Chinese American Population
Largest Asian American group with a population of 2,422,970 (Chinese only).
About 1.68 million Asians reported more then one Asian group or race in Census 2000 and are not included in these numbers. Actual number of Chinese would thus be more.
Population growth rates of 47.5% from 1990 to 2000 and 104.1% from 1980-1990.
Comprise 23.74% of the Asian American population and 0.86% of the US population.
Though Chinese Americans have a rapid growth rate their birth rates are lower than those of American whites, and as such their population is aging relatively quickly.
Leading US States
The leading States for Chinese Americans are California, New York, Hawaii, Texas and New Jersey. Together these five States constitute more then 80% of the Chinese American population with 40% being in CA alone.
Chinese American Population by leading US States
| California | 1,122,187 |
| New York | 451,859 |
| Hawaii | 170,803 |
| Texas | 121,588 |
| New Jersey | 110,263 |
| Massachusetts | 92,380 |
| Illinois | 86,095 |
| Washington | 75,884 |
| Florida | 59,280 |
| Pennsylvania | 56,831 |
Contact us for demographics on other US States.
Chinese American Population by leading US Counties
| State | County | Population | % of Total |
| Arizona | Maricopa County | 19,055 | 0.62% |
| California | Los Angeles County | 377,301 | 3.96% |
| California | San Francisco County | 160,947 | 20.72% |
| California | Santa Clara County | 129,062 | 7.67% |
| California | Alameda County | 123,137 | 8.53% |
| California | Orange County | 72,437 | 2.55% |
| California | San Mateo County | 54,692 | 7.73% |
| California | San Diego County | 39,278 | 1.40% |
| California | Sacramento County | 35,546 | 2.91% |
| Florida | Miami-Dade County | 12,848 | 0.57% |
| Florida | Broward County | 10,553 | 0.65% |
| Hawaii | Honolulu County | 136,446 | 15.57% |
| Hawaii | Hawaii County | 17,537 | 11.80% |
| Hawaii | Maui County | 11,513 | 8.99% |
| Illinois | Cook County | 53,199 | 0.99% |
| Maryland | Montgomery County | 31,269 | 3.58% |
| Massachusetts | Middlesex County | 35,297 | 2.41% |
| Massachusetts | Suffolk County | 21,415 | 3.10% |
| Massachusetts | Norfolk County | 20,201 | 3.11% |
| Nevada | Clark County | 15,069 | 1.10% |
| New Jersey | Middlesex County | 23,425 | 3.12% |
| New Jersey | Bergen County | 15,499 | 1.75% |
| New York | Queens County | 147,037 | 6.60% |
| New York | Kings County | 125,358 | 5.09% |
| New York | New York County | 91,588 | 5.96% |
| New York | Nassau County | 18,189 | 1.36% |
| Pennsylvania | Philadelphia County | 19,672 | 1.30% |
| Texas | Harris County | 38,914 | 1.14% |
| Texas | Dallas County | 13,955 | 0.63% |
| Texas | Collin County | 13,844 | 2.82% |
| Virginia | Fairfax County | 20,227 | 2.09% |
| Washington | King County | 53,972 | 3.11% |
Contact us for demographics on other US Counties.
Chinese American Population by leading US Cities
| City | Population | % of Total |
| San Francisco, CA | 160,947 | 20.72% |
| Queens Borough, NY | 147,037 | 6.60% |
| Brooklyn Borough, NY | 125,358 | 5.09% |
| Manhattan Borough, NY | 91,588 | 5.96% |
| Los Angeles, CA | 73,868 | 2.00% |
| Honolulu, HI | 68,849 | 18.53% |
| San Jose, CA | 57,974 | 6.48% |
| Chicago, IL | 34,370 | 1.19% |
| Oakland, CA | 34,253 | 8.57% |
| Fremont, CA | 31,517 | 15.49% |
| Alhambra, CA | 31,099 | 36.24% |
| San Diego, CA | 27,809 | 2.27% |
| Monterey Park, CA | 26,810 | 44.65% |
| Houston, TX | 26,541 | 1.36% |
| Seattle, WA | 22,860 | 4.06% |
| Sacramento, CA | 21,618 | 5.31% |
| Boston, MA | 20,800 | 3.53% |
| Arcadia, CA | 19,676 | 37.09% |
| Philadelphia, PA | 19,672 | 1.30% |
| Rosemead, CA | 17,441 | 32.60% |
| Irvine, CA | 16,961 | 11.86% |
| Rowland Heights, CA | 15,740 | 32.42% |
| Daly City, CA | 15,256 | 14.72% |
| San Gabriel, CA | 14,581 | 36.63% |
| Sunnyvale, CA | 13,691 | 10.39% |
| Hacienda Heights, CA | 13,551 | 25.51% |
| El Monte, CA | 13,152 | 11.34% |
| Cupertino, CA | 12,777 | 25.28% |
| Diamond Bar, CA | 11,396 | 20.25% |
| Temple City, CA | 10,269 | 30.77% |
Contact us for demographics on other US Cities.
Incomes
Median Household Income of $41,583.
Average Chinese household income is about 30% higher then the national average.
Immigration
Immigrant (native Chinese) population is 47% of Chinese American population.
Home Ownership
Home ownership rate of 65% compared to 54% for US average.
About 84% of Chinese Americans between ages 35-44 own a home.
Household Size
Average household size of 3.8 people per household compared to 3.2 for US.
Education
38% have Bachelors degree or higher compared to 22% for national average.
Cultural Characteristics
The community has a strong referral base and repeat customer presence.
They are quality and value conscious.
Geographical Distribution
Smaller pockets of Chinese Americans are also dispersed in rural towns, often university towns, throughout the US.
Chinatowns
Chinese community enclaves known as Chinatowns are present in most major US cities. In Chinese, Chinatown is usually called in standard Mandarin "Tangren Jie" (the neighborhood/streets inhabited by Tang people). In Cantonese, it is called "Tong yan gai" (Tang people street) and the modern "Tong yan fau" (Tang people town, or more accurately, Chinese town). It is called "Tong ngin gai" in Hakka, one of the widely spoken and diffused dialect among overseas Chinese. A more modern Chinese name is "Huábù" (Chinese City) which is used in the semi-official Chinese translations of some cities' documents and signs. The literal word-to-word translation of Chinatown is "Zhongguó Chéng", which is occasionally used in Chinese writing.
Major US Chinatowns could be found in: Chicago IL, HoustonTX, Las Vegas NV, Los Angeles CA, Manhattan NY, Philadelphia PA, Portland OR, Oakland CA, San Francisco CA and Washington DC.