Pacific Islander People in US 2025 | Population Stats

Pacific Islander People in the US 2025

The Pacific Islander population in the United States represents one of the nation’s fastest-growing demographic groups, with roots stretching across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean islands and dozens of distinct cultural communities. This diverse population encompasses people with origins from Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Marshall Islands, and numerous other Pacific territories, each bringing unique languages, traditions, and histories to American society. Understanding the current statistics and challenges facing Pacific Islander communities in 2025 provides essential insights for policymakers, healthcare providers, educators, and community advocates working to address persistent disparities and honor the rich cultural heritage these populations contribute to America’s multicultural fabric.

Recent data reveals remarkable demographic expansion, with the Pacific Islander population growing by 32.7% between 2013 and 2023—a growth rate far exceeding the national average and positioning Pacific Islanders as one of America’s most rapidly expanding communities. This growth reflects both higher birth rates and increased identification with Pacific Islander heritage as cultural pride strengthens across generations. However, this population faces significant challenges including disproportionately high rates of obesity at 51.7%, diabetes mortality 57% higher than the general population, substantial education gaps with only 25.8% holding bachelor’s degrees, and economic disparities despite geographic concentration in high-cost regions like Hawaii and California. The 2025 landscape for Pacific Islander communities demands comprehensive understanding of both achievements and ongoing struggles as these resilient populations navigate maintaining cultural identity while pursuing economic opportunity and health equity in contemporary America.

Key Stats & Facts About Pacific Islander Population in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2023-2024, Office of Minority Health 2024, USAFacts 2025, CDC 2024

The statistics presented reveal a complex demographic and health profile for Pacific Islander Americans in 2025. The total population of 1.6 million individuals identifying as Pacific Islander alone or in combination with other races represents 0.49% of the United States population, making this one of the smallest racial/ethnic categories yet one experiencing extraordinary growth. The 32.7% increase between 2013 and 2023 equals 400,000 additional people and ranks among the highest growth rates of any American demographic group. The three largest Pacific Islander ethnicities—Native Hawaiian (680,442), Samoan (268,539), and Chamorro (159,845)—comprise the majority of this population, though over 20 distinct ethnic groups exist within the broader Pacific Islander category, each with unique languages, cultural practices, and migration histories.

Geographic concentration proves striking, with 25% residing in Hawaii and 21% in California, meaning nearly half of all Pacific Islanders live in just two states. The median household income of $76,421 exceeds the national median of $74,755 by approximately $1,700, yet the 11.4% family poverty rate surpasses the national 8.9% rate, revealing income inequality within the community. Educational attainment shows just 25.8% holding bachelor’s degrees compared to 35.7% nationally—a gap of nearly 10 percentage points limiting economic mobility. Most concerning are health disparities: the 51.7% adult obesity rate ranks among America’s highest, while Pacific Islanders are 27% more likely to be obese than the general population. The 57% higher diabetes death rate reflects both elevated disease prevalence and barriers to quality healthcare access. These statistics underscore that despite population growth and cultural vitality, Pacific Islander communities face substantial systemic challenges requiring targeted interventions in education, economic development, and healthcare delivery to achieve equity and opportunity.

Pacific Islander Population Distribution by State in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2023-2024, AAPI Data 2025, USAFacts 2025

The state-by-state distribution of Pacific Islander populations in 2025 demonstrates significant geographic concentration with clear migration patterns. Hawaii remains the primary hub with 400,000 Pacific Islanders representing 25% of the national total and comprising 27.8% of the state’s total population—by far the highest concentration anywhere in America. However, California hosts the second-largest population at 336,000 individuals (21% of all Pacific Islanders), reflecting decades of migration seeking employment, education, and more affordable housing than Hawaii. The substantial California presence includes major communities in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, and the Central Valley, where Pacific Islanders work in diverse industries from healthcare to agriculture.

