Asian American demographics by city

[mrnyc]

^ i agree the census is the best real deal, but the staten sri lankan example numbers are not that many and they come from multiple sources and a known history:



The Sri Lankans occupying Staten Island are now rumored to be more than one third of the entire Sri Lankan population in New York City as well as being the largest home for Sri Lankan people outside of Sri Lanka.

Recent data has proven all but impossible to locate but estimates suggest that the population has swelled because of the Sri Lankan Civil War and following financial crisis. The Sri Lankan population is now suspected to be about 5,000 people on Staten Island, a massive increase from the 799 Sri Lankans in 2000.

Why Staten Island?

Research indicates that the surge of Sri Lankan populous in the Tompkinsville area is due more in part to friendly faces than economic status. Because of the more suburban setting and more affordable property some of the earlier Sri Lankan immigrants moved to Staten Island and offered their home as a place to help new immigrants get their bearings and settle in the new country.

Leslie Gunaratne says that his family was the first from Sri Lanka to settle on Staten Island when they moved into their three-bedroom apartment on Targee Street on May 1, 1967…. In just a few months, he helped his five brothers, four sisters and their families move to the U.S. … By the time Gunaratne moved to Houston in 1979, he estimates that 80 percent of the roughly 500 Sri Lankans on Staten Island ‘were connected to me by blood or marriage.’”

Also, for members of the community who had to find jobs in the city, Tompkinsville is practical for its proximity to the ferry.



Fernandes, N.F.P. “Points of Entry: Sri Lankan enclave .” City Limits. N.p., 01/04/2000. Web. 20 Mar 2011. <http://www.citylimits.org/news/articles/2283/points-of-entry-sri-lankan-enclave>.

[Crawford]

There's a small cluster of Sri Lankan restaurants and markets not too far from the Staten Island ferry hub. Maybe on Victory Blvd.? It's on one of the major bus-only lanes to the ferry.

Staten Island gets stereotyped as suburban and Italian, but that's true only in the southern half of the island. Most of the borough lives in the northern half, which is mostly urban and polyglot. The area near the ferry is basically Queens-level diverse. There are some Irish and Italian North Shore enclaves further inland, but most of the North Shore doesn't fit the SI stereotype.

[mrnyc]

because colin jost and pete davidson are from there staten was featured again on snl -- with a funny parody of clevelander marc cohen's soft rock hit walking in memphis:


https://youtu.be/W62Vmju18Vw


actually tho staten island is only weird to new yorkers.

to the rest of the country it's just 'murica.

[wg_flamip]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

The Sri Lankans occupying Staten Island are now rumored to be more than one third of the entire Sri Lankan population in New York City as well as being the largest home for Sri Lankan people outside of Sri Lanka.

I really doubt that. There are hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans living in the Gulf with hundreds of thousands more living in a handful of Commonwealth countries. Even a few European countries (e.g., France and Italy) have larger Sri Lankan populations than the US. To put things in perspective: The Toronto CMA's Sri Lankan population in 2016 was more than double the size of the Sri Lankan population in the US as a whole in 2018.

[Urbanguy]

Originally Posted by wg_flamip

I really doubt that. There are hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans living in the Gulf with hundreds of thousands more living in a handful of Commonwealth countries. Even a few European countries (e.g., France and Italy) have larger Sri Lankan populations than the US. To put things in perspective: The Toronto CMA's Sri Lankan population in 2016 was more than double the size of the Sri Lankan population in the US as a whole in 2018.

Yeah what mrnyc stated about the Sri Lankan population in NYC is inaccurate -- London, Toronto & Melbourne (Australia) all have much larger Sri Lankan populations than NYC so that rumor or claim would be false & i'm sure Dubai would beg to differ.

[proghousehead]

Originally Posted by Urbanguy

Yeah what mrnyc stated about the Sri Lankan population in NYC is inaccurate -- London, Toronto & Melbourne (Australia) all have much larger Sri Lankan populations than NYC so that rumor or claim would be false & i'm sure Dubai would beg to differ.

