Japanese Americans:
A Survey Data Snapshot
These data snapshots are drawn from Pew Research Center’s in-depth research portfolio on Asian Americans. To learn more, visit our Asian Americans topic page. For our latest demographic data on Japanese Americans, visit “Facts about Japanese in the U.S.”
More than 1.2 million Japanese Americans lived in the United States as of 2022, making up about 5% of the country’s Asian American population, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Two states are home to nearly half of Japanese Americans: California (29%) and Hawaii (16%).
Japanese Americans stand out among U.S. Asians for their relatively low share of immigrants: Just 25% are immigrants, and 75% are U.S. born.
The median income among Japanese American households was $90,000 in 2022, meaning that half of households headed by a Japanese American person earned more than that and half earned less. This is less than the median household income among Asian Americans overall ($100,000).
Here are some key facts about Japanese Americans’ views and experiences, drawn from a nationally representative Pew Research Center survey of 7,006 Asian adults in the U.S. The survey was conducted in 2022 and 2023 and included 294 Japanese Americans.
Identity
Japanese Americans describe their identity in different ways, as is the case among other Asian American origin groups. About a third (34%) say they most often describe themselves as “Japanese” or “Japanese American.” Another 20% describe themselves most often as “American,” and 39% describe themselves as “Asian” or “Asian American.”
Among the six largest Asian origin groups in the U.S., Japanese adults stand out for the relatively small share who describe themselves by their ethnic origin alone (14%) or with their ethnic origin and the label “American” (20%).
Some 14% of Japanese Americans say they have hidden a part of their heritage from people who are not Asian. By comparison, 20% of all Asian Americans say they have done this.
Views of the U.S. and Japan
Japanese adults are among the Asian origin groups most likely to hold a favorable opinion of their ancestral homeland: 92% view Japan favorably, including 63% who view it very favorably.
Japanese Americans also have largely positive views of the U.S. About eight-in-ten (79%) say they have a favorable view, including 48% who have a very favorable view.
Achieving the American dream
Roughly four-in-ten Japanese Americans (39%) say they have achieved the American dream. Three-in-ten say they are on their way to doing so, but 31% say the American dream is out of reach for them.
Religion
Among Japanese Americans, 47% aren’t affiliated with any religion. A quarter of Japanese Americans are Christian, including 11% who identify as evangelical Protestant, 10% as nonevangelical Protestant and 3% as Catholic. Another 19% identify as Buddhist.
Photo by Genna Martin/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
This analysis is one in a seven-part series that explores the identities, views, attitudes and experiences of Asian Americans, including the six largest Asian origin groups in the U.S. In these analyses, Asian Americans include those who identify as Asian, either alone or in combination with other races or Hispanic ethnicity.
The six Asian origin groups highlighted in this series – Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese Americans – include those who identify with one Asian origin only, either alone or in combination with a non-Asian race or ethnicity. In this series, Chinese adults do not include those who self-identify as Taiwanese. Other Pew Research Center analyses exploring the attitudes and characteristics of Asian origin groups may use different definitions and therefore may not be directly comparable.
This analysis is based on two data sources. The first is Pew Research Center’s 2022-23 survey of Asian American adults, conducted from July 2022 to January 2023 in six languages among 7,006 respondents. The Center recruited a large sample to examine the diversity of the U.S. Asian population, with oversamples of the Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Korean and Vietnamese populations. These are the five largest origin groups among Asian Americans. The survey also includes a large enough sample of self-identified Japanese adults to make certain findings about them reportable. For more details, read the methodology.
The second data source is the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) provided through Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) from the University of Minnesota.
Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. The Center’s Asian American portfolio was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from The Asian American Foundation; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Henry Luce Foundation; the Doris Duke Foundation; The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Long Family Foundation; Lu-Hebert Fund; Gee Family Foundation; Joseph Cotchett; the Julian Abdey and Sabrina Moyle Charitable Fund; and Nanci Nishimura.
We would also like to thank the Leaders Forum for its thoughtful leadership and valuable assistance in helping make this survey possible.
The strategic communications campaign used to promote the research was made possible with generous support from the Doris Duke Foundation.