Asian American Populations

In 2011, the population of Asians, including those of more than one race, was estimated at 18.2 million in the U.S. population.

In 2010, those who identified themselves only as Asian constituted approximately 4.8 percent of the American population—14.7 million individuals.

The three largest Asian groups in the United States in 2011 were Chinese (4 million)(except Taiwanese descent), Filipinos (3.4 million), and Asian Indians (3.2 million). These were followed by Vietnamese (1.9 million), Koreans (1.7 million) and Japanese (1.3 million).

The Census Bureau projects that by the year 2050, there will be more than 40.6 million Asians living in the United States, comprising 9.2 percent of the total U.S. population.

The Asian population is represented throughout the country. States with the largest Asian populations (including those with more than one race) in 2011 were California (5.8 million) and New York (1.7 million). Hawaii had the largest concentration or percentage of the total population as Asians (57% of Hawaiian population reported being of Asian descent (including those of more than one race)).

Asians have a long history in the United States: May 7, 1843 marked the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants, and May 10, 1869 marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad, which many Chinese workers contributed to the construction of. Some Asian American families have been in the United States for many generations; others are recent immigrants from places such as the islands of the Philippines, Vietnam, or India.

For more information, see:

US Census Bureau, 2013 Facts for Features,
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: May 2013

US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Briefs,
The Asian Population 2010 issued March, 2012

US Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Consumer Income
Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage, US: 2010 Issued September, 2011

US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Briefs,
Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010

US Office of Managment and Budget (OMB),
OMB Bulletin Guidance on Aggregation and Allocation of Data on Race

Asian Americans represent the extremes of both health outcomes and socioeconomic status:

• Asian American women experienced the longest life expectancy (85.8 years) of any ethnic group in the United States.
  Source
• Asian Americans' leading causes of death in 2010 were cancer, heart disease, stroke, unintentional injuries (accidents), and diabetes. Death rates for these conditions are less than other racial/ethnic populations.
  Source
• Asian Americans also are at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, smoking, and tuberculosis. And their liver disease rates are lower than those of other racial and ethnic populations.
  Source
• Asian Americans in 2008 had a similar age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes (8.2%) compared with the white population (7.0%).
  Source
• In 2010, Asian American women (ages 18+) were least likely to have had a Pap test (68.0%) compared with other women: non-Hispanic white (72.8%), non-Hispanic black (77.4%), Hispanic/Latino (73.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (73.4%).
  Source
• In 2008, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) aged 19–24 years had an acute hepatitis B incidence (3.1 per 100,000 population) that was 1.6 times greater than non-Hispanic whites of the same age (1.9 per 100,000).
  Source

• Asian Americans and Hispanics in 2006–2008 had the greatest percentage of populations residing in counties whose air quality did not meet EPA standards for particulate matter and ozone compared with other racial and ethnic populations.
  Source
• Asian Americans are less likely to live in poverty (12.8%), more likely to be college graduates or hold graduate degrees (50%), and more likely to be employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations (48.5%) compared with the total U.S. population (15.9%, 28.5%, 36.0%, respectively).
  Source

Asian Americans may contend with numerous factors that may threaten their health, including infrequent medical visits due to the fear of deportation, language and cultural barriers, and the lack of health insurance.

For more information on some of the health disparities faced by the Asian American community see the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Observance, and click below for slides and statistics on that topic.

Healthy People

• NCHS HealthyPeople 2010 Snapshot for the Asian Population:
  Progress toward targets, size of disparities, and changes in disparities
• NCHS HealthyPeople 2010 Final Review (2010)

• CDC Wonder, Data 2010 - The Healthy People 2010 Database
• Healthy People 2020
• Healthy People 2020 Brochure
• NCHS HealthyPeople 2020 Summary
  

Additional Resources from

CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

• Fast Stats, Health of Asian or Pacific Islander Population

• Health Data Interactive
• Health, United States, 2011, Asian or Pacific Islander Population
• Leading Causes of Death by Race/Ethnicity, Table 26
  

HHS, Office of Minority Health (OMH)

• Asian American/Pacific Islander Profile
• HHS Plan for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Health

U.S. Census Bureau

• Facts for Features: Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: May 2013

• The Asian Population: 2010

• CDC
• CDC Celebrates Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage
• Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month Observance
• Asian American & NHOPI NEWS Page
• CDC Health Disparities & Inequalities Report (CHDIR)
• National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
  • Division of Population Health (DPH)
    • Preventive Health & Health Services Block Grant
    • Promoting Health Equity
    • Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH)
    • Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities Action Institute (REHDAI)
  • Division of Cancer Prevention & Control (DCPC)
    • Health Disparities in Cancer Cancer Disparities Feature
    • National Breast & Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP)
    • Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer Feature
  
  • Diabetes Public Health Resource
    • Groups Especially Affected Feature
  • Division for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention
    • Heart Disease Feature
  • Division of Reproductive Health
    • Teen Pregnancy Prevention Feature
  • National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) Asthma
    • Asthma Feature
  • Health Equity
  • Smoking & Tobacco Use
    • Health Disparities
    • Highlights: Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders and Tobacco
    • 2010 Surgeon Gerneral's Report: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease
• National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP)
  • Disparities in HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB
    • Asians
  • Viral Hepatitis
  • STD Rates by Race or Ethnicity
  • Community Approaches to Reducing STDs
  • Tuberculosis (TB)
  • HIV/AIDS
    • National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• CDC Newsroom Resources
• Immigrant and Refugee Health
• Injury & Violence Prevention & Control
• National Center on Birth Defects & Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD)
• Vaccines & Immunizations for Specific Groups of People
  • Racial and Ethnic Populations

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Asian American Health Medline Plus
• Asian American Health Healthfinder
• Cancer Health Disparities National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
• SAMHSA (Mental Health)
• Take Action in Your Community
• Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
• Other Gov Resources
• HHS Plan for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Health
• White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI)
• White House Initiative on AAPI Internships
• White House Executive Order 13515 - Increasing Participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Federal Programs
• HealthCare.gov, The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders
• ASPE Research Brief, The ACA and Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders

Note: Links to nonfederal organizations are provided as a service to our users. These links are not an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the federal government. CDC is not responsible for the content of the organization Web pages found at these links.

• American Cancer Society (ACS)
• In My Community - Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander
  American Diabetes Association (ADA)
• American Heart Association (AHA)
• American Lung Association (ALA)
• National SUID/SIDS Resource Center (NSSRC)

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