CENSUS ANALYSIS PORTRAYS LOWER STANDARD OF LIVING FOR NEW YORK CITY�S VIETNAMESE AMERICANS THAN FOR CITY�S GENERAL AND TOTAL ASIAN POPULATIONS

Asian American Federation�s Profile Shows Vietnamese Are Worse Off Than Asians Collectively, Who Lag Behind General Population on Many Counts

NEW YORK � Vietnamese Americans in New York City not only had a lower standard of living than city residents as a whole but also lagged behind the city�s overall Asian American population in 2000, according to a census-based profile released today by the Asian American Federation of New York, a nonprofit leadership organization.

The population portrait details how higher poverty rates, particularly for children, as well as lower incomes, education levels and English skills, set Vietnamese New Yorkers apart from New York City�s general population and from Asian Americans city-wide, who are worse off than the overall city population in many respects. In addition, the profile charts larger household size and rapid recent growth for the city�s Vietnamese population.

Based on 2000 and 1990 census results, including recently released data, the demographic portrait is one of a series of population profiles prepared by the Federation�s federally-designated Census Information Center (CIC).

�Our profile sheds important light on New York City�s Vietnamese American population � a community with special needs requiring further attention,� said Cao K. O, executive director of the Asian American Federation. �Service providers, policy-makers and funders need to find effective ways to help this growing immigrant community reduce severe child poverty and overcome such barriers as low educational attainment and limited English skills.�

Profile facts include the following (referring to 2000 census data and New York City residents if not specified):

• Four out of 10 Vietnamese children in the city lived in poverty � exceeding 30 percent of all city children and 24 percent of all the city�s Asian children.
• Vietnamese per capita income was $16,590 � compared with $22,402 city-wide and $18,416 for Asians.
• About 42 percent of New York City�s Vietnamese adults had not graduated from high school � surpassing 28 percent of all adults and 31 percent of Asian adults in the city.
• More than 6 in 10 Vietnamese residents (61 percent) spoke limited English � compared with 24 percent of all residents and 49 percent of Asians throughout the city. Among senior citizens, 89 percent of Vietnamese had limited English ability � exceeding 27 percent of all elderly New Yorkers and 73 percent for Asian city residents.
• Vietnamese households averaged 3.39 people � more than 2.59 city-wide and 3.13 for Asian New Yorkers.
• From 1990 to 2000, the city�s Vietnamese population increased from 8,400 to 13,010, or by 55 percent � compared with growth rates of 9 percent for the city overall and 71 percent for the city�s total Asian population.
• More than three-quarters (77 percent) of Vietnamese in the city were foreign-born, and 45 percent of those immigrants had come to the United States since 1990. More than half (57 percent) of the city�s Vietnamese immigrants were naturalized U.S. citizens � surpassing 45 percent of all immigrant New Yorkers and 43 percent of all the city�s Asian immigrants.
• In 2000, Brooklyn had the most Vietnamese New Yorkers, with 31 percent of this population, followed by Queens, with 29 percent, and the Bronx, with 25 percent. In contrast, half of Asian New Yorkers lived in Queens, followed by Brooklyn, with 24 percent of the population, and Manhattan, with 18 percent.