List of U.S. cities with significant Korean American populations

U.S. cities with significant Korean-American populations

Cities with significant Korean American populations represent municipalities with critical masses of Korean Americans in their total urban or suburban populations. Information is based on the 2005-2009 American Community Survey or as specified in each table. The list includes those who have emigrated from South Korea as well as Korean Americans of multiple generations. There are numbers of North Koreans living in the United States, despite North Korean citizens being unable to freely emigrate out of their country. As of 2022, Americans of Korean descent composed an estimated 0.5% of the population, or 1,501,587 people.[1]

The three metropolitan areas with the highest Korean American populations as per the 2009 American Community Survey were the Greater Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area (300,000), the Greater New York Combined Statistical Area (200,000), and the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area (93,000).[2][3] Southern California and the New York City Metropolitan Area[4] have the largest populations of Koreans outside of the Korean Peninsula.[5] Among Korean Americans born in Korea, the Los Angeles metropolitan area had 226,000 as of 2012; Greater New York (including Northern New Jersey) was home to 153,000 Korean-born Korean Americans; and metropolitan Washington, D.C., with 60,000.[6]

By percentage, the Korean American population of Bergen County, New Jersey, in the New York City Metropolitan Area, at 6.5% of Bergen County's population in 2022,[7] was the highest of any county in the United States. Bergen County, host to the county's highly ranked Academies magnet public high school[8][9][10] as well as to the North American headquarters operations of South Korean chaebols including Samsung,[11] LG Corp,[12] and Hanjin Shipping,[13] was home to all of the nation's top 10 municipalities by percentage of Korean population.[14] These top 10 municipalities in the growing Korean hub of Bergen County, New Jersey, across the George Washington Bridge from New York City, were led by Palisades Park,[15] the municipality with the highest density of ethnic Koreans in the Western Hemisphere. Displaying ubiquitous Hangul signage and known as the Korean Village,[16] Palisades Park uniquely comprises a Korean majority, at 53.7% of the borough's population in 2022.[17] with both the highest Korean-American density and percentage of any municipality in the United States. The city of Los Angeles contained the highest Korean American population of any city proper in 2010, approximately 108,282.[18]

Large cities

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The list of large cities (population greater than 250,000) with a Korean-American population of at least 1% of the total population.

Rank City State Korean-Americans 2010 Percentage 2010 Korean-Americans 2015 Percentage 2015
1 Los Angeles California 108,282 2.9% 110,679 2.8%
2 Honolulu Hawaii 22,179 2.3%[19] 20,729 2.1%
3 Anaheim California 6,575 2.0% 6,696 1.9%
4 San Jose California 12,409 1.3% 12,939 1.3%
5 New York City New York 96,741 1.2%[4] 91,729 1.1%
6 Aurora Colorado 3,646 1.2% 3,379 1.0%
7 Anchorage Alaska 3,251 1.2% 3,799 1.3%
8 San Francisco California 8,661 1.1% 9,601 1.1%
9 Seattle Washington 5,801 1.0% 7,203 1.1%
10 Plano Texas 2,521 1.0% 3,116 1.1%

Medium-sized cities

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List of medium-sized cities (population between 100,000 and 250,000) with a Korean-American population of at least 1% of the total population.

Rank City State Korean-Americans Percentage
1 Fullerton California 15,544 11.5%
2 Torrance California 10,857 7.8%
3 Irvine California 13,130 6.6%
4 Glendale California 10,723 5.5%
5 Santa Clara California 3,494 3.0%
6 Bellevue Washington 3,459 2.9%
7 Ann Arbor Michigan 2,885 2.5%
8 Schaumburg Illinois 2,576 2.1%
9 Killeen Texas 1,869 2.15%
10 Berkeley California 2,036 2.0%
11 Cambridge Massachusetts 1,699 1.6%
12 Fremont California 2,968 1.5%
13 Tacoma Washington 2,416 1.4%
14 Carrollton Texas 2,524 1.3%
15 Santa Clarita California 1,854 1.1%

Municipalities with density of at least 500 Korean Americans per square mile in 2010

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Main articles: Koreatown, Palisades Park (팰리세이즈파크 코리아타운) and Koreatown, Fort Lee (포트리 코리아타운)

(Note that Manhattan and Queens are official boroughs of New York City.)

