Census Bureau Reports the Number of Asian-Owned Businesses Increased at More Than Twice the National Rate

By the U.S. Census Bureau

The number of U.S. businesses owned by people of Asian origin increased 40.4 percent to 1.5 million between 2002 and 2007, increasing at more than twice the national rate, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released today. These businesses also generated $507.6 billion in receipts, a 55.4 percent increase from 2002.

“Asian-owned businesses continued to be one of the strongest segments of our nation's economy, bringing in more than half a trillion dollars in sales in 2007 and employing more than 2.8 million people,” said Census Bureau Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg.

These new data come from the "Survey of Business Owners: Asian-Owned Businesses: 2007". The survey provides detailed information every five years for Asian-owned businesses, including the number of firms, sales and receipts, number of paid employees and annual payroll.

The survey also presents data by geographic area (nation, state, county, city and metro area), industry and size of business. The data cover businesses owned by seven Asian groups — people of Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other Asian origin. Preliminary national and state data were released in July 2010.

California had the largest number of Asian-owned businesses with 509,097, followed by New York (196,852) and Texas (114,336).

Among counties, Los Angeles had the largest number of Asian-owned businesses with 183,092, followed by Queens, N.Y. (68,606) and Orange, Calif. (63,416).

The cities with the largest number of Asian-owned businesses in 2007 were New York (153,885) and Los Angeles (61,607).

Metropolitan areas with the largest number of Asian-owned businesses were Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (246,429), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (240,371), and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. (89,508).

Other Highlights

• Of the 1.5 million Asian-owned businesses in 2007, 397,484 had paid employees, an increase of 24.4 percent from 2002. These businesses employed 2.8 million people, an increase of 27.5 percent from 2002, and their payrolls totaled $79.6 billion, an increase of 42.1 percent. Employer business receipts totaled $455.2 billion, an increase of 56.3 percent, with average receipts of $1.1 million.
• In 2007, 1.2 million Asian-owned businesses had no paid employees, an increase of 46.9 percent. These nonemployer businesses' receipts totaled $52.5 billion, an increase of 47.8 percent, with average receipts of $45,543.
• The number of Asian-owned businesses with receipts of $1.0 million or more increased 57.4 percent to 78,144 in 2007.
• There were 2,135 Asian-owned businesses with 100 employees or more in 2007.
• Among all Asian-owned businesses, Asian Indian-owned businesses accounted for 19.9 percent; Chinese, 27.3 percent; Filipino, 10.5 percent; Japanese, 7.0 percent; Korean, 12.4 percent; Vietnamese, 14.8 percent; and other Asian, 9.9 percent.
• Growth in the number of Asian-owned businesses by Asian subgroup include Asian Indian (38.2 percent), Chinese (48.1 percent), Filipino (30.4 percent), Japanese (24.7 percent), Korean (22.1 percent), Vietnamese (55.8 percent) and other Asian (72.3 percent).
• In 2007, 44.7 percent of Asian-owned businesses operated in repair and maintenance; personal and laundry services; professional, scientific and technical services; and retail trade.
• Wholesale trade and retail trade accounted for 46.9 percent of Asian-owned business receipts.

The Survey of Business Owners defines Asian-owned businesses as firms in which Asian Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese or other Asians own 51 percent or more of the equity, interest or stock of the business. Additional data from the survey highlighting veteran-owned businesses will be released in May. Subsequently, separate data sets will be issued highlighting additional characteristics of all businesses and their owners.

Other Recent Readings of Interest

• Survey of Business Owners: Asian-Owned Businesses: 2007

• Challenges & Successes for AAPI Business Owners
  Gary Locke on the White House Summit on Entrepreneurship and Small Business Growth

The Survey of Business Owners is conducted every five years as part of the economic census. The 2007 survey collected data from a sample of more than 2.3 million businesses. Data collected in a sample survey are subject to sampling variability, as well as nonsampling errors. Sources of nonsampling errors include errors of response, nonreporting and coverage. More details concerning the SBO survey design, methodology and data limitations can be found at <http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/methodology.html>.