NEW YORK CITY�S FILIPINO AMERICANS HAVE HIGHER INCOMES
AND MORE EDUCATION THAN NEW YORKERS OVERALL,
BUT ELDERLY FILIPINOS FACE GREATER LANGUAGE BARRIERS, CENSUS PROFILE REVEALS


Asian American Federation Also Reports That Filipino Americans
Are Fourth-Largest Asian American Group in New York City
And New York Area Has Fourth-Largest Filipino Population in a U.S. Metropolitan Region

Community Briefing Set for Thursday, July 15, at 6 p.m. at Philippine Consulate General

NEW YORK - Filipino Americans in New York City generally earn more money and have more education than New York residents as a whole. At the same time, while working-age Filipino Americans in New York tend to speak English better than their city-wide counterparts, elderly Filipino New Yorkers have less command of English than the city�s overall elderly population.

New York City�s Filipino American population, which grew by almost one-half in the last decade, is the fourth-largest Asian American group in the city. The New York metropolitan area also has the fourth-largest number of Filipino Americans in a U.S. metropolitan region.

These are among the facts in a profile of New York City�s Filipino American population issued today by the Asian American Federation of New York, a nonprofit leadership organization. Based on an examination of 2000 and 1990 U.S. census data, the profile is one of a series of demographic portraits prepared by the Federation�s Census Information Center (CIC) � a source of census data and analysis � to expand awareness of Asian American populations in the New York metropolitan area. The Filipino American profile is available at www.aafny.org.

The Federation will review profile findings and field questions at a community briefing Thursday, July 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Kalayaan Hall on the 2nd Floor of the Philippine Consulate General in New York, at 556 Fifth Ave. (between 45th and 46th streets) in Manhattan. Media representatives are welcome. Joining the Federation and the Consulate General in sponsoring the event are Filipino American Human Services, Inc. (FAHSI); Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. - New York; and The Philippine American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

�Our census profile offers important new information about the Filipino American community � a group often overlooked despite its size, growth, and contributions to the local economy,� said Cao K. O, executive director of the Asian American Federation. �The July 15th briefing will provide a forum for community members to learn, exchange information, discuss issues, and find new ways to work together.�

�The Consulate General commends the Asian American Federation for the great service being rendered to Asian American communities through its series of census profiles of Asian American populations,� said Philippine Consul General Cecilia B. Rebong. �The release of the Federation�s marker profile of Filipino Americans in New York City is significant because there are very few research studies and analyses of the Filipino population in the United States. The Federation�s demographic portrait will be an invaluable tool for the Consulate General in developing programs and activities responsive to the needs of Filipino Americans in New York.�

�FAHSI is proud to support the Asian American Federation in sharing information that offers crucial insight on New York�s Filipino American community and underscores the substantial and growing presence of this population,� said FAHSI Executive Director Sherry Lynn Peralta. �The Federation helped establish FAHSI and remains a staunch ally. The Federation�s profile of Filipino Americans will guide us in enhancing our efforts to increase the social well-being, self-reliance and civic participation of vulnerable community segments.�

Key profile facts include the following (referring to 2000 census data unless stated otherwise):

• From 1990 to 2000, New York City�s Filipino American population rose from 43,229 to 62,058, or 44 percent � compared with 9 percent for the city�s total population and 71 percent for its Asian American population.
• Filipino Americans constituted 7 percent of New York City�s Asian American population in 2000.
• Filipino New Yorkers earned more than city residents overall, by all income measures. Filipinos had median household income of $69,228, surpassing $38,293 for the total city population; median family income of $78,219, exceeding $41,887 for the entire city; and per capita income of $27,065, topping $22,402 city-wide.
• The general poverty rate for Filipino Americans in New York City was 6 percent (3,897) � considerably lower than 21 percent for the city overall.
• The vast majority (84 percent, or 38,653) of Filipino American adults in New York City had post-secondary education � compared with 48 percent of all adult New Yorkers. Meanwhile, only 7 percent (3,058) of the city�s Filipino adults had not graduated from high school � one-fourth of the 28 percent rate for adults city-wide.
• Some 40 percent of school-age Filipino American children in New York City attended private schools � making them more than twice as likely to do so than city children overall (of whom 19 percent went to private schools).
• Among working-age adults (age 18 to 64) in New York, 20 percent (9,539) of Filipino Americans had �Limited English Proficiency� � a lower occurrence than 25 percent for the city�s general population. (�Limited English Proficiency,� as used in the profile, refers to individuals who spoke English �well,� �not well� or �not at all� as of Census 2000.) However, in a reverse pattern, 40 percent (1,955) of elderly Filipino New Yorkers had limited English ability � exceeding the 27 percent rate for all senior citizens in the city.
• Some 38 percent of Filipino Americans in New York City owned their homes, while the city-wide home-ownership rate was 30 percent. The average Filipino American household in New York City had 2.82 people � compared with a 2.59-person average for all city households.
• Slightly more than half (54 percent, or 33,225) of New York City�s Filipino Americans lived in Queens, followed by Manhattan (16 percent, or 10,223); Brooklyn (13 percent, or 7,918); the Bronx (9 percent, or 5,446); and Staten Island (8 percent, or 5,246).
• More than 7 in 10 (72 percent, or 47,885) Filipino Americans in New York City were immigrants � double the percentage of immigrants among all city residents. Most foreign-born Filipinos in the city had moved to the United States in the last 20 years, and 73 percent of these recent immigrants were naturalized citizens � compared with 49 percent of all foreign-born New Yorkers who arrived in that time period.
• The majority (72 percent, or 48,084) of Filipino Americans in New York City were working-age adults; 21 percent (13,704) were children; and 7 percent (4,901) were senior citizens.
• Among all Filipino Americans in New York City, 58 percent were female and 42 percent were male, while the city�s overall Asian American population had an even gender distribution. The Filipino gender split was most pronounced, with a 3-to-2 female dominance, for working-age adults.