List of U.S. cities with significant Chinese-American populations

U.S. cities with significant Chinese-American populations

New York City is home to the largest Chinese American population of any city proper, with over half a million. Multiple large Chinatowns in Manhattan, Brooklyn (above), and Queens are thriving as traditionally urban enclaves, as large-scale Chinese immigration continues into New York, with the largest metropolitan Chinese population outside Asia.

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Cities considered to have large Chinese American populations are large cities or municipalities with a critical mass of at least 1% of the total urban population; medium-sized cities with a critical mass of at least 1% of their total population; and small cities with a critical mass of at least 10% of the total population.

According to the 2012 Census estimates, the three metropolitan areas with the largest Chinese American populations were the Greater New York Combined Statistical Area at 735,019 people, the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area at 629,243 people, and the Greater Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area at about 566,968 people. In the post-1965 era, first- and second-generation immigrants include those from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Also included in the Chinese American population enumeration are ethnic Chinese from Vietnam who might consider themselves more Chinese than Vietnamese, thus skewing Census reporting.

New York City is home to by far the highest Chinese American population of any city proper, with an estimated 522,619 Chinese Americans in New York City, significantly higher than the total of the next five cities combined; multiple large Chinatowns in Manhattan, Brooklyn (three), and Queens (three) are thriving as traditionally urban enclaves, as large-scale Chinese immigration continues into New York, with the largest metropolitan Chinese population outside Asia. 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 individuals residing in Rosemead and El Monte to wealthier immigrants living in Arcadia, San Marino, and Diamond Bar. A similar demographic shift has also taken place in the southern half of the San Francisco Bay Area. 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.

Large cities

The list of large cities (population greater than 250,000) with a Chinese American population of at least one percent of the total population, as of the United States 2010 Census.

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

New York City boroughs

Main article: Chinese Americans in New York City

See also: Asian Americans in New York City

As the city proper with the nation's largest Chinese American population by a wide margin, with an estimated 573,388 in 2014, and as the primary destination for new Chinese immigrants, New York City is subdivided into official municipal boroughs, which themselves are home to significant Chinese populations, with Brooklyn and Queens, adjacently located on Long Island, leading the fastest growth. (Note that The Bronx, with 6,891 Chinese Americans, comprising a sub-threshold 0.5% of the borough's population, is not listed in this table.) Other than New York City taken as a whole, Queens is home to the highest Chinese American population of any municipality in the United States, followed closely by Brooklyn.

Rank	Borough	City	Chinese Americans (2012)	Density of Chinese Americans per square mile	Percentage of borough population
1	Queens	New York City	208,897	1,912.3	9.2
2	Brooklyn	New York City	195,750	2,772.3	7.6
3	Manhattan	New York City	97,461	4,244.8	6.0
4	Staten Island	New York City	13,620	232.9	2.9

Medium-size cities

List of medium-sized cities (population between 100,000 and 250,000) with a Chinese American population of at least one percent of the total population, according to the 2005-2009 American Community Survey.

Rank	City	State	Chinese Americans	Percentage
1	Fremont	California	34,678	17.3
2	Daly City	California	13,359	13.3
3	El Monte	California	15,339	12.7
4	Irvine	California	24,233	12.3
5	Sunnyvale	California	14,777	11.3
6	Bellevue	Washington	10,928	9.6
7	Berkeley	California	7,585	7.4
8	Cambridge	Massachusetts	5,772	5.4
9	Torrance	California	6,887	4.9
10	Pasadena	California	6,084	4.3
11	Ann Arbor	Michigan	6,364	5.6
12	Naperville	Illinois	5,399	3.8
13	Richardson	Texas	3,274	3.3
14	Thousand Oaks	California	3,794	3.0
15	Everett	Washington		2.5
16	Concord	California	2,960	2.4
17	Cary	North Carolina	2,128	2.3
18	Madison	Wisconsin	4,617	2.0
19	Huntington Beach	California	3,804	2.0
20	Tempe	Arizona	3,413	2.0
21	Champaign	Illinois		1.8
22	Chandler	Arizona	4,131	1.7
23	Stamford	Connecticut	1,998	1.7
24	Jersey City	New Jersey	3,600	1.5
25	Columbia	Missouri	1,454	1.5
26	Arlington	Virginia	2,837	1.4
27	Salt Lake City	Utah	3,600	1.3
28	Glendale	California	2,519	1.3
29	Eugene	Oregon	1,908	1.3
30	Simi Valley	California	1,609	1.3
31	Pembroke Pines	Florida	1,861	1.3
32	Overland Park	Kansas	2,035	1.2
33	Durham	North Carolina	2,004	1.1
34	Irving	Texas	2,157	1.1
35	Providence	Rhode Island	1,867	1.1
36	Syracuse	New York	1,542	1.1
37	Roseville	California	1,227	1.0
38	Carrollton	Texas	1,223	1.0
39	Garland	Texas	2,174	1.0
40	Reno	Nevada	2,128	1.0
41	Gilbert	Arizona	2,042	1.0
42	Worcester	Massachusetts	1,849	1.0
43	Santa Rosa	California	1,613	1.0

Smaller communities

List of places with a population fewer than 100,000 and a Chinese American population of at least ten percent (California) or three percent (rest of U.S.) of the total population, according to the 2005-2009 American Community Survey.

