Cities with the Most Asian-owned Businesses

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Updated 4/23/2024

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, originally designated by Congress as a time to commemorate the accomplishments of Asian/Pacific Americans.

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To honor the occasion, researchers at TruckInfo.net wanted to highlight Asian Americans’ outsized entrepreneurial impact on the economy. Using data from the US Census Bureau, researchers found the following.

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#1: Asian Americans are twice as likely to be business owners than other Americans

Asian Americans are twice as likely to own a business that employs at least one individual compared to the average American. While there are 178 employer firms per 10k Americans, there are 340 Asian-owned employer firms per 10k Asian Americans.

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#2: Roughly 11% of US businesses are Asian-owned

While roughly 11% of US businesses are Asian-owned, nearly a third (28%) of hospitality and food-related businesses are Asian-owned. The Asian American community also has an outside impact on healthcare and retail/wholesale trade.

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#3: Hawaii has not only the most Asian-owned businesses but Wyoming has the most entrepreneurial Asian American population

Not surprisingly, the percentage of Asian-owned businesses is strongly correlated with the footprint of the Asian American community. However, when looking at per-capita business ownership rates, Wyoming leads the nation with more than 10% of Asian Americans owning their own business.

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#4: Hawaii and the West Coast have the most entrepreneurial Asian communities

While Hawaii and California have the highest percentage of Asian-owned businesses, the midwest has the highest rate of Asian American entrepreneurship.

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