Washington State holds the third position with 112,000 Pacific Islanders (7%), concentrated primarily in the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area where military connections, fishing industries, and technology sector employment attract families. Texas hosts 64,000 (4%), Utah has 48,000 (3%), and both Nevada and Oregon contain approximately 40,000 each (2.5%). The Utah concentration reflects Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionary connections and community networks facilitating migration and settlement. Arkansas emerges as an unexpected hub with 32,000 Pacific Islanders (2%), particularly Marshallese migrants drawn by poultry processing employment in northwestern Arkansas since the 1980s. Arizona and Florida round out the top 10 states with 32,000 and 24,000 respectively. Notably, 23 states contain fewer than 10,000 Pacific Islanders each, demonstrating how heavily this population concentrates in specific regions. These geographic patterns reflect employment opportunities, established ethnic communities providing social support, military installations with Pacific connections, religious community networks, and cost-of-living considerations. Understanding these distribution patterns helps governments, nonprofits, and businesses tailor services, language access, cultural programming, and economic development initiatives to communities with significant Pacific Islander populations while recognizing the isolation and limited services facing smaller populations scattered across remaining states.

Pacific Islander Ethnic Groups in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024, AAPI Data 2025, Office of Minority Health 2024

The breakdown of Pacific Islander ethnic groups in 2025 reveals extraordinary diversity within this umbrella category encompassing over 20 distinct populations from three major Pacific regions: Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Native Hawaiians comprise the largest group at 680,442, including indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands who have inhabited the archipelago for over 1,500 years before Western contact and American annexation in 1898. Samoans represent the second-largest ethnicity at 268,539, divided between American Samoa (a US territory) and the Independent State of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa). Samoan communities are particularly strong in California, Hawaii, Washington, and Utah, maintaining vibrant cultural practices including traditional fa’a Samoa (Samoan way) values, language, and Christian religious observance.

Chamorros number 159,845, representing the indigenous people of Guam (a US territory since 1898) and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Many Chamorro families maintain military connections given Guam’s strategic importance and large military presence. Tongans at approximately 78,000 come from the Kingdom of Tonga, the only Pacific nation never colonized, maintaining strong monarchy traditions and Methodist Christian religious practice. Fijians number around 45,000, originating from Fiji, an independent nation with complex ethnic divisions between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians of South Asian descent. Marshallese populations estimated at 35,000 come from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which experienced extensive US nuclear testing between 1946-1958 and maintains a Compact of Free Association allowing free migration to America. Significant Marshallese communities exist in Arkansas, Hawaii, Washington, and California. Smaller groups include Palauans (12,000) from the Republic of Palau and Chuukese (10,000) from Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Additional populations include Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosraean, Tahitian, and others. Each ethnicity maintains distinct languages—often unintelligible to other Pacific Islander groups—unique cultural practices, different migration histories, and varying citizenship statuses. Some are US citizens by birth (Native Hawaiians, Chamorros, American Samoans), others hold Compact of Free Association status (Marshallese, Palauans, Micronesians), while others are immigrants requiring traditional visa processes. Understanding these distinctions proves essential for providing culturally appropriate services, language access, and recognizing that aggregating all Pacific Islanders into one category masks significant diversity in needs, challenges, and community characteristics.

Pacific Islander Educational Attainment in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024, USAFacts 2025, Office of Minority Health 2024

Educational attainment statistics for Pacific Islander Americans in 2025 reveal significant disparities limiting economic mobility and career advancement opportunities. The high school completion rate of 87.4% for those aged 25 and older falls 2.5 percentage points below the national 89.9% rate, indicating that more than 1 in 8 Pacific Islander adults lack a high school diploma—double the national rate. This gap reflects multiple factors including high school dropout rates particularly affecting Samoan, Tongan, and Marshallese youth, economic pressures forcing young people into workforce participation before completing education, cultural factors in some communities prioritizing family obligations over extended schooling, and inadequate school resources in areas with high Pacific Islander concentrations.

