Asian Americans Younger, Better Educated Census Bureau Reports Show Most Live In Western States In Metropolitan Areas

Asian Americans living in this country tend to be younger and better educated than other Americans. They’re more likely to live in cities and less likely to be divorced, Census Bureau figures show.

A profile of the nation’s 9,653,000 Asians and Pacific Islanders was released by the bureau Tuesday, based on the March 1996 Current Population Survey. The group represents about 3.7 percent of the population.

Findings included:

Asians are concentrated in the West, with 55 percent living in that part of the country, compared with 22 percent of the total population.

Ninety-four percent of Asian Americans live in metropolitan areas, compared with 80 percent of the total population.

The median age of Asians and Pacific Islanders is 29.8 years. The nation’s median age is 33.9 years. Median means half of the people are older and half younger than that age.

Just 3.8 percent of Asians are currently divorced, compared with 8.9 percent of all Americans 15 and over. About the same share are currently married and living with their spouse - 3.5 percent for Asians and 53.4 percent overall - but more Asians have never married, 34.8 percent compared with 27.5 percent.

For people age 25 and over, 41.7 percent of Asians have a college degree, compared with 23.6 percent of the general population.