Chinatown’s Central Plaza in Los Angeles decorated with red lanterns for the Lunar New Year
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Only 6% of Indian Americans lived along or below the poverty line as of 2022 in the United States. This is the lowest share among the various Asian groups that live in the country, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Most Asian Americans who lived in poverty felt that their ‘American dream’ was out of reach as they struggled to pay bills and turned to charities, friends, and family for food and employment. Pew’s analysis was based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) and Pew Research Center’s 2022-23 survey of Asian American adults, conducted between July 2022 and January 2023, with 7,006 respondents.

While Asian Americans are considered educationally and financially successful compared to other racial and ethnic groups, there are wide economic and educational differences within the group. As Chart 1 shows, the highest poverty rates were seen among Burmese (19%), Hmong (17%), and Mongolian (16%) Americans, while the lowest poverty rates were seen among Indian (6%), Sri Lankan (6%) and Filipino (7%) Americans. Chinese, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani-origin Americans were in the middle with poverty rates of 11%, 12% and 13%, respectively.

Chart 1 shows origin-wise share of Asian Americans who lived along or below the poverty line as of 2022.

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Among Asians living along or below the poverty line, 57% were immigrants and 43% were born in the U.S. About 23% of them were teenagers, 26% were aged 18-29, and 21% were aged 30-49 (Chart 2). Close to half of them had completed high school or less. The poverty levels among those with college degrees saw a drastic decline.

Chart 2 shows the share of Asian Americans living along or below the poverty line by their nativity, age, employment status and education level.

Close to 42% of Asian adults who lived near or below the poverty line in the U.S. said they had trouble paying bills in the past year, compared with just 17% of those who lived above the poverty line (Chart 3). Similarly, 38% and 33% of those who lived near or below the poverty line had got food from a charity and had problems paying rent/mortgage in the past year, respectively, compared with just 6% and 11% among those above the poverty line, respectively. Moreover, 28% of those near or below the poverty line had trouble paying for medical care in the last year, compared with 14% above the poverty line. 

Chart 3 shows the share of Asian Americans above and below the poverty line who faced a type of financial challenge in the last year.

More than 60% of Asian adults living near or below the poverty line also said they turned to family or friends to help with bills, housing, food, or jobs. Close to 50% sought help from local, state, or federal governments. Nearly 21% said they took help from religious institutions such as churches or temples, while 13% had turned to Asian community groups.

A third of Asian immigrants who came to the U.S. due to conflict or fear of persecution in their home country said they received help from governments for various expenses and employment. In contrast, a smaller share of Asian immigrants who came for educational opportunities (14%) or economic opportunities (16%) or who migrated to be with family (25%) said the same.

Roughly half the Asian Americans who lived in poverty said their American dream was out of reach. About 36% said they were on their way to achieving it, while only 15% said they had achieved the dream (Chart 4). On the other hand, of those living above the poverty line, a large share was optimistic about their chance of realising their dream. As many as 46% said they were on their way to achieving it, 27% said they had already achieved it, while only 26% said their dream was out of reach.

Chart 4 shows the share of Asian Americans who said:

Source: Pew Research Center’s report on Asian Americans living in poverty