Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1850	4,018	—
1860	34,933	+769.4%
1870	63,199	+80.9%
1880	105,465	+66.9%
1890	107,488	+1.9%
1900	89,863	−16.4%
1910	71,531	−20.4%
1920	61,639	−13.8%
1930	74,954	+21.6%
1940	77,504	+3.4%
1950	117,629	+51.8%
1960	237,292	+101.7%
1970	435,062	+83.3%
1980	806,040	+85.3%
1990	1,645,472	+104.1%
2000	2,432,585	+47.8%
2010	3,347,229	+37.6%

 

The chart on the right shows the total number of ethnic Chinese in the United States since 1850. 

 

According to the 2010 Census, the three metropolitan areas with the largest Chinese American populations were the Greater New YorkCombined Statistical Area at 682,265 people, the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area at 592,865 people, and the Greater Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area at about 473,323 people. New York City is home to the highest Chinese American population of any city proper (486,463), while the Los Angeles County city of Monterey Park has the highest percentage of Chinese Americans of any municipality, at 43.7% of its population, or 24,758 people.

 

The ten states with the largest estimated Chinese American populations, according to both the 2010 Census, were California (1,253,100; 3.4%), New York (577,000; 3.0%), Texas (157,000; 0.6%), New Jersey (134,500; 1.5%), Massachusetts (123,000; 1.9%), Illinois (104,200; 0.8%), Washington (94,200; 1.4%), Pennsylvania (85,000; 0.7%), Maryland (69,400; 1.2%), and Virginia (59,800; 0.7%). The state of Hawaii has the highest concentration of Chinese Americans at 4.0%, or 55,000 people.

 

The New York City Metropolitan Area, consisting of New York City, Long Island, and nearby areas within the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, is home to the largest Chinese American population of any metropolitan area within the United States, enumerating 682,265 individuals as of the 2010 United States Census, and including at least eight Chinatowns. Continuing significant immigration from Mainland China, both legalandillegalinorigin, has spurred the ongoing rise of the Chinese American population in the New York metropolitan area; this immigration continues to be fueled by New York's status as an alpha global city, its high population density, its extensive mass transit system, and the New York metropolitan area's enormous economic marketplace.

 

Also on the East Coast, the Washington and Boston metropolitan areas have significant Chinese American communities. The Washington, D.C suburbs of Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia, are 3.9% and 2.4% Chinese American, respectively. Boston's Chinatown is the only historical Chinese neighborhood within New England. The Boston suburb of Quincy also has a prominent Chinese American population, especially within the North Quincy area. 

 

San Francisco, California has the highest per capita concentration of Chinese Americans of any major city in the United States, at an estimated 21.4%, or 172,181 people, and contains the second-largest total number of Chinese Americans of any U.S. city. San Francisco's Chinatown was established in the 1840s, making it the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest neighborhoods of Chinese people outside of Asia,[26][27] composed in large part by immigrants hailing from Guangdong province and also many from Hong Kong. The San Francisco neighborhoods of Sunset District and Richmond District also contain significant Chinese populations.

 

In addition to the big cities, smaller pockets of Chinese Americans are also dispersed in rural towns, often university-college towns, throughout the United States. For example, the number of Chinese Americans, including college professors, doctors, professionals, and students, has increased over 200% from 2005 to 2010 in Providence, Rhode Island, a small city with a large number of colleges.

 

Income and social status of these Chinese-American locations vary widely. Although many Chinese Americans in Chinatowns of large cities are often members of an impoverished working class, others are well-educated upper-class people living in affluent suburbs. The upper and lower-class Chinese are also widely separated by social status and class discrimination. In California's San Gabriel Valley, for example, the cities of Monterey Park and San Marino are both Chinese American communities lying geographically close to each other but they are separated by a large socio-economic and income gap.

 

Significant Chinese population centers

New York City is home to the largest Chinese American population.San Francisco is home to the second largest Chinese community in the United States in number and the largest in percentage.

 

A list of large cities (250,000+ residents) with a Chinese-American population in excess of one percent of the general population.
 

Rank	City	State	Chinese-Americans	Percentage
1	San Francisco	California	172,181	21.4
2	Honolulu	Hawaii	38,330	10.2
3	Oakland	California	34,083	8.7
4	San Jose	California	63,434	6.7
5	New York City	New York	486,463	6.0
6	Plano	Texas	13,592	5.2
7	Sacramento	California	20,307	4.4
8	Seattle	Washington	27,216	4.1
9	Boston	Massachusetts	24,910	4.0
10	San Diego	California	35,661	2.7
11	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	30,069	2.0
12	Stockton	California	5,188	1.8
13	Los Angeles	California	66,782	1.8
14	Portland	Oregon	9,113	1.7
15	Chicago	Illinois	43,228	1.6
16	Anaheim	California	4,738	1.4
17	Houston	Texas	29,429	1.3
18	Austin	Texas	8,886	1.2
19	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	3,402	1.1
20	Riverside	California	2,985	1.0