A new report from the Pew Research Center (PRC) revealed that about one in 10 Asian Americans live in poverty.
Key points:
- While Asian Americans may often be portrayed as economically and educationally successful, the PRC highlighted that approximately 2.3 million out of the 24 million Asians residing in the U.S. are living in poverty. Moreover, Asian Americans also have the most income inequality of any major racial or ethnic group in the country.
- In February 2023, PRC conducted focus groups and surveys to understand the diverse experiences of Asian Americans living in poverty.
The details:
- The think tank conducted 18 focus groups with 144 adult participants from 11 Asian origin groups across the U.S., including those experiencing economic hardship. These focus groups, along with survey results from July 2022 to January 2023, highlighted common themes such as day-to-day financial struggles, misconceptions about Asians not needing help and the significance of financial security in pursuing the American dream.
- Participants were asked about various financial difficulties they experienced in the past year, including relying on food banks or charitable organizations, losing health insurance, struggling with rent or mortgage payments, facing difficulties paying for medical care, encountering bill payment issues and being unable to save money for emergencies.
- About eight in 10 adults near or below the poverty line (79%) experienced at least one of these financial challenges in the past year. The most common difficulty is the inability to save for emergencies, reported by 57% of Asian adults living in poverty, compared to 40% above the poverty line.
Highest poverty rates:
- Burmese, Hmong, and Mongolian Americans have some of the highest poverty rates, with 17% of Hmong Americans and 16% of Mongolian Americans living at or below the poverty line.
- Poverty rates range between 10% and 13% for Korean, Malaysian, Laotian,…
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