The Rise of Asian Americans

Author: 
Pew Research Center
Date of Publication: 
June, 2012
Source Organization: 
Pew Research Center

Asians have surpassed Hispanics as the largest group of new immigrants to the United States, according to this study from the Pew Research Center, The Rise of Asian Americans. The study reveals that Asian Americans also have the highest income, are the best-educated and are the fastest-growing racial group in America. They are more satisfied than the public with their lives, finances and the direction of the country, and they place more value than other Americans do on marriage, parenthood, hard work and career success.  

A century ago, most Asian Americans were low-skilled, low-wage laborers crowded into ethnic enclaves and targets of official discrimination. Today, they are the most likely of any major racial or ethnic group in America to live in mixed neighborhoods and to marry across racial lines. More than six in ten adults ages 25 to 64 who have come from Asia in recent years have at least a bachelor's degree. This is double the share among recent non-Asian arrivals.  

These milestones of economic success, educational attainment and social assimilation have come to a group that is still majority immigrant. It is projected that by midcentury, one in 10 American residents will be of Asian descent.  

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Citation: 

Pew Research Center: Social and Demographic Trends (2012). The Rise of Asian Americans. Pew Research Center: Washington, D.C. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2012/06/19/the-rise-of-asian-americans/

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