Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders in Orange County, California

Orange County in California is home to the 3rd largest Asian American population and 13^th  largest Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) population in the U.S. Nearly 800,000 Asian Americans and over 22,300 NHPIs live in Orange County, California. Asian Americans comprise 25% of the county’s total population, while NHPIs account for 1%.

From 2010 to 2020, the Asian American population in Orange County grew by 33%, while the NHPI population increased by 15%. In contrast, the White population declined by 10%.

Vietnamese Americans are the largest Asian American ethnic group in Orange County, with a population of 241,557, followed by Chinese (138,463), Filipino (119,566), and Korean Americans (116,534). Among NHPI ethnic groups, Native Hawaiians are the largest (7,804), followed by Samoans (5,638), Chamorros (2,405), and Tongans (1,030).

Malaysian Americans were the fastest-growing Asian American ethnic group, with an 80% population increase between 2010 and 2020. Among NHPIs, Fijians experienced the fastest growth in population, rising by 51% during the same period.

With a median age of 32 years, NHPIs are among the youngest racial groups in Orange County, only slightly older than Black or African Americans and Latinos (both 30 years). Asian Americans have a median age of 38 years, slightly younger than the total population (39 years), and considerably younger than non-Hispanic Whites (48 years).

Hmong (26 years), Nepalese (28 years), Samoan (29 years), and Fijian Americans (30 years) are among the youngest AANHPI ethnic groups based on median age in Orange County, whereas Laotian (42 years), Vietnamese (41 years), Burmese (40 years), and Korean Americans (40 years) are among the oldest.

NHPIs and Black or African Americans have the largest shares of youth ages 17 years and under among racial groups (30%), followed by Latinos (29%). Asian Americans have the second largest share of older adults ages 65 and older (14%), smaller than that of Whites (22%) and the total population (15%).

Among NHPI ethnic groups, Tongans (35%), Samoans (34%), and Chamorros (30%) have the largest proportions of youth ages 17 years and under. Among Asian ethnic groups, Hmong (28%), Cambodian (27%) and Pakistani Americans (27%) have the largest proportions of youth ages 17 years and under, whereas Taiwanese (18%), Japanese (17%) and Vietnamese Americans (16%) have the largest proportions of older adults ages 65 and older.

In 2022, 21,988 businesses in Orange County were owned by Asian Americans. These Asian American-owned businesses generated over $46.4 billion in revenue, employed 150,942 people, and paid over $7.3 billion in payroll. Over 200 (202) businesses were NHPI-owned and generated over $545 million in revenue, employed 1,680 people, and paid over $112 million in payroll.

Orange County is home to more than 2 million voting-age citizens (2,111,656), including 476,061 Asian Americans and 14,783 NHPIs.

The large majority (81%) of Orange County’s Asian American voting-age population (i.e., 18 years old and above) are citizens. Over 90% (93%) of the NHPIs in Orange County who are of voting-age are citizens.

Among Asian Americans, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Pakistani Americans have the highest percentages of voting-age citizens: 88%, 87%, and 87%, respectively. Native Hawaiians have the highest rate of voting-age citizens among NHPIs, at 99%.

Orange County is home to nearly 1 million foreign-born residents, including 431,955 Asian Americans and 3,579 NHPIs. Vietnamese (146,313), Chinese (78,710), and Korean Americans (66,940) have the largest numbers of foreign-born community members.

The majority of Asian Americans in Orange County (56%) are foreign-born, the highest proportion among all racial groups. Among Asian Americans, Vietnamese (62%), Asian Indians (62%) and Koreans (60%) have the highest percentages of foreign-born population. In contrast, the majority of Japanese Americans are native-born, at 77%.  About 16% of NHPIs are foreign-born. Among NHPIs, only 3% of Native Hawaiians are foreign-born, lower than any racial or ethnic group countywide.

About 71% of foreign-born Asian Americans and 67% of foreign-born NHPIs in Orange County are naturalized citizens. Vietnamese (84%), Pakistani (82%) and Cambodian Americans (80%) have the highest naturalization rates among Asian Americans.

There are no official estimates of the number of undocumented Asian American immigrants in Orange County. However, based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data, it is estimated that Orange County is home to nearly 250,000 undocumented immigrants, about 25% of whom are Asian. Vietnamese and Korean Americans have the largest numbers of undocumented individuals, both exceeding 10,000.

About 454,000 individuals living in Orange County speak an Asian or Pacific Islander language. Vietnamese is the most spoken Asian language. In addition to Chinese, Korean and Tagalog, over 55,000 individuals speak other diverse Asian or Pacific Islander languages.

About 70% of Asian Americans and 28% of NHPIs in Orange County speak a language other than English at home. Among Asian Americans, Vietnamese (83%), Taiwanese (75%) and Korean Americans (74%) are most likely to speak a language other than English at home. Among NHPIs, 9% of Native Hawaiians speak a language other than English at home.

In Orange County, one-third (33%) of Asian Americans and 7% of NHPIs are limited English proficient (LEP), which means they speak English less than very well. Vietnamese and Korean Americans have the highest LEP rates at 49% and 40%, respectively, both exceeding the overall LEP rate for Asian Americans.

While Asian Americans adults (56%) are more likely than other racial groups to have a college degree, only one third of NHPIs (33%) are college graduates, with a rate lower than that of the county’s average (42%).

