Asian Population in the U.S. Tripled Over 30 Years... 1.5 Million Korean Americans

Average Income of Korean American Households $74,323... 16% Higher Than US Household Average

On March 27 (local time), people gathered at Union Square in San Francisco, USA, for a march against hate and violence toward Asians. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The Asian population in the United States has tripled over the past 30 years, approaching 20 million. Among them, the Korean population is estimated to be around 1.5 million.

On the 21st (local time), The New York Times (NYT) reported this based on the '2020 U.S. Census statistics.' In this survey, Asians were defined as those with ancestry from more than 20 countries located in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. The Census Bureau stated that the number of Asian Americans reached 20 million as of last year, about three times the 660,000 recorded in 1990.

By origin, the Chinese population was the largest at 4.1 million, followed by India (4 million), the Philippines (2.9 million), Vietnam (1.8 million), Korea (1.5 million), and Japan (770,000). A significant number of Asians were either born in the U.S. or naturalized to obtain citizenship.

In 1990, Asian populations were concentrated in some coastal cities of the U.S. In contrast, recently, they have spread to various regions including southern suburbs and rural areas in the Midwest. The number of counties where Asians make up more than 5% of the total population increased from 39 in 1990 to 176 in 2020.

The income and education levels of Asian households were higher than the average for the entire U.S. population. However, differences appeared depending on the country of origin.

The Asian group with the highest median income was Indian Americans, with $123,700 (approximately 146.4 million KRW), nearly twice the U.S. median household income of $63,922. This is attributed to a high proportion of Indian-origin individuals working in high-income fields such as computer science, financial management, and healthcare. Nine percent of doctors in the U.S. were of Indian descent, and more than half of them were immigrants.

The median income of Korean American households in the U.S. was $74,323 (approximately 88 million KRW), also higher than the overall U.S. median household income. Among Korean American households, 13% were high-income households earning over $200,000. The proportion of low-income households earning less than $40,000 was about 32%.

Income differences were also observed depending on the birthplace of household members. The median income of Korean American households with a household head born in the U.S. was $95,000. In contrast, households with a household head who was not a U.S. citizen had a median income of $54,000. The homeownership rate among Korean American households was 56%, and 60% of those aged 25 and older had a college degree.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.