Cities with large Chinese American populations with a critical mass of at least 1% of the total urban population and at least 10% of the total suburban population. Information is based on the 2005-2009 American Community Survey.
Multi-generation Chinese Americans include those descended from earlier immigrants - from the 1850s to 1950s - and fully become Americanized and they often have very little social connections and interactions to the new Chinese immigrants and their U.S.-born descendants. In the post-1965 era, first- and second-generation immigrants include those from Mainland China (mostly Mandarin-speaking), Taiwan (Mandarin and Taiwanese-speaking), and Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong Province (Cantonese-speaking). Also included in the Chinese American population are ethnic Chinese from Vietnam who might consider themselves more Chinese than Vietnamese, thus skewing Census reporting (see main article for more details). There are also major Chinese populations in southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, whereas ethnically Chinese people from those countries may identify themselves as Chinese.
The three metropolitan areas with the highest Chinese American populations as per the 2009 American Community Survey were the Greater New York Combined Statistical Area (665,714), the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area (562,355), and the Greater Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area (495,420).[1] New York City is home to the highest Chinese American population of any city proper (486,463), while the Los Angeles County city of Monterey Park has the highest percentage of Chinese Americans of any municipality, at 43.7% of its population, or 24,758 people. The San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County in particular has one of the most prominent collections of U.S. suburbs with large foreign-born Chinese-speaking populations, ranging from working-class residing in Rosemead and El Monte to wealthier immigrants living in Arcadia, San Marino and Diamond Bar. Conversely, the suburbs of New York City within the state of New Jersey are notable for their widespread and increasing prevalence of Chinese Americans (see list below), reflecting their general affluence and propensity for professional occupations.
Contents |
The list of large cities (population greater than 250,000) with a Chinese-American population in excess of one percent of the total population.
| Rank | City | State | Chinese-Americans | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | California | 172,181 | 21.4 |
| 2 | Honolulu | Hawaii | 38,330 | 10.2 |
| 3 | Oakland | California | 34,083 | 8.7 |
| 4 | San Jose | California | 63,434 | 6.7 |
| 5 | New York City | New York | 486,463 | 6.0 |
| 6 | Plano | Texas | 13,592 | 5.2 |
| 7 | Sacramento | California | 20,307 | 4.4 |
| 8 | Seattle | Washington | 27,216 | 4.1 |
| 9 | Boston | Massachusetts | 24,910 | 4.0 |
| 10 | San Diego | California | 35,661 | 2.7 |
| 11 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 30,069 | 2.0 |
| 12 | Stockton | California | 5,188 | 1.8 |
| 13 | Los Angeles | California | 66,782 | 1.8 |
| 14 | Portland | Oregon | 9,113 | 1.7 |
| 15 | Chicago | Illinois | 43,228 | 1.6 |
| 16 | Anaheim | California | 4,738 | 1.4 |
| 17 | Houston | Texas | 29,429 | 1.3 |
| 18 | Austin | Texas | 8,886 | 1.2 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 3,402 | 1.1 |
| 20 | Riverside | California | 2,985 | 1.0 |
List of medium-sized cities (population between 100,000 and 250,000) with a Chinese-American population in excess of one percent of the total population.
List of places with a population fewer than 100,000 and a Chinese-American population in excess of one percent of the total population.
Groups listed (e.g., Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese) after these cities form a large proportion of the Chinese-origin population.
Main Article: Chinese enclaves in the San Gabriel Valley
With a Chinese American population of more than 400,000 in Los Angeles County, the majority are within the San Gabriel Valley, which are particularly noted for cities that have a Chinese American ethnic majority. The following cities have the highest percentage of Chinese Americans among the 40 cities that make up the San Gabriel Valley.
The overwhelming majority of these cities are in King County, Washington, while three others (Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mill Creek) are all in Snohomish County, Washington.
Areas with significant Chinese populations though smaller in size or number than in Metropolitan ethnoburbs.