California - Greater Los Angeles

Main article: Chinese enclaves in the San Gabriel Valley

The majority of the Chinese American population of more than 400,000 in Los Angeles County lives within the San Gabriel Valley, which is particularly noted for cities that have a large Chinese American ethnic plurality. The following cities have the highest percentage of Chinese Americans in Greater Los Angeles.

Rank	City	Percentage
1	Monterey Park	47.7
2	Arcadia	43.9
3	San Marino	43.4
4	San Gabriel	42.1
5	Temple City	41.5
6	Rowland Heights	38.0
7	Alhambra	37.1
8	East San Gabirel	35.8
9	Walnut	35.4
10	Rosemead	34.9
11	South San Gabirel	27.0
12	Diamond Bar	25.9
13	North El Monte	24.7
14	Hacienda Heights	24.2
15	Bradbury	24.1
16	Mayflower Village	16.7
17	City of Industry	16.6
18	South Pasadena	15.7
19	Cerritos	14.8
20	East Pasadena	14.7
21	Bradbury	12.6

California - San Francisco Bay Area

Traditionally centered in San Francisco and Chinatown Oakland, the suburbanization of the Bay Area's Chinese American population has resulted in significant concentrations in the southwestern East Bay, eastern Peninsula, and northern Santa Clara County. Chinese enclaves have also formed in many of these cities, in a similar manner to that of Southern California's San Gabriel Valley.

Rank	City	Percentage
1	Millbrae	28.8
2	Cupertino	28.2
3	Saratoga	22.4
4	Camino Tassajara	21.5
5	Foster City	21.1
6	Hillsborough	18.5
7	Albany	15.7
8	Palo Alto	15.0
9	Milpitas	14.9
10	Los Altos Hills	14.4
11	Alameda	14.4
12	San Leandro	13.7
13	Highlands-Baywood Park	13.3
14	Norris Canyon	13.3
15	El Cerrito	13.2
16	Broadmoor	12.3
17	Stanford	12.2
18	Piedmont	12.0
19	Loyola	11.9
20	San Ramon	11.7
21	Los Altos	11.6
22	Castro Valley	11.5
23	South San Francisco	10.9
24	Union City	10.9
25	Mountain View	10.7
26	Brisbane	10.6

Delaware

• Hockessin - 3.9%

Georgia

• Berkeley Lake, Georgia - 3.3%
• Duluth, Georgia - 3.1%
• Doraville, Georgia - 3.0%

Indiana

• West Lafayette - 6.6%
• Carmel - 3.4%

New Jersey

Rank	City	Percentage
1	Holmdel Township	10.8
2	West Windsor Township	8.9
3	Plainsboro Township	8.7
4	Englewood Cliffs	8.3
5	Marlboro Township	7.3
6	Harrison	7.2
7	East Brunswick	7.1
8	Livingston	6.9
9	Montgomery Township	6.3
10	Edison	6.1
11	Parsippany-Troy Hills	6.0
12	Montville	5.9
13	Fort Lee	5.6
14	Alpine	5.4
15	East Hanover	5.4
16	Highland Park	5.2
17	Edgewater	5.1
18	Piscataway Township	5.0
19	Tenafly	5.0
20	Kingston	4.9
21	Warren Township	4.9
22	Dayton	4.7
23	Princeton Township	4.5
24	South Brunswick Township	4.2
25	Berkeley Heights	4.1
26	Bridgewater Township	4.1
27	Millburn	3.9
28	Paramus	3.9
29	Kendall Park	3.8
30	Cranbury Township	3.7
31	Princeton Junction	3.6
32	Bernards Township	3.3
33	Closter	3.3
34	Cresskill	3.3
35	New Providence	3.1

Ohio

• Glenwillow - 5.1%
• Solon - 4.2%
• Athens - 3.7%
• Dublin - 3.3%
• Oxford - 3.1%

Texas

• Sugar Land - 9.1%
• New Territory - 7.1%
• Plano - 5.2%
• Bellaire - 3.5%
• Richardson - 3.5%
• Stafford - 3.3%
• Jollyville - 3.2%

Virginia

• Floris - 10.8%
• McLean - 4.1%
• Chantilly - 3.7%
• Fair Oaks - 3.4%

Washington

The overwhelming majority of these cities are in King County, Washington, while three others (Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mill Creek) are in Snohomish County, Washington. Pullman is in Whitman County, Washington.

• Newcastle, Washington - 12.5%
• Mercer Island, Washington - 7.7%
• Redmond, Washington - 6.2%
• West Lake Sammamish, Washington - 4.0%
• Bryn Mawr-Skyway, Washington - 3.8%
• Shoreline, Washington - 3.3%
• Sammamish, Washington - 3.3%
• Pullman, Washington - 3.0%
• Clyde Hill, Washington - 3.0%

See also

• Chinatown
• List of U.S. cities with Asian American majority populations
• List of U.S. cities with large Vietnamese American populations
• Lists of U.S. cities with large ethnic identity populations
• Chinese Americans in New York City

References

Sources

• http://www.city-data.com/
• http://factfinder.census.gov
• Wei Li. "Building Ethnoburbia: The Emergence and Manifestation of the Chinese Ethnoburb in Los Angeles' San Gabriel Valley." Journal of Asian American Studies 2(1): 1-28 (1999).