Asians & Pacific Islanders 1990 Census

Asians & Pacific Islanders Enumerated in the 1990 Census

Compiled by Joe Doyle and Dr. Madhulika Khandelwal

Between 1980 and 1990 the population of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States more than doubled, from 3,500,000 to 7,244,000. The following tables, based on the 1990 Census, represent a statistical sketch of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S.: their ethnic composition, distribution throughout the five boroughs of New York City, and population size relative to other races in our multi-ethnic society. This information is intended to broaden public understanding of the growing Asian community in the United States – and to provide civic leaders with some simple data to use in formulating public policy.

Table 1: 1990 Population by Ethnicity
wdt_ID   New York City U.S.

NOTE:The actual numbers of Asians and Pacific Islanders may be larger than the Census figures given here. The Census tends to undercount undocumented and hard-to-document urban populations.

Table 2: New York City Population
wdt_ID   1990 % of population 1980 % of population

Note: * Includes Eskimos and Aleutians

Table 3: United States Population by Race (rounded off to the nearest thousand)
wdt_ID   1990 % of population 1980 % of population

Note: * Includes Eskimos and Aleutians

Table 4: Comparative Populations of Six Asian Communities, 1990 and 1980*
wdt_ID   NYC 1990/1980 Queens 1990/1980 Manhattan 1990/1980
wdt_ID   Brooklyn 1990/1980 Bronx 1990/1980 Staten Island 1990/1980
wdt_ID   Chicago 1990 / 1980 Los Angeles 1990 / 1980 San Francisco 1990 / 1980

Note: * The 1980 Federal Census did not enumerate any Asian groups other than these six.


Sources: 1990 Federal Census; 1980 Census: Characteristics of the Population, August 1982, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

Joe Doyle is publications coordinator and Dr. Madhulika Khandelwal is research historian on the staff of the Asian/American Center of ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ.Ìý