US Korean 'Homeownership Rate' Below Asian Average... Lower Than Chinese and Japanese

by Kim Eunha

Published 30 Apr.2023 14:28(KST)

Federal Housing Finance Agency Housing Supply, Lending, and Financial Policy Report

Among Asian residents living in the United States, Korean Americans have a relatively low homeownership rate.

According to the 2023 status statistics from the National Association of Asian Real Estate Agencies (AREAA), cited in the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)'s report on housing supply, loans, and financial policies on the 30th, among the 16 major Asian American ethnic groups, Vietnamese Americans ranked first with a homeownership rate of 69.2%.

[Image source=Pixabay]

In second and third place were Chinese Americans (66.3%) and Japanese Americans (66.5%), followed by Filipino Americans (64.3%), Indian Americans (62%), and Laotian Americans (62%).

Thai Americans (58%), Cambodian Americans (57%), and Native Hawaiians (55%) also had more than half of their populations owning homes.

Korean Americans ranked 10th with a homeownership rate of 54.2%. Next were Pakistani Americans (54%) and Sri Lankan Americans (52%), with Nepalese Americans at the bottom with 33%.

The FHFA explained, "While the overall homeownership rate among Asian Americans is over 60%, Korean Americans are at 54%, and Nepalese Americans are around 33%. It is necessary to analyze data from underserved communities in detail to identify the differences faced by racial and ethnic subgroups."

Median household income was highest among Indian Americans at $153,050 (approximately 205 million KRW). Korean Americans ranked fifth with $100,000 (approximately 134 million KRW), following Filipino Americans ($107,000), Chinese Americans ($103,500), and Japanese Americans ($102,300).

The metropolitan statistical area (MSA) with the largest Korean American population was the Los Angeles (LA)-Long Beach-Anaheim area in California. Second was the New York-New Jersey combined New York-Newark-Jersey City area, third was the Washington DC-Arlington-Alexandria area in the East, fourth was the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area in Western Washington, and fifth was the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta area in Georgia.