The bachelor’s degree attainment gap proves even more concerning, with only 25.8% of Pacific Islander adults holding four-year degrees compared to 35.7% nationally—a deficit of 9.9 percentage points representing enormous lost economic potential. This places Pacific Islanders significantly below Asian Americans (54.7% bachelor’s degree rate) and even below Hispanic Americans (28.6%). However, variation exists across ethnicities: Chamorros achieve 30.8% bachelor’s degree rates, closer to national averages, while Tongan and Samoan rates fall considerably lower. Graduate and professional degree attainment at 8.2% versus 14.7% nationally creates similar gaps, with barely 1 in 12 Pacific Islander adults holding advanced degrees. These educational disparities stem from interconnected barriers including affordability challenges as college costs escalate faster than family incomes, geographic isolation particularly for Hawaii and Pacific territory residents facing travel costs to access mainland universities, inadequate college preparation in under-resourced schools, family economic pressures requiring immediate earnings over long-term education investment, cultural factors in some communities viewing college as departure from traditional roles, limited college counseling and application support, and underrepresentation of Pacific Islander faculty and role models in higher education. The educational gaps directly translate to economic disparities, as bachelor’s degree holders earn approximately 67% more over their lifetimes than high school graduates. Addressing these disparities requires comprehensive interventions including increased financial aid specifically for Pacific Islander students, culturally relevant college recruitment and retention programs, community college pathway strengthening, mentorship initiatives connecting students with successful Pacific Islander professionals, family engagement programs explaining college processes and value, and scholarship programs honoring both academic achievement and cultural identity maintenance. Several organizations including Pacific Islanders in Communications, the National Pacific Islander Education Network, and university-based Pacific Islander student support programs work to increase educational attainment, but substantially greater investment remains necessary to close the persistent gaps limiting this community’s full potential.

Pacific Islander Economic Indicators in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2022-2024, USAFacts 2025, Office of Minority Health 2024

The economic situation for Pacific Islander families in 2025 presents contradictory indicators requiring nuanced interpretation. The overall median household income of $76,421 exceeds the national median of $74,755 by approximately $1,666, suggesting relative economic parity. However, this aggregate figure masks enormous variation across ethnicities: Tongans achieve median incomes of $86,675—15.9% above national averages—reflecting strong educational values, tight community mutual support networks, and concentration in professional and skilled trades occupations. By contrast, Samoans earn median incomes of just $67,344—9.9% below national averages—indicating substantial economic struggles despite cultural strengths. Marshallese, Chuukese, and other Micronesian populations face even lower incomes, often hovering near poverty thresholds.

The 11.4% family poverty rate substantially exceeds the national 8.9% rate, revealing that income inequality affects this community disproportionately. Geographic concentration in high-cost Hawaii and California exacerbates economic pressures, as higher nominal incomes provide less actual purchasing power than lower incomes in affordable regions. The 6.2% unemployment rate for Pacific Islanders in 2024 exceeds the national 4.6% by 1.6 percentage points, suggesting barriers to employment access including discrimination, limited professional networks, educational credential gaps, and occupational segregation into specific industries vulnerable to economic fluctuations. The employment rate of 60.3% among those aged 16+ in the civilian labor force nearly matches the 60.6% national rate, indicating comparable workforce participation when jobs are available. Economic challenges facing Pacific Islander families stem from multiple interconnected factors: lower educational attainment limiting access to high-wage professional careers, concentration in hospitality and service industries offering lower wages and fewer benefits, employment in physically demanding construction and manufacturing sectors with injury risks and limited advancement, discrimination in hiring and promotion, limited access to business capital and professional networks necessary for entrepreneurship, high housing costs in primary settlement areas, large family sizes requiring higher incomes for stability, and for some populations like Marshallese holding Compact of Free Association status rather than citizenship, barriers to certain federal benefits and professional licensing. Addressing economic disparities requires multifaceted approaches including workforce development targeting high-growth sectors, support for Pacific Islander entrepreneurship and small business development, elimination of discrimination through enforcement and employer education, living wage policies ensuring service sector workers earn sufficient incomes, affordable housing development in areas with significant Pacific Islander populations, financial literacy and homeownership preparation programs, and pathways to citizenship for populations currently excluded from full economic participation despite decades of US residence.

Pacific Islander Health Insurance Coverage in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024, Office of Minority Health 2024

Health insurance coverage patterns among Pacific Islander Americans in 2025 reveal concerning access disparities affecting healthcare utilization and health outcomes. Only 59.4% have private health insurance compared to 67.2% of the general population—a gap of 7.8 percentage points representing approximately 125,000 Pacific Islanders without employer-sponsored or individually purchased coverage. This lower private insurance rate reflects employment patterns including concentration in small businesses, service industries, hospitality, and construction sectors less likely to offer comprehensive health benefits, higher rates of part-time or seasonal employment, and self-employment in small businesses unable to afford group coverage.

