How We Impact
Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the U.S. There are 24 million of us, making up over 7% of the U.S. population, and we are expected to grow to 49 million by 2060.
Our outsized contributions: $1.5 trillion in jobs, patents and the private sector; 3 million businesses (643,000 employer businesses) and $1.0 tillion in receipts, and over 5.2 million jobs to the U.S. economy; and $1.3 trillion in purchasing power.
Growing voting block: 15 million eligible voters; More of us are becoming U.S. citizens and turning up to vote.
Under-represented in government and lag in voter turnout: 0.9% of elected offices were held by Asian Americans as of mid-2020; A mere 0.34% are held by Asian American women. Our voter turnout is 60% vs. 71% for White voters.
More Asians Americans have been elected into office since, but we are still a long way from equitable representation. (See Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Congress past and present)
Growing Voting Bloc
With 15 million eligible voters and counting, we are a growing voting bloc with growing influence in future elections. We played a decisive role in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Almost 60% (7.6 million) of the Asian American citizen age voting population turned out to vote, the largest relative increase in turnout among all racial groups.
Our top policy priorities are healthcare, jobs & economy, crime, education, gun control and the environment. Voting rights and addressing racism are also important to us.
Our community is under-reached by those running for office and we are under-represented. Our younger generation is changing this narrative.
Infographics of the 3 branches of the U.S. federal government.
Outsized Societal Contribution
We are responsible for 3 million businesses and 643,000 employer firms in the U.S. We have a collective purchasing power of $1.3 trillion.
Asian American households pay higher average annual taxes, and those households among the top 20% of income distribution pay a higher average individual tax rate than White households.
The recent Goldman Sach’s Asianomics report finds Asian Americans driving 22% of the U.S. employment growth, boosting new patenting activity by 26% and contributing 23% of the U.S. private sector output growth from 2003-2019 – translating to $1.5 trillion in current dollar terms.