August 15th, New Jersey - The U.S. Census Bureau released new data for New Jersey from Census 2000 today. Asian Americans constitute over 6% of the total population of New Jersey, according to Census 2000 results. The new release contains population counts for detailed race groups, including 16 Asian American groups, as well as housing, age, and family characteristics for race groups from the Census 2000 short form.

The Asian American Federation, a Census Bureau-designated Census Information Center based in New York City, analyzed the detailed Asian group data. The largest Asian American groups in New Jersey are Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese Americans, respectively. Following the national trend, the Indian and Vietnamese American communities grew the fastest in New Jersey between 1990 and 2000, at rates over 100 percent each. Chinese, Korean, and Filipino Americans ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in growth rate. Federation CIC analysis also discovered growing Pakistani and Taiwanese American communities in some areas of New Jersey, as well as small emerging pockets of Bangladeshi, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, and Thai Americans in various New Jersey cities.

As Table 1 above illustrates, Middlesex, Bergen, and Hudson Counties are home for over 50% of the Asian Americans in New Jersey. Additionally, there was significant growth in the Asian American populations in Atlantic, Camden, and Morris counties, showing that Asian Americans are no longer concentrated solely in the immediate New York City Metropolitan area.

The tremendous growth in Middlesex County, over 130% from 1990, was due primarily to large increases in the Chinese, Indian and Filipino communities in Edison, East Brunswick, and other townships. Bergen County experienced a Korean American population growth of over 125% from 1990, and has the largest Korean American community of any county in the state. Hudson County experienced tremendous increases in Filipino, Indian, and Chinese populations. Jersey City has the largest Asian American population of any city, including the largest populations of Filipino, Vietnamese, and Pakistani Americans in New Jersey. It also has the second largest populations of Chinese, Indian and Japanese Americans in the state. Edison has the largest Chinese and Indian American populations of any city, while Fort Lee is home to the state�s largest Japanese American community, at over 2,000.

"With the fifth largest Asian American population in the country, New Jersey has become one of the nation�s most diverse and dynamic states," said Cao K. O, Executive Director of the Asian American Federation. "The Asian American Federation will continue to analyze and make data available about Asian American communities in New Jersey. Additionally, we are beginning to work with local groups in New Jersey to help meet the growing and changing needs of these communities."

Detailed population totals of Asian American groups in New Jersey, as well as other useful statistics from Census 2000 can be found at the Asian American Federation website at www.aafny.org/cic. The Census Bureau will begin releasing socio-economic data for specific Asian American groups in fall 2001.

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The Asian American Federation is a not-for-profit leadership organization with 36 member agencies that serve the diverse Asian American communities in the New York Metropolitan area. In addition to extensive community capacity-building initiatives, the Federation sponsors the Asian American Community Fund, a competitive re-granting program, and recently established the Asian American Federation Census Information Center (Federation CIC), a center for data and policy analysis. For more information about Federation CIC data and analysis services, please contact Parag Khandhar at (212) 344-5878 ext. 18.