000 people from 2000 to 2010.52

Families  and Children 

• There was a total of 130,399 Native  Hawaiian and Pacific Islander households in America in 2011. Of that, 77.2%, or  100,668 were Family households.53
 
• 44.1% of all households were married  couples in 2011.54
 
• 47.2% of the population of 15 and over  was married in 2011.55

Foreign  Born 

• The total Native Hawaiian and Pacific  Islander population was 506,017 people in 2011.56
 
• There were 111,961 Native Hawaiian and  Pacific Islander people who were born abroad in the United States in 2011. That  is 22.1% of the total Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander American population.57
 
• There were 394,056 of the total Native  Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population who had been born as natives in the  United States in 2011. That is 77.9% of the total population.58

Language 

• The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander  population 5 years and older was 468,280 people. Of that total, 44.7% of those  people spoke an Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander  language at home in 2011.59
 
• 55.3% of the 5 years and older  population spoke English only at home.60
 
• 13.8% speak English less than very well.61

Education 

• School  Enrollment
• The total population in 2011 that was 3  years and older and enrolled in school was, 153,940, or 30.4% of the total  Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population in 2011.62
   
• The percentage enrolled in Preschool was  4.1%63
   
• The percentage enrolled in Kindergarten  was 5.1%.64
   
• The percentage enrolled in grades 1-8,  or elementary school, was 42.3%.65
   
• The percentage enrolled in High School  was 22.2%.66
   
• The percentage enrolled in College or  Graduate School was 26.2%.67
  
  
• Educational  Attainment
• The total population 25 years and over  was 290,314 in 2011, or 57.3% of the total Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander  population. 68
   
• The percentage of the 25 and over  population that had achieved their high school diploma was 36.1% in 2011.69
   
• The percentage of those who achieved  some college or their Associate’s Degree was 34.5%70
   
• The percentage of those who achieved  their Bachelor’s Degree was 10.2%71
   
• The percentage of those that achieved a Graduate  or professional degree was 4.3% in 2011.72 

Jobs

• The employable population of those 16  years and older was 378,118 in 2011. That is 74.7% of the total Native Hawaiian  and Pacific Islander population.73
 
• 67.8% were in the Labor Force, with  66.1% being in the Civilian Labor Force, and 1.6% being in the Armed Forces.74
 
• 56.8% were employed in 2011.75
 
• 9.3% were unemployed in 2011.76
 
• 32.2% were not in the Labor Force  meaning they were not employed or actively seeking a job.77
 
• Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders in  the Labor Force made up 14.1 % of the overall Unemployed Labor Force in 2011.78

Businesses

• 37,957 businesses were owned and  operated by Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders in 2007. That is a 31.1%  increase since 2002, when the number was just 28,948.79
 
• $6,488,275,000 is how much Native  Hawaiian and Pacific Islander owned businesses earned in receipts in 2007, up  51.6% from 2002.80
 
• Chamorro/Guamanians had 3,650  businesses, Native Hawaiians had 21,111 businesses, Samoans had 3,029  businesses, and Other Pacific Islander had 9,321 businesses in 2007.81
 
• The ethnicity with the biggest growth  from 2002 to 2007 was Other Pacific Islander with 46.6% change, followed by  Samoan with 37.4%, and Native Hawaiian with 25.8% growth.82

