U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

census.gov

The Foreign Born From Asia: 2011

American Community Survey Briefs

Issued October 2012

ACSBR/11-06

By Thomas Gryn and Christine Gambino

INTRODUCTION

During the last 50 years, the number of foreign born 

from Asia increased rapidly in the United States, from 

about 0.5 million in 1960 to 11.6 million in 2011.1,2,3 

In 2011, the foreign born from Asia represented over 

one-fourth of the total foreign-born population in the 

nation. This brief discusses the size, place of birth, citizenship status, educational attainment, and geographic 

distribution of the foreign born from Asia in the United 

States. Data on the foreign-born population from Asia 

are presented at the national and state levels based on 

the 2011 American Community Survey (ACS).

FINDINGS

In 2011, there were 311.6 million people in the United 

States, including 40.4 million foreign born (13 percent of the total population). Over half (53 percent) 

1 This report refers to the foreign-born population born in Asia, not 

those who report their race as Asian. 2 The term Asia includes countries in Eastern, South Central, 

South Eastern, and Western Asia. Eastern Asia includes China (including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and the Paracel Islands), 

Japan, Korea (including South Korea and North Korea), and Mongolia. 

South Central Asia includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, 

Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, 

Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. South Eastern Asia includes 

Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, 

Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Western Asia includes 

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, 

Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab 

Emirates, and Yemen. Throughout the remainder of this report, the 

term Asia refers to all of these areas and also any responses classified 

as “Asia not elsewhere classified.” 3 Gibson, Campbell and Kay Jung, 2006, “Historical Census Statistics 

on the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 1850 to 2000,” 

U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division Working Paper, Number 81, 

available on the Census Bureau’s Web site at <www.census.gov

/population/www/techpap.html>.

of all foreign born were born in Latin America and the 

Caribbean (Table 1). Additionally, over one-fourth (29 

percent) were born in Asia. The next largest world 

region-of-birth group, the foreign born from Europe, 

represented 12 percent of all foreign born—less than 

half the size of the foreign born from Asia. About 4

percent of the foreign born were born in Africa and

3 percent in other regions, including Oceania and 

Northern America. 

The foreign-born population from Asia increased from 

8.2 million in 2000 to 11.6 million in 2011. Of the 11.6 

million foreign born from Asia, 34 percent were from 

South Eastern Asia, 32 percent from Eastern Asia, 26 

percent from South Central Asia, and 8 percent from 

Defining Nativity Status: Who Is 

Foreign Born?

Nativity status refers to whether a person is 

native or foreign born. The native-born population includes anyone who was a U.S. citizen 

at birth. Respondents who were born in the 

United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area 

(U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 

or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands), or abroad of a U.S. citizen parent or 

parents, are defined as native born. The foreignborn population includes anyone who was not 

a U.S. citizen at birth, including those who have 

become U.S. citizens through naturalization.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

Western Asia. There were five

countries of birth with over 1 million people living in the United 

States: China, India, Korea, the 

Philippines, and Vietnam (Table 2). 

China accounted for 19 percent of 

the foreign born from Asia, while 

India and the Philippines each

represented about 16 percent,

Vietnam about 11percent, and 

Korea 9 percent. 

Four states had more than half a 

million foreign born from Asia: 

California (3.7 million), New York 

(1.2 million), Texas (778,000), and 

New Jersey (593,000) (Table 3). 

When combined, these four states 

represented over half (54 percent) of all foreign born from Asia. 

California alone represented almost 

one-third of the total foreign born 

from Asia. 

Among states with foreign-born 

populations from Asia over 10,000, 

the proportions of foreign born 

from subregions of Asia differed 

widely. Half or more of the

foreign born from Asia in Hawaii

(66 percent), Nevada (61 percent), 

Louisiana (54 percent), and Minnesota (54 percent) were from South 

Eastern Asia (Table 3). The foreign 

born from South Central Asia represented 45 percent of the foreign 

born from Asia in Delaware, 43 percent in New Jersey, and 42 percent 

in Connecticut.4 In Michigan, 35 

percent of Asian foreign born were 

from Western Asia. The foreign 

born from Eastern Asia accounted 

for 46 percent of the Asian foreign 

born in New York.

4 The percentages of foreign born from 

Asia who were from South Central Asia in 

Delaware, New Jersey, and Connecticut were 

not statistically different.

Table 1.

