Diversity Among Asian and Pacific Islanders in Oregon

May is national Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Here are some facts about the diverse Asian, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander communities in Oregon.

Oregon's Asian, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander populations are diverse, young, and growing. In 2019, there were an estimated 246,789 Oregon residents who identified as Asian and 34,407 who identified as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone or in combination with one or more other races. 66,200 people in Oregon identified as Asian in combination with one or more other races on average from 2015 to 2019 or 27% of all people of Asian heritage in the state. 

Taking a closer look at the Asian alone population, nearly one out of four people were of Chinese ancestry (24%), followed by those of Vietnamese (17%), Indian (14%), and Filipino (11%) ancestry. More than half (52%) of Oregon’s Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander population also identified as being one or more other races. Looking at more detailed breakouts for the 16,625 who identified as Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone, roughly one out of four (24%) are Native Hawaiian, 11% are of Guamanian or Chamorro ancestry, and another 10% are Samoan. More than half (55%) are of some other Pacific Islander ancestry.

Two out of three of Oregon’s Asian alone residents (65%) and one out of three Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders (33%) were foreign born on average from 2015 to 2019. This compares with 10% of all Oregonians. Those born outside of the United States who move here come for a variety of reasons including higher education, work, marriage, and safety reasons. Seven out of ten (69%) of the state’s Asian, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander alone population speak a language other than English, most often in addition to English, and roughly 28% have limited English speaking proficiency.

Asian and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations have grown much faster in Oregon than the state’s overall population (9.8%) from 2010 to 2019, growing by 33.3% and 37.4% respectively. From 2015 to 2019, the median age for all who identified as Asian alone in Oregon was 36.6 years compared with to 39.3 years for all Oregonians. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders had a median age of 30.2 years during this same period.

There is much diversity among the growing Asian and Pacific Islander populations in Oregon, and specific groups may have their own socioeconomic needs. More detailed research about these communities will be published on QualityInfo.org in the coming days.