Chinese Population in United States by State : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, all 50 states and the District of Columbia report a measurable Chinese population, totaling 5.4 million nationwide. California leads with 1.9 million residents, followed by New York (774,426) and Texas (282,156). This ranking examines how Chinese communities are distributed across the entire United States, highlighting regional patterns, cultural concentrations, and state-level differences.

Top 5 states with the largest Chinese population in United States

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  • 1
    California
    Chinese population in California is 1,870,971
    4.77% of California population is Chinese
  • 2
    New York
    Chinese population in New York is 774,426
    3.90% of New York population is Chinese
  • 3
    Texas
    Chinese population in Texas is 282,156
    0.95% of Texas population is Chinese
  • 4
    Washington
    Chinese population in Washington is 214,205
    2.77% of Washington population is Chinese
  • 5
    Massachusetts
    Chinese population in Massachusetts is 201,607
    2.88% of Massachusetts population is Chinese

U.S. States by Chinese Population : National Rankings

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Chinese populations present across states nationwide, with the largest counts in California, New York, Texas, and Washington. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all states included in this analysis*.
states in United States ranked by Chinese population count
Rank by Chinese Population
State
Chinese Population
% of Total State Population
% of Total United States Chinese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 California 1,870,971 4.77% 34.85%
2 New York 774,426 3.90% 14.43%
3 Texas 282,156 0.95% 5.26%
4 Washington 214,205 2.77% 3.99%
5 Massachusetts 201,607 2.88% 3.76%
6 New Jersey 179,226 1.93% 3.34%
7 Illinois 156,024 1.23% 2.91%
8 146,734 0.67% 2.73%
9 137,401 1.06% 2.56%
10 97,818 1.59% 1.82%
11 96,863 1.12% 1.80%
12 83,900 0.78% 1.56%
13 68,818 0.58% 1.28%
14 66,581 0.66% 1.24%
15 64,549 0.61% 1.20%
16 63,422 1.50% 1.18%
17 63,268 0.87% 1.18%
18 62,206 1.98% 1.16%
19 49,638 0.85% 0.92%
20 48,762 1.36% 0.91%
21 40,499 0.71% 0.75%
22 37,457 0.55% 0.70%
23 32,654 0.53% 0.61%
24 31,169 0.53% 0.58%
25 27,773 0.83% 0.52%
26 26,664 0.38% 0.50%
27 19,213 0.37% 0.36%
28 18,074 0.36% 0.34%
29 17,821 0.61% 0.33%
30 17,333 0.43% 0.32%
31 17,214 0.37% 0.32%
32 15,556 0.49% 0.29%
33 13,348 0.30% 0.25%
34 10,067 0.92% 0.19%
35 9,623 1.43% 0.18%
36 9,622 0.69% 0.18%
37 8,889 0.88% 0.17%
38 8,381 0.40% 0.16%
39 8,176 0.42% 0.15%
40 7,941 0.26% 0.15%
41 7,840 0.41% 0.15%
42 6,255 0.21% 0.12%
43 5,666 0.41% 0.11%
44 5,022 0.68% 0.09%
45 3,550 0.32% 0.07%
46 3,358 0.52% 0.06%
47 3,141 0.18% 0.06%
48 2,346 0.30% 0.04%
49 2,069 0.23% 0.04%
50 1,950 0.34% 0.04%
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 state in United States 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 state. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total State Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Chinese .
  2. % of Total United States 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.
  • State 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.