Endnotes

1. U.S. Census Bureau,  Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012 (131st Edition) Washington,  D.C. 2011.      
2. United  States Census Bureau. "U.S. Census, American Community Survey  2006-2010." Washington, DC: United States Census Bureau, 2010.
3.        
4. Ibid.
5.        
6. Department of Business,  Economic Development & Tourism, State of Hawaii, "Hawaii State Census  2010." Last modified 2010. Accessed August 16, 2010.  http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/census/.
7.        
8. Dr. Ruth Doyle “Asian  and Pacific Ministry 2011” (working paper, Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs,  Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, United States Conference of  Catholic Bishops, 2011).
9.        
10. PEW Forum on Religion  & Public Life.  Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths. Washington, D.C.: PEW Research  Forum, 2012. http://www.pewforum.org/Asian-Americans-A-Mosaic-of-Faiths.aspx  (accessed September 28, 2012).
11.        
12. Gautier,  Dr. Mary L., and Melissa A. Cidade. Center for Applied Research in the  Apostolate, "The Class of 2011: Survey of Ordinands to the  Priesthood." Last modified 2011. Accessed August 16, 2012.  http://www.nfcym.org/resources/research/ordination-class-2011-report.pdf.
13.        
14. Gautier, Dr. Mary L.,  and Dr. Mark M. Gray. Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, "The  Class of 2012: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood." Last modified 2012.  Accessed August 16, 2012.  http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/ordination-class/upload/Ordination-Class-of-2012-Report-FINAL.pdf
15.        
16. Ibid.
17.        
18. United  States Census Bureau. "U.S. Census, American Community Survey  2006-2010." Washington, DC: United States Census Bureau, 2010.
19.        
20. Ibid.
21.        
22. Hoeffel,  Elizabeth M., Sonya Rastogi, Myoung Ouk Kim, and Hasan Shahid. United States  Census Bureau, "The Asian Population: 2010." Last modified 2012.  Accessed October 12, 2012.  http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-11.pdf.
23.        
24. Ibid.
25.        
26. Ibid.
27.        
28. Ibid.
29.        
30. Ibid.
31.        
32. U.S. Census  Bureau, “2011 American Community Survey, 1 year Estimates.” Washington, D.C.: United  States Census Bureau, 2011.
33.        
34. Ibid.
35.        
36. Ibid.
37.        
38. Ibid.
39.        
40. Ibid.
41.        
42. Ibid.
43.        
44. Ibid.
45.        
46. Ibid.
47.        
48. Ibid.
49.        
50. Ibid.
51.        
52. Ibid.
53.        
54. Ibid.
55.        
56. Ibid.
57.        
58. Ibid.
59.        
60. Ibid.
61.        
62. Ibid.
63.        
64. Ibid.
65.        
66. Ibid.
67.        
68. Ibid.
69.        
70. Ibid.
71.        
72. Ibid.
73.        
74. Ibid.
75.        
76. Ibid.
77.        
78. Ibid.
79.        
80. Ibid.
81.        
82. Ibid.
83.        
84. Ibid.
85.        
86. Ibid.
87.        
88. Ibid.
89.        
90. Ibid.
91.        
92. PEW  Forum on Religion & Public Life.  Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths.  Washington, D.C.: PEW Research Forum, 2012.  http://www.pewforum.org/Asian-Americans-A-Mosaic-of-Faiths.aspx (accessed  September 28, 2012).
93.        
94. Ibid.
95.        
96. Ibid.
97.        
98. Hixson,  Lindsay, Bradford B. Hepler, and Myoung Ouk Kim. The United States Census  Bureau, "Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Population: 2010." Last  modified 2012. Accessed October 12, 2012.  http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-12.pdf.
99.        
100. Ibid.
101.        
102. Ibid.
103.        
104. U.S. Census  Bureau, “2011 American Community Survey, 1 year Estimates.” Washington, D.C.:  United States Census Bureau, 2011.
105.        
106. Ibid.
107.        
108. Ibid.
109.        
110. Ibid.
111.        
112. Ibid.
113.        
114. Ibid.
115.        
116. Ibid.
117.        
118. Ibid.
119.        
120. Ibid.
121.        
122. Ibid.
123.        
124. Ibid.
125.        
126. Ibid.
127.        
128. Ibid.
129.        
130. Ibid.
131.        
132. Ibid.
133.        
134. Ibid.
135.        
136. Ibid.
137.        
138. Ibid.
139.        
140. Ibid.
141.        
142. Ibid.
143.        
144. Ibid.
145.        
146. Ibid.
147.        
148. Ibid.
149.        
150. Ibid.
151.        
152. Ibid.
153.        
154. Ibid.
155.        
156. Ibid.
157.        
158. Ibid.
159.        
160. Ibid.
161.        
162. Ibid.