Asian American demographics by city

[Docere]

Originally Posted by edale

Interesting list. Would there be any way to show the numbers of the top two Asian groups in the IE? San Jose and SF should be looked at together, and same with LA and the IE. When you combine SJ and SF, their Chinese population exceeds LA's, but I'm curious what happens when the IE is added in for LA. I don't perceive the IE as having a large Asian presence, but it's hard to say. LA's Chinese community is on the eastern side of the MSA, so it's plausible that some of them have moved even further east and are now part of the IE metro area.

Including Taiwanese with Chinese, and adding in the Inland Empire, Bay Area (649,000) edges out Greater L.A. (598,000).

The largest group in the Inland Empire is Filipino (93,000). 517,000 Filipinos in Greater L.A.

[Docere]

BTW I am using this site as a quick reference, since the American Factfinder is a bit of work to do.

https://statisticalatlas.com/United-States/Overview

[austlar1]

^^^ Very cool link. Thanks.

[Docere]

I don't have data on this, but it seems like Asian Americans in L.A. likely live in a surrounding environment that's every bit as Asian as (suburban) Bay Area Asians do. They're just a smaller population of the overall area as there are wider swaths with little Asian representation, while Asians are pretty much everywhere in the Bay Area.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by Docere

I don't have data on this, but it seems like Asian Americans in L.A. likely live in a surrounding environment that's every bit as Asian as (suburban) Bay Area Asians do. They're just a smaller population of the overall area as there are wider swaths with little Asian representation, while Asians are pretty much everywhere in the Bay Area.

My understanding was that percentage-wise, the Bay Area has a higher percentage of Asians, but in pure numbers, there are more Asians living in Greater LA than in the Bay Area. Per the 2010 Census, the Bay Area has 1.67 million Asians (23.3% of the population), whereas Greater Los Angeles (which comprises LA County, Orange County, the Inland Empire and Ventura County) has 2.19 million Asians (12.3% of the population).

Where Asians live in Greater LA is one thing, but you do see Asians pretty much everywhere while going out and about just like you do in the Bay Area... Asians do, after all, commute to work, go shopping in other areas, go to the beach, and like to hang out in other areas just like everyone else does---including other ethnicities. Which is why it surprises me when some people say that they don't think that LA is all that diverse.

[Chisouthside]

I dont think that figure is taking into account San Jose and the South Bay.

[Docere]

[deleted]

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

The fastest growing Asian groups in many U.S. cities are Filipino and Indian. Filipinos are #1 in San Diego, probably because SD is a Navy town (lots of Filipinos served on navy ships).

LA (and probably SF) have had massive Filipino populations for decades.
For whatever reason, they're just not as discussed on these kinds of forums like Koreans, Chinese, Mexicans, Cubans etc. I don't know why, but something I've noticed.

LA's Filipino population is very dispersed through the city and metro. Which is interesting. I don't think there's a central Filipino neighborhood, as far as I know.

[park123]

I live and grew up in the NY Area, and also lived in LA for a short time. I'll definitely second the comment that LA's Asian community seemed unusual to me in having very few South Asians. I'm not saying there weren't any, but much much less than what I noticed in NY/NJ and the Bay Area. I've been to Artesia's Little India, and to the Little Bangladesh in the middle of Koreatown which has no Bangladeshis. Outside of a few blocks in Artesia, there was a very limited South Asian presence.

LA did seem like it had a very robust Chinese population. the SGV is probably the most impressive suburban Asian area I've ever seen in North America.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by LA21st

LA (and probably SF) have had massive Filipino populations for decades.
For whatever reason, they're just not as discussed on these kinds of forums like Koreans, Chinese, Mexicans, Cubans etc. I don't know why, but something I've noticed.

LA's Filipino population is very dispersed through the city and metro. Which is interesting. I don't think there's a central Filipino neighborhood, as far as I know.

No central Filipino neighborhood per se but there are Filipino clusters throughout LA city and county (I'm Filipino-American myself).

When I was a very small child in the 1970s, Filipino businesses/bakeries/markets tended to be grouped along North Vermont Avenue, kind of near LACC/the Braille Institute. I'm not sure if it's still that way, I'm rarely in that part of town anymore. Eagle Rock also has a large Filipino population. I've heard of Filipinos in Reseda and Panorama City in the San Fernando Valley too.

Outside LA proper, Glendale, Carson, Cerritos, West Covina, Walnut, Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights... all have significant Filipino populations. Socio-economically, they've all become very diverse, too. When I was in high school in Cerritos back in the 1980s, all the Filipino parents (mine included) seemed to be either nurses, doctors, accountants, or real estate agents.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by park123

I live and grew up in the NY Area, and also lived in LA for a short time. I'll definitely second the comment that LA's Asian community seemed unusual to me in having very few South Asians. I'm not saying there weren't any, but much much less than what I noticed in NY/NJ and the Bay Area. I've been to Artesia's Little India, and to the Little Bangladesh in the middle of Koreatown which has no Bangladeshis. Outside of a few blocks in Artesia, there was a very limited South Asian presence.

How long ago was this, if I may ask? Again, I see Indians everywhere in Pasadena. If anything, they seem to be a growing population here. I'm often at Namaste Spiceland buying tea or even eating there on occasion. As well as the Indian market in San Gabriel. Indians seem to be everywhere where I live.

And I recently ate at a restaurant on Venice Blvd. that specializes in cuisine from Kerala. I'm telling, you, Indians, Indians, Indians!

