The 12 most Chinese cities in America are all in the SGV
San Marino, California was built as old-money Los Angeles, the town of the Huntington Library, wide lawns and a median household income of $214,167. Today it's 48.3 percent Chinese, the highest share of any city in the United States. Its 5,900 Chinese residents in a town of 11,964 put it just ahead of neighboring Monterey Park, the city that practically invented the American Chinese suburb, at 46.4 percent.
And it isn't just those two. The twelve most Chinese cities in America are all in one place, the SGV or San Gabriel Valley, the stretch of Los Angeles County east of downtown LA.
| Rank | City | Chinese share | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Marino, CA | 48.3% | 11,964 |
| 2 | Monterey Park, CA | 46.4% | 57,457 |
| 3 | Temple City, CA | 40.5% | 35,125 |
| 4 | San Gabriel, CA | 38.0% | 38,186 |
| 5 | Rosemead, CA | 37.7% | 49,410 |
| 6 | Rowland Heights, CA | 37.5% | 45,911 |
| 7 | Walnut, CA | 37.0% | 27,316 |
| 8 | East San Gabriel, CA | 37.0% | 23,410 |
| 9 | Arcadia, CA | 36.6% | 54,117 |
| 10 | Alhambra, CA | 34.8% | 79,820 |
| 11 | South San Gabriel, CA | 33.5% | 7,923 |
| 12 | Diamond Bar, CA | 33.3% | 51,884 |
The first city outside the valley is Saratoga in Silicon Valley at 30.2 percent, followed by Millbrae near the San Francisco airport at 29.8 and Cupertino, Apple's hometown, at 28.1. The first entry outside of California is Jericho, New York, a Long Island hamlet, at 27.9 percent.
The valley Monterey Park built
Monterey Park became known as the first suburban Chinatown in America. Starting in the 1970s, immigrants from Taiwan and later mainland China skipped the downtown Chinatowns entirely and bought into a middle-class suburb, drawn by real estate marketing that pitched the town directly to buyers in Taipei and Hong Kong. By the late 1980s it was the first majority-Asian city in the continental US, and the community spread outward from there, north into Arcadia and San Marino, east through Rowland Heights and Diamond Bar, each wave of arrivals settling one town further out.
San Marino topping the list is the end point of that migration. The valley's wealthiest enclave, once famously restrictive, now has a Chinese plurality and one of the highest incomes of any small city in California. Cupertino, at $234,707 median income, tells the same story in the Bay Area.
Share and count are different questions, which is the same distinction we found with Palisades Park and the most Korean cities. New York City has by far the most Chinese residents of any city, at 582,734 Chinese, but that's just 6.9 percent of a huge city. San Francisco is the big-city champion by share at 20.6 percent with 170,750 Chinese residents. The valley towns are where Chinese Americans are the largest group in town, and in San Marino and Monterey Park, nearly half of it. The count version of this story, the states and metros with the biggest Chinese populations, is in where the most Chinese Americans live.
The full list of 4,809 ranked cities is at highest Chinese share cities, the count version at largest Chinese population cities, and the national profile on the Chinese Americans page.
Sources
Figures are people of Chinese origin from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, table B02015, as a share of total population. Shares for small places carry wider margins of error than large ones.
The Most Rent-Burdened Cities in America
In the most stretched U.S. cities, more than two-thirds of renters spend over 30 percent of their income on rent. Eight of the top twelve are in Florida, where rents surged after 2020 but wages did not.
A draft rule would stop counting undocumented immigrants and drop race from the Census
Documents viewed by WIRED show a draft rule that would exclude undocumented immigrants from 2030 apportionment and eliminate race and sexual orientation questions. It matches the June proposed rule advocacy groups warned about, point for point.
Where Do the Most Ethiopian Americans Live?
About 386,500 Americans claim Ethiopian ancestry, and the Washington, D.C. metro alone holds more than a fifth of them. Maryland and Virginia lead the states.
What is the most Chinese city in America?
San Marino, California, where 5,900 of 11,964 residents are of Chinese origin, 48.3 percent. The old-money enclave, home of the Huntington Library and a median household income of $214,167, narrowly leads neighboring Monterey Park at 46.4 percent.
Why are the most Chinese cities all in the San Gabriel Valley?
The pattern started in Monterey Park in the 1970s, when immigrants from Taiwan and later mainland China bought into the suburb directly, drawn partly by real estate marketing aimed at buyers in Taipei and Hong Kong. It became the first majority-Asian city in the continental US by the late 1980s, and the community spread outward through Arcadia, San Marino, Rowland Heights, and Diamond Bar, one town at a time.
Which city has the most Chinese residents overall?
New York City, with 582,734 people of Chinese origin, though that is 6.9 percent of the city. San Francisco has the highest share among big cities at 20.6 percent, with 170,750 Chinese residents. Share and count answer different questions, which is why the San Gabriel Valley towns lead one list and New York leads the other.
