Population and Panethnicity: The Relationship Between Intraracial Geographic Proximity and Asian American Identity

Abstract

The terms ‘Asian’ and ‘Asian American’ refer to a panethnicity, a collection of multiple distinct ethnic groups. However, few scholars have studied how the geographic distribution of Asian Americans affects their relationship with this panethnic identity. Using data from the 2016 National Asian American Survey, the American Community Survey, and the AAPI Nonprofit Database, I analyze how the presence of Asians, Asian American organizations, coethnics, and coethnic organizations in an Asian person’s state relates to the importance they place on being Asian. I also study how panethnic identification varies by Asian ethnic group. Panethnic identification had a negative correlation with state Asian percentage, and, while South Asians had lower levels of panethnic identification than East Asians, Southeast Asians did not consistently report weaker feelings of panethnic identity. These findings challenge previous notions about Asian American panethnicity and have substantial implications for Asian American politics and organizing.