London has like 100k Sri Lankans. SI has a respectable population for the US, i guess. Fwiw when I first went to SI I decided to explore after getting off the ferry. I randomly stumbled into this vibrant Sri Lankan neighborhood, which certainly came as a surprise, but a pleasant one at that.

One of the joys of living NYC. Turn a corner and who knows what you’ll come across randomly.

[mrnyc]

lol i didnt write that -- but in context pretty sure they meant in america.

anyway, having around 15k sri lankans in nyc proper and 50k in america is rather impressive for a random place like sri lanka and a rather new immigrant community that has no connection to the states otherwise.

at least, i doubt there are 50k americans living in sri lanka, so its a net plus.

and yes as it is my new neighborhood in north shore staten it will be nice for us to have the sri lankan food, etc., at hand (tho i have worked there occassionally for over a decade).

[Agitprop]

Most Sri Lankan diaspora communities are more Tamil than Sinhalese - Staten Island is the exception that proves the rule.

[RST500]

Top states by Indian %:

1. New Jersey (4.2%)
2. California (2.0%)
3. Illinois (1.9%)
4. New York (1.9%)
5. Connecticut (1.8%)

Top counties:

1. Middlesex, NJ (15.8%)
2. Sutter, CA (12.6%)
3. Loudoun, VA (9.6%)
4. Santa Clara, CA (9.3%)
5. Somerset, NJ (9.2%)

[RST500]

Originally Posted by Agitprop

Most Sri Lankan diaspora communities are more Tamil than Sinhalese - Staten Island is the exception that proves the rule.

Canada and the UK took in a lot of Sri Lankan Tamils during the civil war, specifically as refugees. I don't think the US did.

[RST500]

"The 10 highest concentrations of Hindu Americans in counties with more than 10,000 residents are:

Middlesex County, New Jersey (7%)
Santa Clara County, California (5%)
Hudson County, New Jersey (5%)
Queens County, New York (4%)
Alameda County, California (3%)
San Mateo County, California (3%)
Somerset County, New Jersey (3%)
Collin County, Texas (3%)
Loudoun County, Virginia (3%)
Fort Bend County, Texas (3%)"

https://www.prri.org/research/2020-c...ican-religion/

[Docere]

Asian American is a large umbrella with a lot of variation, NYS is now requiring data to be broken down for different nationalities/subgroups.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-a...oups-rcna10237

[Docere]

Top 10 MSAs for selected Asian groups:

Chinese

New York 865,000 4.3%
Los Angeles 678,000 5.1%
San Francisco 582,000 12.3%
San Jose 239,000 12%
Boston 174,000 3.5%
Seattle 166,000 4.1%
Washington 135,000 2.1%
Chicago 135,000 1.4%
Honolulu 117,000 11.5%
Houston 111,000 1.6%

Indian

New York 711,000 3.5%
Chicago 238,000 2.5%
San Francisco 234,000 4.9%
Dallas 208,000 2.7%
Washington 192,000 3%
San Jose 189,000 9.4%
Los Angeles 171,000 1.3%
Houston 161,000 2.3%
Atlanta 137,000 2.2%
Philadelphia 137,000 2.2%

Filipino

Los Angeles 506,000 3.8%
San Francisco 310,000 6.5%
New York 236,000 1.2%
Honolulu 214,000 21%
San Diego 201,000 6%
Las Vegas 147,000 6.5%
Chicago 145,000 1.5%
Riverside 136,000 3%
Seattle 115,000 2.9%
San Jose 109,000 5.5%

Vietnamese

Los Angeles 346,000 2.6%
Houston 143,000 2%
San Jose 143,000 7.2%
Dallas 96,000 1.3%
San Francisco 84,000 1.8%
Seattle 74,000 1.8%
Washington 69,000 1.1%
San Diego 58,000 1.8%
Atlanta 55,000 0.9%
Sacramento 42,000 1.8%

Korean

Los Angeles 326,000 2.5%
New York 220,000 1.1%
Washington 96,000 1.5%
Seattle 67,000 1.8%
Chicago 62,000 0.6%
San Francisco 60,000 1.3%
Atlanta 51,000 0.8%
Philadelphia 42,000 0.7%
Dallas 41,000 0.5%
San Jose 36,000 1.8%

