Demographics

As the fastest-growing and most internally diverse populations in the country, Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities reflect a rich history shaped by shifting immigration laws, refugee resettlements, and legacies of colonialism and military presence in the Pacific. With distinct migratory paths, spanning post-1965 professional and family-based immigration, Southeast Asian refugee movements, and Compact of Free Association (COFA)-enabled migration, AA and NHPI communities have unique economic profiles and geographic concentrations. Accurate demographic counts for these groups are an essential civil rights priority, as they directly shape congressional representation, service provision, and funding from public and private agencies. In the past, data aggregation and systemic undercounting have often obscured the full scale and detailed composition of AA and NHPI populations.

This chapter examines demographic shifts in detail, presenting disaggregated population counts across various Asian and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander national origin groups while highlighting key geographic areas experiencing rapid residential growth. To conclude, the chapter situates these findings within the evolving framework of federal data standards, emphasizing the civil rights imperative of ensuring precise demographic enumeration for all AANHPI residents.

Key Findings

1. The Asian American population has grown to more than 26 million, making it the fastest-growing racial group in the United States since 2020. Asian Americans (alone or in combination) numbered approximately 26.4 million as of the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS), a 10% increase from 24 million in the 2020 Decennial Census. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (alone or in combination) numbered approximately 1.7 million, a 6% increase from 1.59 million over the same period.
2. California is home to more than a quarter of all Asian Americans and a fifth of all Pacific Islanders. California was the top state of residence for Asian Americans (28.4%) and the second largest for NHPIs (20.3%).
3. Between 2020 and 2024, smaller- and mid-sized states saw the largest proportional increases in population growth. Montana had the highest rate of Asian American growth at 46.3%, followed by Kentucky (36.0%), Utah (36.0%), Arkansas (35.7%), and North Dakota (35.4%). Pacific Islander growth rates were even higher, led by Wisconsin (145.0%), Connecticut (130.7%), North Dakota (115.8%), Kentucky (106.0%), and Kansas (100.2%).
4. Asian American communities are internally diverse, with dozens of detailed origin groups counted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. Census Bureau counted 41 detailed origin groups in the 2020 Census, and its American Community Survey provides reliable annual estimates for 23 detailed origins. Indian Americans are the largest single-origin group at 5.1 million (24.1% of the Asian total), followed by Chinese Americans at 4.5 million (21.3%) and Filipino Americans at 3.3 million (15.4%). At the other end, Mien Americans number approximately 12,000, the smallest single-origin group in the detailed tabulation.
5. Native Hawaiians are the largest NHPI national origin group, with substantial geographic and population diversity in the rest of the Pacific Islander community. Native Hawaiians account for 28.3% of the NHPI total, followed by Pacific Islanders not specified (20.7%), Samoan (20.7%), and Chamorro (12.7%) individuals. Marshallese individuals, who number approximately 34,000 nationally, are concentrated in Arkansas and Hawaii, reflecting distinct migration patterns shaped by the Compact of Free Association.
6. Geographic settlement patterns differ sharply across Asian and NHPI national origin groups, reflecting distinct immigration pathways, refugee resettlement histories, and community networks. Bangladeshi Americans are heavily concentrated in New York (46.2% of their national total), Mien Americans are almost entirely in California (83.7%), Bhutanese Americans are concentrated in Pennsylvania and Ohio (35.5% and 16.8%), and Hmong Americans are split between California and Minnesota (30.6% and 29.0%, respectively). Indian Americans are among the most geographically dispersed groups across the country, with industry and occupation patterns in the medical, academic, hospitality, and tech industries accounting for this dispersion.

To read the entire article: https://aapidata.com/data/2026-state-of-aanhpis-report-demographics/