Foreign-Born Population by Region of Birth: 2011

(Numbers in thousands. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Region of birth

Number Percent

Estimate

Margin of 

error (±)1 Estimate

Margin of 

error (±)1

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,378 125 100.0 (X)

Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,664 30 4.1 0.1

Asia2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,562 47 28.6 0.1

Eastern Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,640 34 9.0 0.1

South Central Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,010 35 7.5 0.1

South Eastern Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,939 41 9.8 0.1

Western Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932 30 2.3 0.1

Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,890 50 12.1 0.1

Latin America and the Caribbean . . . . . . 21,245 99 52.6 0.2

Other regions3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,016 20 2.5 –

– Rounds to zero.

(X) Not applicable. 1

 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure 

of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less 

reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 

percent confidence interval. 2

 Includes an estimated 41,000 persons whose region of birth was classified as “Asia not elsewhere 

classified” and are not included in the four Asian subregions. 3 “Other regions” includes Northern America, Oceania, and those born at sea.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

Table 2.

Foreign-Born Population From Asia by Country of Birth: 

2011

(Numbers in thousands. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Country of birth

Number Percent 

Estimate

Margin of 

error (±)1 Estimate

Margin of 

error (±)1

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,562 47 100.0 (X)

Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 13 1.6 0.1

China2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,231 28 19.3 0.2

India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,857 31 16.1 0.3

Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 15 3.1 0.1

Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 12 2.8 0.1

Korea3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,083 23 9.4 0.2

Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 14 2.6 0.1

Philippines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,814 35 15.7 0.3

Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 13 2.1 0.1

Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,259 26 10.9 0.2

All other countries in Asia . . . . . . . . . . 1,910 34 16.5 0.3

(X) Not applicable. 1

 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure 

of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less 

reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 

percent confidence interval. 2

 China includes respondents who reported their country of birth as China, Hong Kong, Macau, Paracel 

Islands, or Taiwan. 3

 Korea includes respondents who reported their country of birth as Korea, South Korea, or North Korea.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

Table 3. 

Percentage Distribution of the Foreign-Born Population From Asia by Region of Birth and 

State: 2011

(Numbers in thousands. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Area

Total1 Eastern Asia South Central Asia South Eastern Asia Western Asia

Number

Margin of 

error (±)2 Percent

Margin of 

error (±)2 Percent

Margin of 

error (±)2 Percent

Margin of 

error (±)2 Percent

Margin of 

error (±)2

 United States . 11,562 47 31.5 0.3 26.0 0.3 34.1 0.3 8.1 0.2

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . 43 2 33.5 3.6 24.3 4.4 37.3 5.3 4.8 1.9

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 2 27.5 5.9 4.0 1.9 66.5 6.2 1.9 2.0

Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . 155 7 27.2 3.3 23.5 2.9 35.7 3.2 13.2 2.7

Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . 27 2 26.0 7.2 22.6 7.1 43.3 8.2 7.5 3.8

California . . . . . . . . . . 3,735 26 32.1 0.6 18.7 0.5 42.1 0.5 6.9 0.3

Colorado . . . . . . . . . . 107 5 35.3 3.2 21.6 3.0 35.3 3.5 7.7 2.2

Connecticut . . . . . . . . 112 4 27.3 2.9 42.1 4.0 22.3 3.7 7.5 2.0

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . 23 1 34.8 7.1 44.8 7.5 16.9 4.9 2.9 2.0

District of Columbia . . 16 2 36.4 7.4 22.4 6.1 25.8 7.5 15.3 4.7

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . 370 13 20.6 1.6 27.0 2.2 38.7 2.2 13.3 2.2

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . 252 10 33.6 3.0 31.9 3.1 28.7 2.9 5.7 1.5

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 10 32.9 2.3 0.6 0.4 66.2 2.3 0.2 0.1

Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 2 40.7 11.1 35.1 11.9 20.6 7.7 2.7 2.3

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494 9 27.1 1.6 35.8 1.7 25.4 1.7 10.2 1.3

Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 5 36.4 3.4 30.9 3.2 24.2 2.9 7.7 2.8

Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 3 30.3 4.8 30.6 6.2 34.1 6.0 4.7 2.1

Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 4 23.9 3.6 24.7 4.4 40.6 4.4 10.2 4.7

Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . 46 3 31.7 5.2 31.9 6.1 26.6 5.1 8.8 3.5

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . 56 3 19.4 3.6 18.4 3.7 53.6 4.7 8.2 3.1

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1 29.2 7.6 17.0 8.2 44.0 8.5 9.9 6.1

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . 263 7 35.9 2.2 33.6 2.4 25.7 2.1 4.7 0.8

