U.S. cities with significant Korean-American populations
Broad Avenue Palisades Park.jpg
Ubiquitous Hangul (한글) signage along Broad Avenue, known as Koreatown in Palisades Park. Bergen County (버건 군)New Jersey, across the George Washington Bridge from New York City (뉴욕), is a growing hub and home to all of the nation's top ten municipalities by percentage of Korean population,[1] led by Palisades Park (벼랑 공원),[2] the municipality with the highest density of ethnic Koreans in the Western Hemisphere. The town comprises a Korean majority (52% in 2010) of its population,[3][4] with both the highest Korean-American density and percentage of any municipality in the United States.
Census Bureau 2000, Koreans in the United States.png

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 2009, Americans of Korean descent made up about 0.4% of the population, or 1,307,000 people.

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).[5] Southern California and the New York City Metropolitan Area[6] have the largest populations of Koreans outside of the Korean Peninsula.[7] 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, 60,000.[8]

By percentage, the Korean American population of Bergen CountyNew Jersey, in the New York City Metropolitan Area, was 6.3% by the 2010 United States Census,[9] the highest of any county in the United States. In 2010, Bergen County, host to the county's highly ranked Academies magnet public high school[10][11][12] as well as to the North American headquarters operations of South Korean chaebols including Samsung,[13] LG Corp,[14] and Hanjin Shipping,[15] was home to all of the nation's top ten municipalities by percentage of Korean population[1] and an absolute total of 56,773 Korean Americans.[9] The concentration of Korean Americans in Palisades Park, New Jersey, within Bergen County, was the highest of any municipality in the United States in 2010,[16] at 52% of the population.[9] The city of Los Angeles contained the highest Korean American population of any city proper in 2010, approximately 108,282.[17]

Large cities

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

RankCityStateKorean-Americans 2010Percentage 2010Korean-Americans 2015Percentage 2015
1Los Angeles     California                     108,2822.9%110,6792.8%
2HonoluluHawaii22,1792.3[18]20,7292.1%
3AnaheimCalifornia6,5752.0%6,6961.9%
4San JoseCalifornia12,4091.3%12,9391.3%
7AnchorageAlaska3,2511.2%3,7991.3%
5New York CityNew York96,7411.2%[6]91,7291.1%
8San FranciscoCalifornia8,6611.1%9,6011.1%
9SeattleWashington5,8011.0%7,2031.1%
10PlanoTexas2,5211.0%3,1161.1%
6AuroraColorado3,6461.2%3,3791.0%

Medium-sized cities

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.

RankCityStateKorean-AmericansPercentage
1FullertonCalifornia15,54411.5%
2TorranceCalifornia10,8577.8%
3IrvineCalifornia13,1306.6%
4GlendaleCalifornia10,7235.5%
5Santa ClaraCalifornia3,4943.0%
6BellevueWashington3,4592.9%
7Ann ArborMichigan2,8852.5%
8SchaumburgIllinois2,5762.1%
9KilleenTexas1,8692.15%
10BerkeleyCalifornia2,0362.0%
11CambridgeMassachusetts1,6991.6%
12FremontCalifornia2,9681.5%
13TacomaWashington2,4161.4%
14CarrolltonTexas1,4281.3%
15Santa ClaritaCalifornia1,8541.1%

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

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

RankMunicipalityCounty or cityStateKorean AmericansDensity of Korean Americans per square milePercentage of municipality's population
1Palisades Park[19]Bergen CountyNew Jersey10,1158,085.551.5%
5LeoniaBergen CountyNew Jersey2,3691,542.326.5%
7RidgefieldBergen CountyNew Jersey2,8351,111.325.7%
2Fort LeeBergen CountyNew Jersey8,3183,273.523.5%
17ClosterBergen CountyNew Jersey1,771559.721.2%
18Englewood CliffsBergen CountyNew Jersey1,072513.220.3%
3EdgewaterBergen CountyNew Jersey2,2582,415.019.6%
10CresskillBergen CountyNew Jersey1,522737.417.8%
6La PalmaOrange CountyCalifornia2,5871,430.916.6%
16NorthvaleBergen CountyNew Jersey757584.616.3%
9CerritosLos Angeles CountyCalifornia7,240829.814.8%
12FullertonOrange CountyCalifornia15,544695.411.5%
13River EdgeBergen CountyNew Jersey1,264681.811.1%
14TorranceLos Angeles CountyCalifornia12,092590.58.3%
4Cliffside ParkBergen CountyNew Jersey1,7971,866.07.6%
11Great Neck PlazaNassau CountyNew York220733.33.3%
15QueensNew York CityNew York64,107586.82.9%
8ManhattanNew York CityNew York19,683857.31.2%

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

RankMunicipalityCountyStatePercentage
1Palisades Park[19]Bergen CountyNew Jersey51.5%
2LeoniaBergen CountyNew Jersey26.5%
3RidgefieldBergen CountyNew Jersey25.7%
4Fort LeeBergen CountyNew Jersey23.5%
5ClosterBergen CountyNew Jersey21.2%
6Englewood CliffsBergen CountyNew Jersey20.3%
7NorwoodBergen CountyNew Jersey20.1%
8EdgewaterBergen CountyNew Jersey19.6%
9CresskillBergen CountyNew Jersey17.8%
10DemarestBergen CountyNew Jersey17.3%

References

  1. Jump up to: a b James O'Neill (February 22, 2015). "Mahwah library hosts Korean tea ceremony to celebrate new year". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  2. ^ 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. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  3. ^ "Palisades Park borough, New Jersey QuickLinks". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  4. ^ Kirk Semple (May 18, 2012). "In New Jersey, Memorial for 'Comfort Women' Deepens Old Animosity"The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  5. ^ "KTV Plus Key Points" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-19. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  6. ^ 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. University of California Berkeley School of Law. 11. 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. Jump up to: a b c Karen Sudol and Dave Sheingold (2011-10-12). "Korean language ballots coming to Bergen County". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  9. ^ Tanza Loudenback (2016-03-29). "The 50 smartest public high schools in America"Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  10. ^ "Welcome to the Bergen County Academies". Bergen County Technical Schools. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Richard Newman (September 20, 2016). "Stranded container ship gets go-ahead to dock in Elizabeth". NorthJersey.com via Gannett. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  13. ^ RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA (2010-12-15). "PALISADES PARK JOURNAL As Koreans Pour In, a Town Is Remade". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  14. ^ "Los Angeles city, California QuickLinks". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2014.

Sources