The 40.8% reliance on public health insurance (Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP) exceeds the national 36.8% rate by 4 percentage points, correlating with higher poverty rates and lower incomes making families eligible for public programs. For Pacific Islander children, Medicaid and CHIP provide crucial coverage given the 26.8% child population rate. However, the most troubling statistic is the 11.5% uninsured rate—more than double the national 5.3% and representing approximately 67,000 Pacific Islanders without any health coverage. This uninsured population faces catastrophic medical costs, delays necessary care, skips medications, and experiences barriers to managing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension that disproportionately affect Pacific Islanders. Contributing factors include affordability challenges even with Affordable Care Act subsidies, immigration status complications particularly for Marshallese and other Compact of Free Association populations who face Medicaid restrictions despite legal US residence, lack of awareness about available programs and enrollment processes, language barriers complicating enrollment navigation, administrative complexity and documentation requirements, and for some working families earning slightly above Medicaid thresholds but unable to afford marketplace premiums. The insurance gap directly contributes to documented health disparities, as uninsured individuals delay preventive care, present to emergency departments for conditions manageable with primary care, fail to fill prescriptions due to cost, and experience worse outcomes for chronic diseases requiring ongoing management. Improving insurance coverage requires enhanced outreach and enrollment assistance in Pacific Islander communities using culturally and linguistically appropriate methods, simplified enrollment processes reducing administrative barriers, continued marketplace subsidy support making coverage affordable, addressing Medicaid restrictions affecting Compact populations through federal policy changes, employer education and incentives to offer health benefits in industries employing substantial Pacific Islander workers, and community health center expansion providing affordable primary care regardless of insurance status. Healthcare access represents a fundamental determinant of health outcomes, making insurance coverage expansion an urgent priority for reducing the dramatic health disparities documented throughout this population.

Pacific Islander Language Use in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024, Office of Minority Health 2024

Language patterns within Pacific Islander communities in 2025 reflect the rich linguistic diversity of populations originating from islands where over 100 distinct languages developed across Polynesian, Micronesian, and Melanesian language families. Approximately 38.5% of Pacific Islanders aged 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, demonstrating substantial maintenance of indigenous languages across generations despite pressures toward English assimilation. However, 11.7% report speaking English “less than very well,” creating barriers to healthcare access, educational achievement, employment opportunities, legal system navigation, and civic participation. These individuals struggle with medical appointments, understanding prescription instructions, communicating with teachers about children’s education, completing government forms, and advocating for their needs in English-dominant settings.

The broader census data shows 485,925 people in the United States speak Pacific Island languages, a category including multiple distinct tongues. The Hawaiian language (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi) has experienced remarkable revitalization after near-extinction in the mid-20th century, with approximately 24,000 speakers including growing numbers of young people educated through Hawaiian immersion schools (Pūnana Leo preschools and Kula Kaiapuni K-12 programs). University of Hawaii offers degree programs in Hawaiian language and literature, while community initiatives promote language reclamation. Samoan (Gagana Sāmoa) maintains strong vitality with approximately 88,000 speakers in the US, supported by family transmission, church services in Samoan, community language schools, and regular interaction with Samoa maintaining living language connections. Chamorro speakers number around 44,000, though the language faces endangerment pressures on Guam itself where English dominance and military influence affect transmission. Tongan, Marshallese, Chuukese, Palauan, Pohnpeian, and numerous other languages persist in US communities, often concentrated geographically where sufficient speaker populations support language maintenance. Language represents far more than communication—it carries cultural knowledge, traditional ecological understanding, genealogical connections, spiritual concepts, oral histories, and community identity. For many Pacific Islander cultures, language intertwines inseparably with cultural authenticity and indigenous identity. The persistence of Pacific Island languages reflects cultural resilience and community efforts to transmit heritage to American-born generations. However, language maintenance faces challenges including English-dominant schools, media, and workplaces, intermarriage with non-Pacific Islander partners, geographic dispersion separating speakers, limited formal education materials in indigenous languages, and second-generation American-born youth sometimes viewing ancestral languages as less useful than English. Supporting language maintenance requires investment in bilingual education programs, translation services in healthcare and government settings, community language schools and cultural programs, digital language resources and media, documentation and preservation of endangered languages, and policies treating linguistic diversity as community strength rather than deficit needing correction.

