Community

  • Asian Pacific Americans (APA) make up the fastest growing racial group in the nation and in the State of Washington. This was true in the 1980s, the 1990s, and will continue into the 21st Century.
  • Photo of young Asian Pacific American performers at the 2006 API Heritage FestivalCensus 2005 figures show that there are 461,830 Asian Pacific Islanders in the Washington State population. This accounts for those who identified themselves as one race or in combination with one or more other races.
  • It is expected that in twenty years, APAs will make up 10% of the total state population.
  • Today Washington State ranks in the top ten states with the most APAs, claiming 7th place.
  • APAs are made up over 50 distinct Asian and Pacific Islander communities, representing various languages, dialects, cultures, and immigration patterns.
  • By 2050, Census projections estimate that there will be 33.4 million APAs in our nation. The elimination of racially based immigration quotas in 1965 and the subsequent waves of immigrants and refugees from Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands diversified and increased the number of APAs.
  • Nearly 85 percent of the state’s total APAs live in the greater Puget Sound area.
  • Washington State has 5 congressional districts (7th, 8th, 9th, 1st, and 6th respectively) in the Top 100 Congressional Districts with the Highest Population of Asian American Citizens of voting age.

Go to the demographics page for even more interesting information.