According to Pew Research Center estimates, more over 2.3 million Asian Americans lived in poverty in 2022, accounting for one-tenth of the US population. Indian-Americans had the lowest poverty rate, at 6%.
Are Asian Americans realizing the ‘American Dream’? People outside the United States believe that folks who live there always make good money and live a comfortable life. But the reality may be different.
According to a Pew Research Center research, more than 2.3 million people with Asian heritage in the United States lived in poverty in 2022. According to data from the US Census Bureau, one in every 10 Asian Americans lives in poverty.
Indian-Americans perform better than any other Asian-American group. The poverty rate among Indian-Americans is 6%, the lowest of any Asian population living in the United States.
In contrast, the Burmese and Hmong Americans have the greatest poverty rates (19% and 17%, respectively).
Education And Poverty Among Asian Americans
According to the Pew Research research, one in every three Asian Americans aged 25 and older who live in poverty has a bachelor’s degree.
In contrast, only 14% of non-Asians in poverty have the same degree of schooling. Interestingly, Asian Americans aged 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree are less likely to live in poverty (5%) than those with less education (13%).
English proficiency is low among poor Asian Americans.
The majority of Asian Americans who live in poverty, around six out of ten, are immigrants. And many of these immigrants did not speak English very well.
Only 44% of Asian immigrants aged 5 and older living below the poverty line are proficient in English. In comparison, 61% of immigrants who earn more than the poverty level speak English well.
There are approximately 1 million Asians living below the poverty line in ten major US cities. Surprisingly, more than half a million of them live in only three cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Each of these cities has more than 100,000 Asians living in poverty. Together, they account for 26% of all Asian Americans living in poverty.
In Fresno, California, 19% of Asian Americans are in poverty. In Buffalo, New York, it is 18%, whereas Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has 15%. Despite the fact that these cities have high Asian American poverty rates, the majority of Asian Americans who are poor live in locations with a higher Asian population.
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Poor Asian Americans and the American Dream. According to a Pew Research Center survey performed in 2022 and 2023, nearly eight out of every 10 Asian adults living in poverty (79%) experienced financial difficulties in the previous year. In contrast, 48% of Asian individuals over the poverty level reported similar issues.
Among Asian adults living in poverty, 57% were unable to save money for emergencies, compared to 40% of Asian adults above the poverty line who faced the same problem.
Furthermore, 42% of people in poverty struggled to pay their bills, more than doubling the rate of those above the poverty line (17%).
Furthermore, 38% of Asian adults living in poverty relied on food banks or charitable organizations for food, which is nearly six times greater than the 6% of Asians living above the poverty line.
Poverty often exacerbates financial concerns, with 65% facing two or more of these issues at the same time. Asian immigrants’ motives for moving to the United States influence their eligibility for government assistance.
Notably, 33% of Asian immigrants who flee conflict or persecution in their home countries request help, whereas less seek educational or economic possibilities or migrate to be with family.
The perception of the American Dream varies among Asian Americans living in poverty, with 47% saying it is out of reach. However, optimism about reaching it is widespread, with 15% believing they have already accomplished it and 36% believing they are on their way to doing so.
Asian adults, whether living below or above the poverty line, have similar perspectives on what is essential for realizing the American dream. The vast majority of persons living in poverty believe that having freedom of choice (91%), a happy family life (91%), providing opportunity for children (91%), and retiring comfortably (90%) are critical.
However, Asian adults in poverty are less likely to own a home than those above the poverty line, at 40% versus 71%, respectively.
