Chinese Population in Maricopa County, AZ by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Chinese population in Maricopa County, AZ is reported at 47,589 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Several cities in Maricopa County - including Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe, and others - contribute to the Chinese population, but the total county figure of 47,589 indicates additional presence beyond municipal borders. The sections below explores how Chinese residents are distributed in Arizona and the U.S.

Top 5 cities with the largest Chinese population in Maricopa County

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  • 1
    Phoenix
    Chinese population in Phoenix is 13,012
    0.80% of Phoenix population is Chinese
  • 2
    Chandler
    Chinese population in Chandler is 8,505
    3.06% of Chandler population is Chinese
  • 3
    Tempe
    Chinese population in Tempe is 5,194
    2.79% of Tempe population is Chinese
  • 4
    Gilbert
    Chinese population in Gilbert is 4,437
    1.64% of Gilbert population is Chinese
  • 5
    Mesa
    Chinese population in Mesa is 3,836
    0.76% of Mesa population is Chinese

Overview of Chinese population in Maricopa County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Maricopa County contains 47,589 Chinese residents (1.1% of 4.5 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 93rd percentile within Arizona for Chinese demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS indicate Maricopa County's Chinese population of 1.1% exceeds Arizona's state average of 0.87% while remaining below the national average of 1.6%, placing the county above regional demographic benchmarks while below national concentration levels.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates Maricopa County hosts 47,589 Chinese residents, constituting 75.2% of Arizona's total Chinese population of 63,268, creating a demographic concentration where more than half of the state's Chinese community resides within a single county—a geographic clustering pattern rarely documented in American demographic research.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey document Maricopa County with 5.2 Chinese Americans per square mile, nine and one-quarter times Arizona's average density of 0.56 per square mile, placing the county among the most densely concentrated jurisdictions within the state.
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24 Cities in Maricopa County Ranked by Chinese Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Chinese populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe, and Gilbert. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 24 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Maricopa County, AZ ranked by Chinese population count
Rank by Chinese Population
City
Chinese Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Maricopa County Chinese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Phoenix 13,012 0.80% 27.34%
2 Chandler 8,505 3.06% 17.87%
3 Tempe 5,194 2.79% 10.91%
4 Gilbert 4,437 1.64% 9.32%
5 Mesa 3,836 0.76% 8.06%
6 Scottsdale 3,242 1.34% 6.81%
7 Peoria 2,497 1.28% 5.25%
8 2,065 0.83% 4.34%
9 774 0.75% 1.63%
10 756 0.51% 1.59%
11 648 0.71% 1.36%
12 525 0.79% 1.10%
13 256 0.26% 0.54%
14 128 0.36% 0.27%
15 101 0.80% 0.21%
16 97 1.39% 0.20%
17 93 0.39% 0.20%
18 60 1.19% 0.13%
19 3 0.04% 0.01%
20 0 - -
20 0 - -
20 0 - -
20 0 - -
20 0 - -
Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Maricopa County, AZ by their Chinese population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Chinese population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Chinese ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Chinese alone, while others identify as Chinese along with another race (such as Chinese and German).
  • We’ve used the “Chinese alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Chinese population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Chinese alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Chinese .
  2. % of Total Maricopa County Chinese Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Chinese population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Chinese populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Chinese population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Chinese populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.