Rank Municipality County or city State Korean Americans Density of Korean Americans per square mile Percentage of municipality's population
1 Palisades Park[17] Bergen County New Jersey 10,860 8,681.0 (2022) 53.7%
2 Fort Lee Bergen County New Jersey 8,318 3,273.5 23.5%
3 Edgewater Bergen County New Jersey 2,258 2,415.0 19.6%
4 Cliffside Park Bergen County New Jersey 1,797 1,866.0 7.6%
5 Leonia Bergen County New Jersey 2,369 1,542.3 26.5%
6 La Palma Orange County California 2,587 1,430.9 16.6%
7 Ridgefield Bergen County New Jersey 2,835 1,111.3 25.7%
8 Manhattan New York City New York 19,683 857.3 1.2%
9 Cerritos Los Angeles County California 7,240 829.8 14.8%
10 Cresskill Bergen County New Jersey 1,522 737.4 17.8%
11 Great Neck Plaza Nassau County New York 220 733.3 3.3%
12 Fullerton Orange County California 15,544 695.4 11.5%
13 River Edge Bergen County New Jersey 1,264 681.8 11.1%
14 Torrance Los Angeles County California 12,092 590.5 8.3%
15 Queens New York City New York 64,107 586.8 2.9%
16 Northvale Bergen County New Jersey 757 584.6 16.3%
17 Closter Bergen County New Jersey 1,771 559.7 21.2%
18 Englewood Cliffs Bergen County New Jersey 1,072 513.2 20.3%

Top ten municipalities as ranked by Korean-American percentage of total population in 2010

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Rank Municipality County State Percentage
1 Palisades Park[17] Bergen County New Jersey 53.7% (2022)
2 Leonia Bergen County New Jersey 26.5%
3 Ridgefield Bergen County New Jersey 25.7%
4 Fort Lee Bergen County New Jersey 23.5%
5 Closter Bergen County New Jersey 21.2%
6 Englewood Cliffs Bergen County New Jersey 20.3%
7 Norwood Bergen County New Jersey 20.1%
8 Edgewater Bergen County New Jersey 19.6%
9 Cresskill Bergen County New Jersey 17.8%
10 Demarest Bergen County New Jersey 17.3%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Demographic and Housing Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  2. ^ https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=3297ab39c5d14a6d88d5d384055405f8 [bare URL]
  3. ^ "KTV Plus Key Points" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-19. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  4. ^ a b Chi-Hoon Kim (2015). Savoring Gotham: A Food Lover's Companion to New York City: A Food Lover's... Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190263638. Retrieved April 24, 2016. New York City has the second-largest Korean population outside of Korea with...
  5. ^ Pyong Gap Min (2006). Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues. SAGE Publications. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-4129-0556-5.
    Ahn, Daniel. "Profiling Culture: An Examination of Korean American Gangbangers in Southern California". Asian American Law Journal. 11. University of California Berkeley School of Law. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
    Charles K. Armstrong (22 August 2013). The Koreas. Routledge. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-136-16132-2.
    Rough Guides (2 May 2011). The Rough Guide to California. Penguin. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-4053-8302-8.
  6. ^ Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova (December 3, 2014). "Korean Immigrants in the United States - Table 1. Top Concentrations by Metropolitan Area for the Foreign Born from Korea, 2008-12". Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  7. ^ "ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates Bergen County, New Jersey". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  8. ^ Tanza Loudenback (2016-03-29). "The 50 smartest public high schools in America". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  9. ^ "America's Top High Schools 2015". Newsweek. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
  10. ^ "Welcome to the Bergen County Academies". Bergen County Technical Schools. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  11. ^ "Samsung Electronics America, Inc. Company Profile". Hoover's Inc. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  12. ^ Michael W. Curley, Jr. (February 7, 2017). "LG breaks ground on Englewood Cliffs HQ". NorthJersey.com - part of the USA TODAY network. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  13. ^ Richard Newman (September 20, 2016). "Stranded container ship gets go-ahead to dock in Elizabeth". NorthJersey.com via Gannett. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  14. ^ James O'Neill (February 22, 2015). "Mahwah library hosts Korean tea ceremony to celebrate new year". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  15. ^ Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues Second Edition, Edited by Pyong Gap Min. Pine Forge Press – An Imprint of Sage Publications, Inc. 2006. ISBN 9781412905565. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  16. ^ "Palisades Park Municipal Court". SpinJ Corporation. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  17. ^ a b c "ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates Palisades Park borough, New Jersey". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "Los Angeles city, California QuickLinks". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  19. ^ "Korean Population by County, Island and Census Tract in the State of Hawaii: 2010" (PDF). Ohadatabook.com. Retrieved 27 May 2018.

Sources

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