Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AANHPI)

The following facts are possible thanks to the invaluable responses to U.S. Census Bureau surveys. We appreciate the public’s cooperation as we continuously measure America’s people, places and economy.

This racial group is defined as people having origins in any of the original peoples of the East Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. According to the 2019 Census Bureau population estimate, there are 18.9 million Asian Americans, alone, living in the United States. Asian Americans account for 5.7 percent of the nation's population. In 2019, the following states had the largest Asian American populations: California, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, Florida, Virginia, Hawaii, Massachusetts.

The 19 largest Asian origin groups in the United States together account for 97% of the nation’s total Asian population. Below are key findings about these Americans.

Using recently released data from both the 2020 Census and the American Community Survey’s (ACS) 5-year estimates, we detail the diversity of the racial and ethnic composition of this population and its geographic distribution.

Asian Americans are sometimes grouped with Pacific Islanders under the “AAPI” umbrella, and the joint Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month is celebrated annually in May. The AAPI population is the fastest growing racial group in the US, with a population that increased 27% from 2011 to 2021.

The following facts are possible thanks to the invaluable responses to the U.S. Census Bureau surveys. We appreciate the public’s cooperation as we measure America’s people, places and economy.