Pakistani-Americans Second Fastest Growing Asian Community in America
By Riaz Haq
CA
There are now more Asians migrating to the United States than Hispanics, reflecting a decline in illegal immigration as American employers increase their demand for high-skilled workers. About 430,000 Asians, or 36 percent of all new immigrants, arrived in the US in 2010, according to the latest census data. That's higher than 370,000, or 31 percent, who were Hispanic.
A study published by the Pew Research Center details what it describes as "the rise of Asian-Americans", a highly diverse and fast-growing group making up roughly 5 percent of the US population. Mostly foreign-born and naturalized citizens, their numbers have been boosted by increases in visas granted to specialized workers and to wealthy investors as the US economy becomes driven less by manufacturing and more by technology. The Pew survey is based on an analysis of census data as well as interviews with 3,511 Asian adults living in the US, conducted by cell phone or landline from January 3 to March 27. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points for all respondents, higher for subgroups.
Pakistani-Americans (pop: 409,163) are the seventh largest community among Asian-Americans, behind Chinese (3.8 million), Filipinos (3.4 million), Indians (3.2 million), Vietnamese (1.74 million), Koreans (1.7 million) and Japanese (1.3 million), according to Asian-American Center For Advancing Justice . They are still a miniscule fraction of the overall US population. However, their numbers have more than doubled in the last decade due to increased immigration, according to US Census 2010 data.
With 100% increase since 2000, Pakistanis are the second fastest growing Asian immigrant group in the United States. With median household income of $63,000, Pakistani-Americans also earn more than an average American household. The most common jobs of Pakistani-Americans include doctors, engineers, accountants, salespersons, administrators/managers and financial analysts, and 55 per cent hold at least a bachelor’s degree which is higher than 49% of all Asian-Americans and almost twice the 28% of overall American population with college degrees.
Here are some of the highlights of Pakistani-American data from US Census 2010 as gleaned from a report titled "A Community of Contrasts Asian Americans in the United States: 2011" published by Asian-American Center For Advancing Justice :
1. There were 409,163 Pakistani-Americans in 2010, the 7th largest Asian-American community in America.
2. Pakistani-American population doubled from 2000 (204,309) to 2010 (409,163), the second largest percentage increase after Bangladeshis' 157% increase in the same period.
3. The median household income of Pakistani-American families is nearly $63,000 versus $51,369 average for all Americans.
4. 55% of Pakistanis have a bachelor's degree or higher.
5. 55% of Pakistanis own their own homes.
6. 6% of Pakistani-American population is mixed race.
7. 65% of Pakistanis in America are foreign-born. 57% of foreign-born Pakistani-American population is made up of naturalized citizens.
8. There are 120,000 Pakistani legal permanent residents of which 42% are eligible to naturalize.
9. There were 69,202 immigrant visas issued to Pakistanis from 2001 to 2010, the 5th highest among Asian nations.
10. 28% of Pakistanis have limited English proficiency.
11. 15% of Pakistanis are classified as poor; only 1% of them are on public assistance.
12. 8% of Pakistanis are unemployed, a figure lower than the general population of Americans.
13. Median age of Pakistanis in America is only 29 years, lower than most of the Asian groups and the national median age of 36.8 years.
Pakistani-American community is still relatively young when compared with other immigrant groups. More of the Pakistanis in America are college educated than the general population of whites and various immigrant groups. The youthful energy and higher education levels of Pakistani-Americans are opening doors for them to rise and shine in America, in spite of the current economic difficulties in their adopted land of opportunities.
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