Massachusetts . . . . . . 288 7 38.2 2.2 23.5 1.9 27.3 1.9 10.7 1.4

Michigan . . . . . . . . . . 278 9 22.0 1.4 25.7 1.9 16.5 1.7 34.9 2.2

Minnesota . . . . . . . . . 139 5 23.5 2.6 20.5 2.2 53.3 3.0 2.5 0.8

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . 20 2 25.3 8.2 20.3 6.0 45.9 8.4 6.7 4.5

Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . 88 4 29.7 3.0 32.7 3.7 26.8 3.2 10.3 2.7

Montana . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B)

Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . 31 3 22.4 4.3 20.2 6.6 48.6 6.2 8.8 4.1

Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . 147 7 22.1 3.1 10.5 2.5 60.7 3.9 6.6 1.8

New Hampshire . . . . . 26 2 25.9 5.5 38.5 6.5 26.5 7.7 9.1 4.1

New Jersey . . . . . . . . 593 8 29.4 1.4 43.0 1.6 20.1 1.2 7.1 0.6

New Mexico . . . . . . . . 21 2 34.0 6.9 28.1 7.0 33.4 7.6 4.4 2.6

New York . . . . . . . . . . 1,176 16 46.1 1.1 31.3 1.0 13.3 0.8 8.9 0.7

North Carolina . . . . . . 160 7 26.5 3.1 35.6 3.3 30.7 3.1 5.7 1.4

North Dakota . . . . . . . (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B)

Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 7 32.2 2.8 33.1 2.6 20.5 2.6 12.5 1.8

Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . 53 2 23.1 3.1 20.2 4.0 48.9 5.0 7.7 2.5

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 5 38.9 3.8 17.9 2.6 36.2 3.6 6.4 2.7

Pennsylvania . . . . . . . 283 6 32.2 1.7 32.0 2.0 28.6 2.0 6.5 1.0

Rhode Island . . . . . . . 25 2 27.3 7.1 24.2 6.9 38.3 6.9 10.3 3.9

South Carolina . . . . . . 49 3 34.7 5.0 24.3 6.0 34.3 5.9 6.5 3.2

South Dakota . . . . . . . (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B)

Tennessee . . . . . . . . . 83 5 23.9 3.3 34.5 4.7 29.6 3.8 12.0 2.6

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778 14 21.8 1.3 33.8 1.5 38.0 1.7 6.2 0.8

Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 3 33.8 5.1 21.1 5.7 38.9 5.1 6.1 2.5

Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B)

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . 366 8 27.6 2.4 35.6 2.4 30.6 2.3 6.0 1.0

Washington . . . . . . . . 362 9 34.3 2.2 16.5 1.7 44.9 2.2 4.2 0.8

West Virginia . . . . . . . (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B)

Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . 87 4 24.4 3.1 26.0 3.7 43.1 4.0 6.3 2.1

Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B) (B)

(B) Population born in Asia was less than 10,000. 1

 Includes an estimated 41,000 persons whose region of birth was classified as “Asia not elsewhere classified” and are not included in the four

Asian subregions. 2

 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error 

is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent 

confidence interval.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.
4 U.S. Census Bureau

When considering the geographic 

distribution of the five largest 

country-of-birth groups from Asia, 

the largest proportion of each of 

these groups resided in California, 

ranging between 21 percent of 

the foreign born from India to 45 

percent of the foreign born from 

the Philippines (Table 4). For two 

country of birth groups—China (18 

percent) and Korea (10 percent)—

New York was the second-largest 

state proportion. For Vietnam, the 

second-largest was Texas (12 percent), for India it was New Jersey 

(11 percent), and for the Philippines 

it was Hawaii (6 percent). 

States with the highest percentage 

of their total population consisting 

of foreign born from Asia included 

Hawaii (14 percent), California (10 

percent), New Jersey (7 percent), 

New York (6 percent), Washington 

(5 percent), and Nevada (5 percent) 

(Figure 1). Among states with at 

least 50,000 foreign born, Hawaii 

(79 percent), Alaska (52 percent), 

and Michigan (46 percent) had the 

highest percentage of Asian born 

in their foreign-born populations 

(Figure 2). 

When compared with the foreign 

born from all other regions, the 

foreign born from Asia were more 

likely to have graduated from high 

school and to have a bachelor’s 

degree or higher. In 2011, 83 

percent of the foreign born from 

Asia aged 25 and older were high 

school graduates or higher, while 

48 percent had received a bachelor’s degree or higher (Table 5). 

