Source: ACS data (2009-2011).
According to data from the 2009-2011 ACS, there are 344,219 foreign-born Chinese in the New York City. They make up 4.2 percent of the total population (of 8,183,757) and 11 percent of the city’s total foreign-born population (of 3,019,068). The Chinese foreign born make up 44 percent of all 788,191 foreign-born Asians in the city. Furthermore, the Chinese foreign born make up 72 percent of the 474,863 individuals in New York City who are of Chinese descent, which also includes native-born Chinese.
Source: “Immigrants Admitted by Class of Admission and Country of Birth.”
Appendix Table 3-5 in The Newest New Yorkers (2004).
* Total FB Chinese (including from Hong Kong and Taiwan) admitted during the 1990-1999 period: 111,270.
Almost half of all Chinese immigrants in New York City (47 percent) who migrated to United States between 1990 and 1999 entered the country using a family preference visa. Another 26 percent of Chinese immigrants used an immediate relative visa, which means that they are the spouses, children, or parents of U.S. citizens. These statistics make clear that Chinese migration to New York has been largely family-based migration, which underscores the importance of social capital in the migration process (Massey 1999). A little more than a quarter of Chinese immigrants in the city entered the U.S. with an employment visa (26.2 percent). The rest came as refugees (2.8 percent), won a diversity visa (0.2 percent) in the so-called “green card lottery,” or came through other means.
Source: ACS data (2009-2011); included are individuals 5 years and over.
Note: FB Chinese aged 5 and over = 342,875; all FB aged 5 and over = 3,004,447;
all NB Chinese aged 5 and over = 110,197; all NB aged 5 and over = 4,656,003.
When compared with all foreign-born individuals in the city, a relatively large share of foreign-born Chinese in New York City struggle with the English language. According to 2009-2011 ACS data, 55 percent of the city’s foreign-born Chinese aged five years and over speak English “not well” or “not at all,” compared 29 percent of all foreign-born individuals in the city. Language skills improve across generations and only 5 percent of native-born Chinese speak English “not well” or “not at all,” compared to 2 percent of all native-born individuals in New York City.
Source: The Newest New Yorkers (2004); included are individuals 25 years and over.
Note: FB Chinese aged 25 and over = 220,223; all FB aged 25 and over = 2,330,605;
all NB aged 25 and over = 2,951,179.
According to the 2000 Census, foreign-born Chinese in New York City also have a higher percentage of individuals aged 25 and over who have no high school diploma, at 45 percent, compared to 35 percent of all foreign-born individuals and 22 percent of all native-born individuals. At the same time, 24 percent of foreign-born Chinese have earned a BA degree or higher, which is slightly higher than for all foreign-born individuals in New York City (23%) but lower than for all native-born individuals (31%). In terms of educational attainment, the foreign-born Chinese are bifurcated between the poorly-educated and well-educated. These data call into question the portrayal of the Chinese as the “model minority:” while foreign-born Chinese aged 25 and over in New York City are indeed highly educated, it is worrisome that almost half (45 percent) have not yet completed high school.
Source: ACS data (2009-2011): included are individuals 16 years and over.
Note: FB Chinese aged 16 and over = 156,498; all FB aged 16 and over = 1,359,607; all NB Chinese aged 16 and over = 32,753; all NB aged 16 and over = 1,733,193.
Source: ACS data (2009-2011).
Many Chinese immigrants come to the United States and New York City in search of better economic opportunities, for themselves and their children. Given that a large share of the foreign-born Chinese in the city struggle with the English language, they have made great strides to integrate economically. According to ACS 2009-2011, 55.1 percent of foreign-born Chinese aged 16 and over are in the labor force, which is a slightly lower percentage than for all foreign-born in the city (59.5 percent), but a slightly higher percentage than for all native born in the city (53.8 percent). Also, in 2009-2001, the annual household income for foreign-born Chinese is $48,854, which is higher than that for foreign-born Dominicans ($35,949), but lower than that for foreign-born Jamaicans ($59,915). It is also encouraging to see that household income for native-born Chinese ($61,206) is higher than that for foreign-born Chinese, suggesting an upward line of economic integration.
Sources (body text):
Lobo, Arun Peter, and Joseph J. Salvo. 2004. The Newest New Yorkers, 2000: Immigrant New York in the New Millennium. New York: New York City Department of City Planning, Population Division.
Massey, Douglas S. 1999. “Why Does Immigration Occur? A Theoretical Synthesis.” Pp. 34-52 in The Handbook of International Migration, edited by Charles Hirschman et al. New York: Russell Sage Foundation Press.
U.S. Census Bureau. 2009-2011. American Community Survey, 3-year estimates 2009-2011. (IPUMS data analyzed by John Mollenkopf, CUNY Graduate Center).
Sources (timeline)*:
“Chinese Immigrants in New York City.” One City Many Nations. Macaulay Honors College, May 2011. Web. 12 May 2013.
Zhou, Min. 2001. “Chinese: Divergent Destinies in Immigrant New York.” Pp. 141-172 in New Immigrants in New York, edited by Nancy Foner. New York: Columbia University Press.
*Data is from “Chinese Immigrants in New York City” unless otherwise noted.
