Understanding Asian’s income and the gap within
After the substantial immigration and refugee settlement in the 1970s and 1980s, Asian Americans have continued to emerge as the US’s fastest-growing racial group. As mentioned in the previous blog, Asian has the highest median earners among all racial groups in the United States. In 2018, the household median income for Asians is $87,194, which is 37% above the national.
However, these figures might be elevated by numerous factors. Firstly, the biggest attribute to the income disparity is educational attainment. 53% of the Asian population in the US have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 33.4% nationally. “Differences in degrees may account for [income] disparities, as Asian Americans tend to obtain higher-paying degrees, such as business, biological and biomedical sciences, and health professions more than any other race.” (Asante-Muhammad, 2020) Secondly, the average household size of Asian families is 3.04, while the national average is 2.65. Thirdly, the Asian American population is highly disproportionately distributed in big cities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Hawaii. These metropolitan areas have a higher cost of living which results in correspondingly higher wages. (Asante-Muhammad, 2020)
Pew Search Center reports that Asian American has displaced African American and become the most economically divided racial group in the US. From 1970 to 2016, Asian Americans at the 90th percentile pulled away from those near the bottom as they witnessed nearly double-rising income. During the same period, Asians at the middle-income level experienced a 54% increase in income. The rise in income for Asians at the 10th percentile lagged at only 11% growth — the least among all racial groups, black (67%), whites (45%), and Hispanics(37%). Consequently, it makes the top-to-bottom income gap among Asians to be the widest, where the top 10% earned 10.7 times as much as those at the bottom 10%. (Pew)
Additionally, there is also a clear gap in income and wealth between different descendants. Indian Americans and Chinese Americans are the highest income earners among Asian subgroups. As the bottom is Burmese Americans and Bhutanese, whose poverty rates ranged as high as 35%. These inequalities are the reflection of the average education level each subgroup obtains. More than three-fourths of Chinese and Indian adults graduated from college, while only a quarter of Burmese adults did so. The intragroup differences in income are also caused by the existing gap between immigrants who came to the US on skill-based visas and those who came as refugees. (Pew)
Overall, despite the average shows that Asian Americans earn a higher income than any other group, it is not true for all Asians. The facts mentioned above provide further insights into the well-being of the Asian subgroups.
Citation:
Asante-Muhammad, Dedrick, and Sally Sim. “Racial Wealth Snapshot: Asian Americans and the Racial Wealth Divide “ NCRC.” NCRC, May 14, 2020. https://ncrc.org/racial-wealth-snapshot-asian-americans-and-the-racial-wealth-divide/#_ftn17.
Kochhar, Rakesh, and Anthony Cilluffo. “Income Inequality in the U.S. Is Rising Most Rapidly Among Asians.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. Pew Research Center, August 21, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/07/12/income-inequality-in-the-u-s-is-rising-most-rapidly-among-asians/?utm_source=AdaptiveMailer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=18-7-12+Income+Inequality&org=982&lvl=100&ite=2866&lea=634931&ctr=0&par=1&trk=.
