Since 2010, Asian Americans have been the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the United States. New Census Bureau data confirms that trend continues, with the total Asian-American population in the U.S. at 19.4 million, reflecting a growth rate of 2.9% between 2012 and 2013.
That's faster than Hispanics (2.1%), African Americans (1.2%) and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (2.3%).
That 2.9% growth represents about 554,000 people, and according to the report, the primary driver of that population growth was immigration, "accounting for 61 percent of the total Asian population change in the last year."
A Pew Research Center analysis of the data revealed that 74% of Asian adults in 2012 were foreign born.
California had the largest Asian population of any U.S. state (6.1 million) and Hawaii, where more than half the population is Asian American, was the country's only majority-Asian state.
IN-DEPTH
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