Census Trends: A Look At Asian Populations in

Massachusetts and Metro Boston

Holly St. Clair, Director of Data Services, Metropolitan Area Planning Council

October 13, 2011

Population

2000 2010 % Change 2000-2010

Massachusetts 6,349,097 6,547,629 3.1%

Metro Boston 3,066,394 3,161,712 3.1%

Community Type

Inner Core 1,345,647 1,391,210 3.4%

Regional Urban Centers 2,020,632 2,056,093 1.8%

Maturing Suburbs 1,231,842 1,251,848 1.6%

Developing Suburbs 1,643,739 1,738,502 5.8%

Rural Towns 107,237 109,976 2.6%

Where are population gains coming from?

-6.34%

0.87%

2.21%

-0.01%

0.51%

2.76%

-­‐8%  

-­‐6%  

-­‐4%  

-­‐2%  

0%  

2%  

4%  

White Black/African American

Asian Pacific Islander Other Latino

Source: Census 2000 and 2010, MAPC region.

Change in Racial/Ethnic Share, 2000-2010

Communities with Large Asian/Pacific Islander Populations 2010

Rank City or Town API (%), 2000 API (%), 2010

1. QUINCY 15.4% 24.0%

2. LOWELL 16.5% 20.1%

3. MALDEN 14.0% 20.0%

4. LEXINGTON 10.9% 19.9%

5. ACTON 8.7% 18.5%

6. WESTBOROUGH 8.1% 17.4%

7. BOXBOROUGH 8.5% 16.3%

8. BROOKLINE 12.8% 15.6%

9. SHREWSBURY 7.6% 15.3%

10. CAMBRIDGE 11.9% 15.1%

Ancestry of the Asian Population

Profile of General Demographic Characteristics for Massachusetts Census 2010 Census 2000 Comparison: Asians

  Census 2000 Census 2010 Change 2000 to 2010

  # % # % # Percentage

Point

Asian 237,124 100% 349,768 100% 11,644 46.9%

Asian Indian 43,801 18% 77,177 22.1% 33,376 76.2% Chinese 84,392 35.4% 122,957 35.2% 38,565 45.7%

Filipino 8,273 3.5% 12,309 3.5% 4,036 48.8%

Japanese 10,539 4.4% 9,224 2.6% -1315 -12.5% Korean 17,369 7.5% 24,110 6.9% 6,741 38.8% Vietnamese 33,962 14.3% 42,915 12.3% 8,953 26.4% Other Asian alone, or two or more Asian 39,788 16.7% 61,076 17.5% 21,288 53.5%

Ancestry of the Asian Population

aOther Pacific Islander alone, or two or more Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander categories.

Profile of General Demographic Characteristics for Massachusetts Census 2010 Census 2000 Comparison: Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders

  Census 2000 Census 2010 Change 2000 to 2010

  # % # % # Percentage

Point

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders 2,489 100% 2,223 100% -266 (X)

Native Hawaiian 562 23% 520 23% -42 0.8% Guamanian or Chamorro 529 21% 671 30% 142 8.9%

Samoan 476 19% 210 9% -266 -9.7%

Other Pacific Islandera 922 37% 822 37% -100 -0.1%

Place of Birth by Race/Ethnicity

93%

68%

31%

49%

70% 67%

7%

32%

69% 51%

30% 33%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

White, Non-Hispanic

Black/African American

Asian Pacific Islander Other Race Latino

Native born

Foreign born

Source: American Community Survey 2009, 1-year Estimates for Massachusetts residents. Black bars indicate 90% confidence interval. Note: All racial categories except for White, Non-Hispanic may include individuals who also identify as Latino.

Language

1,920,043

180,798 263,294

83,179 28,178

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

Households by Language Spoken at Home

Source: American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2009. Notes: Black bars indicate 90% confidence interval.

3%

30%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

English only

Spanish

Spanish: Linguistically isolated

Other Indo-European languages

Other Indo-European: Linguistically isolated

Asian and Pacific Island languages

Asian and Pacific Island: Linguistically isolated

Other languages

Other: Linguistically isolated

Household Language By Linguistic Isolation

Source: American Community Survey 1-year Estimates, 2009 for Massachusetts households. Notes: Black bars indicate 90% confidence interval.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Educational Attainment, Population 25 and Above

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Total 2000

2009

White 2000

2009

Black 2000

2009

Asian 2000

2009

Latino 2000

2009

Bachelor's degree or higher

Some college or associate's degree

High school, GED, or alternative

Less than High School

Source: Census 2000 Metro Boston PUMAS and ACS 2009 Boston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Black bars depict the 90% confidence interval of the estimate.

Median Household Income By Race

$69,334 $74,238

$42,396

$79,928

$38,501 $33,447

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$90,000

All Non-Hispanic White

Black/African American

Asian Latino Other Race

Source: ACS 2009, 1-year MSA data. Note: Black bars indicate 90% confidence interval.

Chinatown

Chinatown, Total Population

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

2000 2010

Chinatown, Racial/Ethnic Makeup

-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

Asian White Latino Black/African American

Two or More Races Other Race

2000

2010

Source: Census 2000 and 2010. Note: Hispanic/Latinos are included in the other race categories in 2000.

Chinatown, Housing Units

95% 88%

5% 12%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

2000 2010

Vacant Housing Units

Occupied Housing Units

Source: Census 2000 and 2010.

• One of the fastest growing racial group

• Places with fastest growing API populations are in Western

Massachusetts but largest number in MetroBoston

• Wide range of languages and countries of origin – many are

linguistically isolated

• Concentrated at high and low ends of education spectrum

Take Aways

Holly St. Clair, Director of Data Services

Metropolitan Area Planning Council hstclair@mapc.org

www.mapc.org www.metrobostondatacommon

Questions