The number of Asian-owned businesses grew 24 percent between 1997 and 2002, approximately twice the national average for all businesses. The 1.1 million businesses generated more than $326 billion in revenues, up 8 percent from 1997. This is according to a new report, released on May 16, 2006 by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Asian-Owned Business in the USNearly half (47 percent) of all Asian-owned firms were Chinese-owned (290,197) and Asian Indian-owned (231,179). Korean-owned firms were the third largest at 158,031, followed by Vietnamese- (147,081), Filipino- (128,223) and Japanese-owned firms (86,863).
Almost 1-in-3 of all Asian-owned firms had paid employees. These 319,300 businesses employed more than 2.2 million people and generated revenues of nearly $291 billion.
Other highlights:
-In 2002, slightly more than 3-in-10 Asian-owned firms operated in professional, scientific and technical services as well as other services such as personal services, and repair and maintenance. These firms accounted for 6 percent of all such businesses in the United States.
-Wholesale and retail trade accounted for 47 percent of all Asian-owned business revenue.
-There were 49,578 Asian-owned firms with receipts of $1 million or more. These firms accounted for 4.5 percent of the total number of Asian-owned firms and nearly 68 percent of their total receipts.
-There were 1,863 Asian-owned firms with 100 employees or more, generating nearly $52 billion in gross receipts (18 percent of the total revenue for Asian-owned employer firms).
-California and New York accounted for 59 percent (170,547) of all Chinese-owned firms, 37 percent (86,494) of all Asian Indian-owned firms and 46 percent (73,466) of all Korean-owned firms.
-California and Texas accounted for 51 percent (74,634) of all Vietnamese-owned firms.
-California and Hawaii accounted for 54 percent (69,061) of all Filipino-owned firms and 65 percent (56,490) of all Japanese-owned firms.
-Forty-nine percent (35,224) of all other Asian-owned firms were located in California, New York and Texas.
-Los Angeles County, by far, had the largest number of Asian-owned firms in 2002 with 140,411 or 13 percent of all Asian businesses. These businesses generated $52.5 billion in receipts. Queens County, N.Y., was second (48,241), followed by Orange County, Calif., (46,015) and Honolulu County, Hawaii (35,376).
States With the Largest Number of Asian-Owned Firms: 2002
| State | Firms (number) |
Percent of total |
Receipts (billion dollars) |
Percent of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 371,415 |
33.6 |
125.6 |
38.5 |
| New York |
145,519 | 13.2 | 30.4 | 9.3 |
| Texas |
77,980 | 7.1 | 20.6 | 6.3 |
| New Jersey |
51,948 | 4.7 | 18.5 | 5.7 |
| Hawaii |
44,969 | 4.1 | 12.6 | 3.9 |
| Illinois |
44,480 | 4.0 | 14.6 | 4.5 |
| Florida | 41,278 | 3.7 | 11.2 | 3.4 |
Counties With the Largest Number of Asian-Owned Firms: 2002
| County | Firms (number) |
Receipts (billion dollars) |
|---|---|---|
Los Angeles County, Calif. |
140,411 | 52.5 |
| Queens County, N.Y. | 48,241 | 5.5 |
| Orange County, Calif. | 46,015 | 11.3 |
| Honolulu County, Hawaii | 35,376 | 9.8 |
Cities With the Largest Number of Asian-Owned Firms: 2002
| City | Firms (number) |
Receipts (billion dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| New York, N.Y. | 112,853 | 22.0 |
| Los Angeles, Calif. | 47,714 | 19.5 |
| Honolulu, Hawaii | 22,394 | 7.1 |
| San Francisco, Calif. | 19,639 | 5.4 |
| San Jose, Calif. | 16,233 | 6.1 |
| Houston, Texas | 15,966 | 5.5 |
Asian Ownership of Firms by Detailed Group: 2002
| Group | Firms (number) |
Percent of total |
Receipts (billions of dollars) |
Percent of
total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian-owned firms | 1,104,189 | (X) | 326.4 | (X) |
| Chinese | 290,197 | 26.3 | 106.3 | 32.6 |
| Asian Indian | 231,179 | 20.9 | 89.0 | 27.3 |
| Korean | 158,031 | 14.3 | 46.9 | 14.4 |
| Vietnamese | 147,081 | 13.3 | 15.7 | 4.8 |
| Filipino | 128,223 | 11.6 | 14.6 | 4.5 |
| Japanese | 86,863 | 7.9 | 30.6 | 9.4 |
| Other Asian | 71,439 | 6.5 | 20.3 | 6.2 |
The 2002 Survey of Business Owners (SBO) defines Asian-owned businesses as firms in which Asians own 51 percent or more of the stock or equity of the business.
Source: Census 2006