Table 4.

Foreign-Born Population From Asia by State, for Five 

Largest Countries of Birth: 2011

(Numbers in thousands. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Country of birth

and state1

Number Percent of total Percent of country

Estimate

Margin of 

error (±)2 Estimate

Margin of 

error (±)2 Estimate

Margin of 

error (±)2

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . 11,562 47 100.0 (X) 100.0 (X)

China3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,231 28 19.3 0.2 100.0 (X)

California . . . . . . . . . . . 761 18 6.6 0.2 34.1 0.7

New York . . . . . . . . . . . 410 11 3.5 0.1 18.4 0.5

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 8 0.9 0.1 4.8 0.3

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . 92 7 0.8 0.1 4.1 0.3

Massachusetts . . . . . . . 82 5 0.7 – 3.7 0.2

India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,857 31 16.1 0.3 100.0 (X)

California . . . . . . . . . . . 381 18 3.3 0.2 20.5 0.9

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . 210 10 1.8 0.1 11.3 0.5

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 9 1.4 0.1 8.7 0.5

New York . . . . . . . . . . . 145 9 1.3 0.1 7.8 0.5

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 8 1.1 0.1 6.9 0.4

Philippines . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,814 35 15.7 0.3 100.0 (X)

California . . . . . . . . . . . 812 18 7.0 0.2 44.8 0.8

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 9 1.0 0.1 6.2 0.5

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . 87 7 0.7 0.1 4.8 0.4

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 9 0.7 0.1 4.8 0.5

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 8 0.7 0.1 4.7 0.4

Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,259 26 10.9 0.2 100.0 (X)

California . . . . . . . . . . . 485 16 4.2 0.1 38.5 1.0

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 11 1.3 0.1 12.1 0.9

Washington . . . . . . . . . 58 7 0.5 0.1 4.6 0.5

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 6 0.4 0.1 4.0 0.5

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 5 0.4 – 3.4 0.4

Korea4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,083 23 9.4 0.2 100.0 (X)

California . . . . . . . . . . . 334 13 2.9 0.1 30.9 0.9

New York . . . . . . . . . . . 103 8 0.9 0.1 9.5 0.7

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . 71 6 0.6 0.1 6.5 0.6

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 7 0.5 0.1 5.4 0.7

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 6 0.4 – 4.7 0.5

– Represents or rounds to zero.

(X) Not applicable. 1

 Countries of birth are shown for those countries with over 1 million foreign born living in the

United States. 2

 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure 

of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less 

reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 

percent confidence interval. 3

 China includes respondents who reported their country of birth as China, Hong Kong, Macau, Paracel 

Islands, or Taiwan. 4

 Korea includes respondents who reported their country of birth as Korea, South Korea, or

North Korea.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.
U.S. Census Bureau 5

By comparison, among the foreign 

born aged 25 or older from all 

other regions, 63 percent were high 

school graduates or higher, with 19 

percent having attained a bachelor’s degree or higher. Among the 

subregions within Asia, the foreign 

born from South Central Asia were 

the most likely to be high school 

graduates or higher (89 percent) 

and have a bachelor’s degree or 

higher (65 percent). 

The foreign born from Asia were 

also more likely than the foreign 

born from all other world regions 

to be naturalized citizens (Figure 

3). Fifty-eight percent of the foreign 

born from Asia were naturalized 

citizens, compared with 40 percent 

of the foreign born from all other 

world regions. Among regions 

within Asia, the foreign born from 

South Eastern Asia were the most 

likely to be naturalized citizens (66 

percent). 

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

TX

CA

MT

AZ

ID

NV

KS

CO

NM

OR

UT

SD

IL

WY

NE

IA

FL

MN

OK

ND

WI

WA

GA AL

MO

PA

AR

LA

NC

MS

NY

IN

MI

VA

TN

KY

SC

OH

ME

WV

VT

NH

NJ MD

MA

CT

DE

RI

DC

AK

HI

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

0 500 Miles

0 100 Miles

0 100 Miles

Foreign Born From Asia 

as a Percentage of Total State Population: 2011

Figure 1.