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-t...united-states/

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by Docere

Filipino

Los Angeles 506,000 3.8%
San Francisco 310,000 6.5%
New York 236,000 1.2%
Honolulu 214,000 21%
San Diego 201,000 6%
Las Vegas 147,000 6.5%
Chicago 145,000 1.5%
Riverside 136,000 3%
Seattle 115,000 2.9%
San Jose 109,000 5.5%

Strangely, despite the relatively large numbers of Filipinos in the Chicago Metro, until recently, Filipino food was pretty hard to come by in Chicago (at least in the city). In the last few years though, Seafood City has opened on the NW side, and there is now a Filipino place at 3 of the downtown food halls (Revival, Urban Space and French Market). Also, a Jollibee is opening across from the Art Institute on January 6 (in the same block as the Filipino Consulate? Coincidence? You can see the Filipino flag for the consulate next to the not-yet-opened Jollibee here: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8802...7i16384!8i8192).

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by Docere

Top 10 MSAs for selected Asian groups:

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-t...united-states/

Thanks for putting this together. I rearranged the list by % to get a different view.

A couple notes. It looks like the West Coast is still by far the preferred destination for Asians. Was surprised to see Las Vegas have such a high % of Filipinos. I wonder why NYC hasn't been a destination for Vietnamese people.

It'd be interesting to see what this list looks like for some of the less known Asian countries as well.

Chinese
San Francisco 582,000 12.3%
San Jose 239,000 12%
Honolulu 117,000 11.5%
Los Angeles 678,000 5.1%
New York 865,000 4.3%
Seattle 166,000 4.1%
Boston 174,000 3.5%
Washington 135,000 2.1%
Houston 111,000 1.6%
Chicago 135,000 1.4%

Indian
San Jose 189,000 9.4%
San Francisco 234,000 4.9%
New York 711,000 3.5%
Washington 192,000 3%
Dallas 208,000 2.7%
Chicago 238,000 2.5%
Houston 161,000 2.3%
Atlanta 137,000 2.2%
Philadelphia 137,000 2.2%
Los Angeles 171,000 1.3%

Filipino
Honolulu 214,000 21%
San Francisco 310,000 6.5%
Las Vegas 147,000 6.5%
San Diego 201,000 6%
San Jose 109,000 5.5%
Los Angeles 506,000 3.8%
Riverside 136,000 3%
Seattle 115,000 2.9%
Chicago 145,000 1.5%
New York 236,000 1.2%

Vietnamese
San Jose 143,000 7.2%
Los Angeles 346,000 2.6%
Houston 143,000 2%
San Francisco 84,000 1.8%
Seattle 74,000 1.8%
San Diego 58,000 1.8%
Sacramento 42,000 1.8%
Dallas 96,000 1.3%
Washington 69,000 1.1%
Atlanta 55,000 0.9%

Korean
Los Angeles 326,000 2.5%
Seattle 67,000 1.8%
San Jose 36,000 1.8%
San Francisco 60,000 1.3%
Washington 96,000 1.5%
New York 220,000 1.1%
Atlanta 51,000 0.8%
Philadelphia 42,000 0.7%
Chicago 62,000 0.6%
Dallas 41,000 0.5%

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by homebucket

It'd be interesting to see what this list looks like for some of the less known Asian countries as well.

The Pew Research link has numbers available for many different Asian groups, including Laotians (there's a lot in Minneapolis and Nashville!), Bhutanese (Rochester leads), and Mongolians (Chicago and SF).

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Was surprised to see Las Vegas have such a high % of Filipinos.

Quite a few in Reno too! Nevada has the second highest Filipino percentage after Hawaii (California is third, Alaska is fourth... Anchorage also has a significant Filipino population).

[proghousehead]

Are these based on 2020 census numbers or estimates? If the latter -
The numbers are likely fairly useless given how off the estimates were
From the official numbers.

[Docere]

2019 estimates. Haven't seen detailed figures for Asians in 2020 census.

[proghousehead]

Originally Posted by Docere

2019 estimates. Haven't seen detailed figures for Asians in 2020 census.

Waste of time then. Better to wait for the actuals.