Asians have yet to make similar inroads into areas of the country where they are not already well-established immigrant communities. A lot of immigration patterns of Asians bring them back to places where there is an Asian concentration. Calif. But Asians are also beginning to disperse into a broader range of communities because of economic and educational opportunities, according to Paul Ong, Asian-American studies professor the University of California at Los Angeles. The coastal states have attracted Asians because they are close to traditional ports of entry for immigrants and because there are established social and business networks in those communities. But Asians are being drawn to jobs in places like Las Vegas, where many are working in casinos and in the service industry.
Bigger cities receive a disproportionate number of people.
It's easier to fit in in larger cities, Ong said. The stories are much more diverse in terms of why people are going to different places and who they are. It's not a simple story. Asians are now nearly 3.6 percent of the Island's population. But nationwide, most of the burgeoning minority population remains clustered in relatively small geographic areas, with very little movement toward a national melting pot in the past decade.