Study Finds U.S. Asians Get More School, Less Pay

Asians living in this country are nearly twice as likely as whites to have completed college, yet they earn less on average than whites, according to a Census Bureau analysis released Thursday.

About 39% of Asians who are age 25 or older have finished at least four years of college, the study found, compared to 22% of whites.

The statistical profile of Asians and Pacific Islanders is based on surveys conducted in 1990 and 1991. Authors of the study said the high level of education attained by Asian-Americans apparently reflects both the fact that Asians are devoted to education and that highly educated Asians were more likely to have migrated to the United States.

But this superior education level does not necessarily translate into higher earnings. In 1990, the per capita earnings of Asians and Pacific Islanders was $13,420, while the average for whites was $15,270.

Asian males who worked full-time during the year had median earnings of $26,760, also lower than the $28,880 earned by whites. The disparity was less when the comparison was limited to those with four or more years of college. In this group, Asians earned $34,470 in 1990, somewhat below the $36,130 earned by whites.

By one income measure, Asians fared better. The census study said Asian and Pacific Islander families had a median income of $42,250 in 1990, higher than the $36,920 earned by white families. The study noted that Asian families were larger on average, and that family income among some groups, such as Samoans, Guamanians and Vietnamese, fell well below the median.

In the United States, Asians are concentrated on the West Coast and in Hawaii. A March, 1991, survey estimated the Asian and Pacific Islander population at slightly more than 7 million, about 3% of the United States’ total. Six in 10 of those Asians live in the West, the study found.

Asians also are likely to be concentrated in metropolitan areas. About 94% of Asians live in center cities or suburban areas, compared to 77% of whites.

The study also found that about 11% of Asian families live in poverty, compared to 8% of whites.