U.S. percent is 3.7

Percent

5.0 or more

3.0 to 4.9

2.0 to 2.9

Less than 2.0
6 U.S. Census Bureau

SOURCE AND ACCURACY

The data presented in this report 

are based on the ACS sample 

interviewed in 2011. The estimates 

based on this sample approximate 

the actual values and represent 

the entire household and group 

quarters population. Sampling 

error is the difference between an 

estimate based in a sample and the 

corresponding value that would be 

obtained if the estimate were based 

on the entire population (as from a 

census). Measures of the sampling 

errors are provided in the form 

of margins of error for estimates 

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

TX

CA

MT

AZ

ID

NV

KS

CO

NM

OR

UT

SD

IL

WY

NE IA

FL

MN

OK

ND

WI

WA

GA AL

MO

PA

AR

LA

NC

MS

NY

IN

MI

VA

TN

KY

SC

OH

ME

WV

VT

NH

NJ

MD

MA

CT

DE

RI

DC

AK

HI

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

0 500 Miles

0 100 Miles

0 100 Miles

Percent

30.0 to 39.9

25.0 to 29.9

Less than 25.0

Foreign Born From Asia 

as a Percentage of State’s Foreign-Born Population: 2011

U.S. percent is 28.6

40.0 or more

Figure 2.

Note: Data are shown only for states

with a total foreign-born population

of 50,000 or more.

State’s foreign-born

population less than

50,000

What Is the American Community Survey?

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey 

designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data for the nation, states, 

congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities every 

year. It has an annual sample size of about 3.3 million addresses 

across the United States and Puerto Rico and includes both housing 

units and group quarters (e.g., nursing facilities and prisons). The 

ACS is conducted in every county throughout the nation, and

every municipio in Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico

Community Survey. Beginning in 2006, ACS data for 2005 were 

released for geographic areas with populations of 65,000 and 

greater. For information on the ACS sample design and other topics, 

visit <www.census.gov/acs/www>.
U.S. Census Bureau 7

included in this report. All comparative statements in this report 

have undergone statistical testing, 

and comparisons are significant at 

the 90 percent level unless otherwise noted. In addition to sampling 

error, nonsampling error may be 

introduced during any of the

operations used to collect and

process survey data such as

editing, reviewing, or keying data 

from questionnaires. For more 

information on sampling and 

estimation methods, confidentiality protection, and sampling and 

nonsampling errors, please see the 

2011 ACS Accuracy of the Data 

document located at <www.census

.gov/acs/www/Downloads

/data_documentation/Accuracy

/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf>.

Table 5. 

Foreign-Born Population Aged 25 and Older by Region of Birth and Educational 

Attainment: 2011

(Numbers in thousands. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Educational attainment

Total

Asia

All other 

regions2 Total1

Eastern 

Asia

South

Central

Asia

South

Eastern 

Asia

Western 

Asia

Number

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,383 9,908 3,057 2,579 3,474 764 24,475

Less than 9th grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,889 984 307 145 446 82 5,905

9th to 12th grade, no diploma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,926 659 187 130 284 56 3,266

High school graduate (includes equivalency) . . 7,734 1,632 532 291 644 157 6,102

Some college, no degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,544 1,211 308 217 576 105 3,333

Associate’s degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,907 630 189 111 274 54 1,277

Bachelor’s degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,498 2,748 795 801 972 172 2,750

Graduate or professional degree . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,887 2,044 738 884 278 139 1,842

Percent high school graduate or higher . . . . . . . 68.5 83.4 83.8 89.3 79.0 82.1 62.5

Percent bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . . 27.3 48.4 50.2 65.3 36.0 40.7 18.8

Margin of Error (±)3

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 40 31 28 36 24 90

Less than 9th grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 17 11 9 11 5 49

9th to 12th grade, no diploma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 15 8 8 9 5 35

High school graduate (includes equivalency) . . 58 24 15 13 14 10 50

Some college, no degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 21 10 9 16 7 35

Associate’s degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 15 8 6 12 5 20

Bachelor’s degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 32 15 17 18 9 34

Graduate or professional degree . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 26 16 19 10 8 28

Percent high school graduate or higher . . . . . . . 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.8 0.2

Percent bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . . 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.5 1.2 0.2

1

 Includes an estimated 41,000 persons whose region of birth was classified as “Asia not elsewhere classified” and are not included in the four

Asian subregions. 2

 “All other regions” includes all non-Asian countries, including those in Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania. 3

 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error 

is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent 

confidence interval.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

Figure 3. 

Percentage of the Foreign-Born Population Who Are 

Naturalized U.S. Citizens by Region of Birth: 2011

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling 

error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

44.9

58.0 55.0

50.9

66.0

58.5

39.7

All

other

regions

Western 

Asia

South 

Eastern 

Asia

South 

Central

Asia

Eastern 

Asia

Foreign Asia

born