Among Asian American ethnic groups, Asian Indian (79%), Taiwanese (78%) and Pakistani Americans (73%) are most likely to hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher. In contrast, Cambodian (76%) and Vietnamese Americans (78%) have the lowest educational attainment, both below the county’s average rate (87%) of holding a high school diploma or having received a GED.

The per capita income of Asian Americans is slightly less than the county’s average ($42,587 versus $46,099), whereas NHPIs earn significantly less ($35,351) per capita. Among Asian ethnic groups, Cambodian and Vietnamese Americans have the lowest per capita incomes ($27,396 and $32,019, respectively).

The median household income in Orange County is $100,485. Across racial groups, White households have the highest median household income ($111,528), followed by Asian American ($103,749) and NHPI ($101,206) households. Among Asian Americans, Pakistani ($168,567), Asian Indian ($159,971) and Thai ($139,255) households have the highest median household income, whereas Vietnamese ($82,449), Korean ($91,005) and Cambodian ($91,402) households have the lowest median household income.

About 11% of Asian Americans and 8% of NHPIs in Orange County live in poverty. Vietnamese (14%), Chinese (13%), Korean (12%) and Cambodian Americans (12%) have the highest poverty rates among Asian Americans, exceeding the county rate of 10%.

Vietnamese (31%), Cambodian (27%) and Korean Americans (22%) in Orange County are also more likely to be low-income. Asian Indian (11%), Japanese (12%) and Taiwanese (13%) are the least likely to be low-income.

Nearly 3% of households in Orange County receive cash assistance benefits from government programs. NHPI households have the second highest share of households receiving cash public assistance (5%) among all racial groups. Among Asian ethnic groups, Vietnamese (5%), Taiwanese (4%), and Filipino (4%) households have the highest proportions of households receiving cash public assistance. Native Hawaiian households also have an above-average proportion (4%) that receive cash public assistance.

In Orange County, Black or African Americans have the highest unemployment rate (9%), much higher than the county average (5%). NHPIs also have a higher-than-average unemployment rate (6%). Asian Americans have the second lowest unemployment rate across racial groups, similar to non-Hispanic Whites and the county average of 5%.

Among Asian ethnic groups, Pakistani (9%), Cambodian (7%) and Vietnamese Americans (7%) have the highest unemployment rates, whereas Taiwanese have the lowest unemployment rate (3%).

In Orange County, the majority of Asian Americans (56%) and NHPIs (42%) are employed in management and professional occupations. These occupations include managerial roles and professional positions that typically require specialized knowledge or advanced education, in fields such as business, finance, engineering, science, education, healthcare, and arts. Among Asian ethnic groups, Asian Indian (73%), Taiwanese (70%), and Chinese (67%) Americans are the most likely to work in management and professional occupations.

Sales and office occupations are the second most common type of employment among Asian Americans (20%) and NHPIs (24%). Across Asian ethnic groups, Pakistani (23%), Japanese (22%), and Korean (21%) Americans are the most likely to be employed in these occupations, while Vietnamese (19%), Asian Indian (18%), and Thai (15%) Americans are the least likely. Among NHPIs, Native Hawaiians also have a relatively large share of workers in sales and office occupations (23%).

About 14% of Asian Americans and 17% of NHPIs are employed in service occupations. Among Asian Americans, Vietnamese (19%), Thai (18%), and Cambodian (18%) Americans have the largest proportions of workers in service occupations. Over 16% of Native Hawaiians are employed in service occupations, slightly higher than that of the overall NHPI population.

About 11% of Asian Americans and 18% of NHPIs are employed in construction, production, transportation & material moving occupations. Among AANHPI ethnic groups, Cambodian (24%), Vietnamese (19%), and Native Hawaiian (15%) are most likely to be employed in these fields.

Asian Americans and NHPIs in Orange County have lower homeownership rates than Whites (65%). About 62% of Asian Americans in Orange County own their homes, a higher rate than that of the total population (57%). The homeownership rate of NHPIs is 45%, higher than that of Latinos (40%) and Black or African Americans (34%).

Samoan (36%), Bangladeshi (39%), Nepalese (41%), and Laotian Americans (44%) have the lowest homeownership rates of any racial or AANHPI ethnic groups in Orange County.

About 8% of NHPIs and 7% of Asian Americans live in overcrowded housing, which is defined as having more than one person per room. Among Asian ethnic groups, Cambodian (13%), Filipino (11%) and Vietnamese Americans (10%) have the highest rates of living in overcrowded housing, even higher than that of the county’s average (9%).

Renter households are considered to be housing-cost burdened if households spend more than 30% of their income on housing expenses, including rent and utilities. More than half of Asian American (56%) and NHPI (52%) renters in Orange County are housing-cost burdened, similar to that of the total population (56%).

Cambodian (72%), Taiwanese (65%), Native Hawaiian (65%), Vietnamese (64%) and Korean (59%) renters have the highest rates of households that are housing-cost burdened of any racial or AANHPI ethnic groups in Orange County.

About 7% of residents in Orange County do not have health insurance. The uninsured rates among Asian Americans (4%) and NHPIs (4%) are lower than the overall population, while Latinos (13%) and American Indian and Alaska Natives (10%) have the highest uninsured rates.

Nepalese Americans (21%) have the highest uninsured rate of any racial or ethnic groups in Orange County. Cambodian (8%), Korean (7%) and Fijian Americans (6%) also have relatively high proportions of those without health insurance.