[park123]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

How long ago was this, if I may ask? Again, I see Indians everywhere in Pasadena. If anything, they seem to be a growing population here. I'm often at Namaste Spiceland buying tea or even eating there on occasion. As well as the Indian market in San Gabriel. Indians seem to be everywhere where I live.

The last time I visited was a few years ago. I take an interest in Indian stuff and notice if I see Indian shops and commercial areas.

Again, it's not that there are no Indians in LA. It's just that there are a lot fewer than in NY and the Bay Area.

The only significant retail area that I'm aware of is Pioneer Blvd in Artesia. That's actually a pretty impressive Indian street, to the point where I wonder how they can even maintain it with a small South Asian population. But outside of Pioneer Blvd I haven't seen anything other than a random shop here or there. And I didn't see a lot of South Asians compared to other groups. In fact very few.

Contrast that with the South Bay (in the Bay Area) where Indians are one of the main population groups, or with NY and NJ where they rival East Asians in numbers.

[sopas ej]

delete

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

No central Filipino neighborhood per se but there are Filipino clusters throughout LA city and county (I'm Filipino-American myself).

When I was a very small child in the 1970s, Filipino businesses/bakeries/markets tended to be grouped along North Vermont Avenue, kind of near LACC/the Braille Institute. I'm not sure if it's still that way, I'm rarely in that part of town anymore. Eagle Rock also has a large Filipino population. I've heard of Filipinos in Reseda and Panorama City in the San Fernando Valley too.

Outside LA proper, Glendale, Carson, Cerritos, West Covina, Walnut, Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights... all have significant Filipino populations. Socio-economically, they've all become very diverse, too. When I was in high school in Cerritos back in the 1980s, all the Filipino parents (mine included) seemed to be either nurses, doctors, accountants, or real estate agents.

Yes, from what I understand and seen Filipinos are in the medical fields.

[craigs]

Daly City (2018 est. pop. 107,008) was 33.2% Filipino at the 2010 Census, and the 2017 estimate (most recent) shows the city at 32% Filipino and 57.4% Asian overall. Daly City is where Filipinos have achieved a critical mass, but far more Filipinos live scattered around the rest of the Bay Area.

[Docere]

Went to the Factfinder, ACS 2017 (5-year estimates). Added Riverside MSA to LA and Bridgeport MSA to NY and put San Francisco and Silicon Valley together. I included Taiwaese with Chinese.

Asian American total

Los Angeles 2,775,457
New York 2,487,423
Bay Area 2,124,796

Chinese

New York 860,766
Bay Area 764,488
Los Angeles 718,794

Indian

New York 714,036
Bay Area 369,706
Los Angeles 193,288

Filipino

Los Angeles 636,217
Bay Area 427,112
New York 247,836

Vietnamese

Los Angeles 370,378
Bay Area 222,597
New York 43,174

Korean

Los Angeles 368,079
New York 222,328
Bay Area 92,416

Japanese

Los Angeles 195,418
Bay Area 115,502
New York 67,087

[Docere]

Here is South Asians. Only really significantly changes the numbers in New York where there are large Bangladeshi and Pakistani populations.

South Asian

New York 923,895
Bay Area 400,687
Los Angeles 237,087

[Docere]

Some more MSAs, Asian groups with at least 50,000.

Atlanta

Indian 119,078
Chinese 55,201
Korean 50,400

Boston

Chinese 159,555
Indian 86,821

Chicago

Indian 224,964
Filipino 140,736
Chinese 129,730
Korean 62,331

Dallas

Indian 160,660
Vietnamese 93,171
Chinese 72,111

Houston

Indian 136,840
Vietnamese 133,081
Chinese 103,735
Filipino 62,917

Philadelphia

Indian 121,371
Chinese 96,186

San Diego

Filipino 199,627
Chinese 81,117
Vietnamese 58,039

Seattle

Chinese 137,233
Filipino 112,348
Indian 93,609
Korean 71,137
Vietnamese 70,598
Japanese 58,395

Washington

Indian 170,543
Chinese 134,485
Korean 97,766
Filipino 88,345
Vietnamese 73,128

[CaliNative]

"Asia" goes al the way west to Turkey, and includes everything east of the Caucasus/Ural Mountains in a geographic sense. Yet the list of "Asians" seems to exclude groups like Iranians (many 100s of thousands in L.A. area), Arabs, Israelis, Siberians etc. How does the Census Bureau define "Asian"? In the geographic meaning, as a person from Asia? Both Iran and India are in Asia, yet the list includes Indians but doesn't include Iranians, or many other nationalities that are also Asian and have significant numbers of immigrants in the U.S.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

"Asia" goes al the way west to Turkey, and includes everything east of the Caucasus/Ural Mountains in a geographic sense. Yet the list of "Asians" seems to exclude groups like Iranians (many 100s of thousands in L.A. area), Arabs, Israelis, Siberians etc. How does the Census Bureau define "Asian"? In the geographic meaning, as a person from Asia? Both Iran and India are in Asia, yet the list includes Indians but doesn't include Iranians, or many other nationalities that are also Asian and have significant numbers of immigrants in the U.S.

The census bureau defines Asian to include anyone from East, Southeast, or South Asia. People from Central Asia and West Asia are just defined as being white.

This means that if you are a Pashtun from Pakistan, you are Asian, but if you are a Pashtun from Afghanistan, you are white.