Asian Americans, The Fastest-Growing Cultural Segment, Boast High Incomes

November 19, 2012

This article is included in these additional categories:

African-American | Asia-Pacific | Food & Restaurants | Hispanic | Household Income | Mobile Phone | Radio

The median income of Asian American households is 28% higher than the US population median ($63,420 vs. $49,580), and the average income for these households is about 17% higher ($78,600 vs. $67,320), according to [download page] Nielsen’s “State of the Asian American Consumer” report, released in November. In fact, fully 28.1% of Asian American households have incomes higher than $100K, compared to just 18.2% for the US as a whole. In volume alone, the number of Asian American households with incomes greater than $100k (1.39 million) rivals the number of African-American households (1.45 million) and Hispanic households (1.78 million) with that level of income.

The Asian American population not only sports high incomes, but is also the fastest growing multicultural segment of the US population, experiencing a 51% increase in size since 2000. That’s slightly more rapid than the Hispanic population’s growth rate (50.6%), and far outweighs growth rates for African-Americans (14.5%) and the population at-large (11.3%).

Asian American Population Primarily Hails From 5 Countries

The Asian American population is not homogenous, of course. But, 86% of Asian Americans originate from China, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea and Japan. Chinese represent the largest group, at 22%, followed by Asian Indians at 19% and Filipinos at 18%. Citing US Census data from 2010, the report finds that at present, immigration appears to be highest among Chinese Americans, with a foreign-born percentage of 76%, compared to just 32% among Japanese Americans.

Asian Americans Embrace Mobile, Digital

Asian Americans skew very high for smartphone penetration, at 70% versus 55% for the total population. And, they also show an above-average tendency to visit computer and consumer electronics websites, doing so 36% more often than the total population, and spending 72% more time on those sites. Overall, they view about 3600 web pages per month, which is roughly 1000 pages higher than any other demographic group.

Among US races and ethnicities, Asian Americans spent by far the most time watching video online of any race or ethnicity in Q1 2012, a pattern than continued in Q2 [download page].

Other Findings:

  • During the 52 week average ending December 31, 2011, Asian Americans spent almost 3 times the US average on dried vegetables and grains (index of 274), and also significantly over-indexed in spending on baby food (203) and refrigerated juices and drinks (152).
  • Asian-Americans make about 3 more shipping trips per year than non-Hispanic white households (152.1 vs. 149), although they spend slightly less per trip ($45.70 vs. $46.90).

About The Data: Gathered from Nielsen sources including Nielsen Panel May 2012 data, Nielsen Pop-Facts Premier 2012, and Nielsen’s Homescan survey, as well as US Census data for 2010.

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