A new report on the income and poverty of Asian Americans from the Center for American Progress is a study of contrasts.
Asian Americans have household incomes greater that the national average and even whites, but yet have the fastest growing populations in poverty since the great recession.
Also the per capita income when adjusted for the cost of living is lower for Asian Americans than whites.That’s because Asian Americans are concentrated in four states–Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, and California–where the cost of living is much higher.
Indian Americans and Filipino Americans, whose selective migration are clustered in the high skilled visas, have the highest household income among Asian Americans.
On the other hand, Southeast Asians primarily came to the US as refugees with limited education. Cambodian, Hmongs and Bangladeshis have the lowest household income among Asian American groups.
From 2007 to 2011, the number of Asian Americans living in poverty increased 37 percent and 60 percent among Pacific Islanders. That’s higher than any other group and much higher than the national average of 27 percent.
For a look at all the numbers and a detailed analysts by researchers Karthick Ramakrishnan and Farah Z. Ahmad you can read a fact sheet from theCenter for American Progress .