Pacific Islander Health Outcomes in US 2025

Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2023-2024, Office of Minority Health 2024, JAMA Network Open 2024

Health outcomes for Pacific Islander Americans in 2025 reflect dramatic and deeply concerning disparities across multiple indicators, positioning this population among the most health-disadvantaged groups in America. The leading causes of death—heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, diabetes, and stroke—mirror national patterns but occur at substantially higher rates and younger ages. Cardiovascular disease represents the primary killer, driven by exceptionally high rates of hypertension, obesity, and diabetes within the population. The 51.7% adult obesity rate is staggering, making Pacific Islanders the most obese racial/ethnic group in America and 27% more likely to be obese than the general population with its 41.9% rate. This translates to more than half of all Pacific Islander adults carrying excess weight placing them at severe risk for numerous complications.

Youth obesity statistics prove equally alarming: Pacific Islander students in grades 9-12 are 2.39 times as likely to be obese as their peers in 2023, with Pacific Islander males 3.26 times more likely than male students generally. These extraordinarily high childhood obesity rates predict devastating future health consequences as these youth transition to adulthood already carrying disease risk factors. Variation exists across ethnicities with Samoans experiencing 50% obesity rates, Native Hawaiians at 36%, and Other Pacific Islanders at 35%. Diabetes affects Pacific Islanders at rates equal to the general population for diagnosis (2022-2024 data), yet the diabetes death rate runs 57% higher, indicating more severe disease, poorer disease management, inadequate healthcare access, later diagnosis, and complications proceeding unchecked. In 2014, American Samoans showed diabetes rates 31% higher than all Pacific Islander adults, and Marshallese populations experience epidemic-level diabetes affecting 20-30% of adults. Cancer mortality, particularly colorectal and liver cancers, affects Pacific Islanders disproportionately, often diagnosed at advanced stages when treatment proves less effective. Unintentional injuries including vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, and drownings cause premature death particularly among younger males. Stroke rates exceed national averages, linked to high blood pressure and obesity.

Notably, the CDC did not produce 2023 life expectancy estimates specifically for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations due to limited and inconsistent race/ethnicity data collection—a data gap that itself represents a critical health equity issue preventing accurate monitoring and intervention development. Contributing factors to these catastrophic health disparities include dietary transitions from traditional Pacific diets rich in fish, taro, breadfruit, and coconut to American processed foods high in sugar, salt, and fat; sedentary lifestyles replacing physically active traditional subsistence patterns; socioeconomic disadvantages including poverty, education gaps, and employment instability creating chronic stress and limiting healthy food access; cultural factors around body size where larger bodies traditionally signified health and prosperity; limited healthcare access due to insurance gaps, geographic isolation, provider shortages, and cultural/linguistic barriers; historical trauma from colonization, nuclear testing, and cultural suppression affecting health behaviors; and inadequate cultural competency in mainstream healthcare failing to engage Pacific Islander patients effectively.

Addressing these health crises requires comprehensive multi-level strategies including culturally adapted diabetes prevention programs incorporating traditional foods and activities, obesity reduction initiatives respecting cultural values while promoting healthy behaviors, expanded access to culturally competent primary care, health promotion campaigns using community-trusted messengers and culturally resonant messaging, addressing social determinants through poverty reduction and education improvement, supporting traditional healing practices alongside Western medicine, investing in community-based health workers and navigators, and substantially increased research funding to understand biological, cultural, and environmental factors driving disparities. The current health crisis affecting Pacific Islander communities demands urgent action given the preventable nature of the primary conditions and the young age structure meaning health improvements could yield decades of additional healthy life.

Pacific Islander Age Distribution in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024, Office of Minority Health 2024

The age structure of the Pacific Islander population in 2025 reveals a significantly younger demographic profile compared to the overall United States population, with profound implications for community needs and service delivery. With 26.8% of the population under 18 years old compared to 22.1% nationally, Pacific Islander communities have a substantially higher proportion of children requiring investment in pediatric healthcare, education systems, youth programs, and family support services. This 4.7 percentage point difference represents approximately 107,000 children and reflects both higher birth rates and cultural values emphasizing large families. The young adult cohort aged 18 to 34 comprises 24.3% versus 21.2% nationally, indicating a large population in peak childbearing years ensuring continued growth and requiring young adult services including higher education access, workforce development, affordable housing, and reproductive healthcare.

The working-age population between 35 and 64 years at 38.6% nearly matches the national 38.9%, indicating comparable workforce participation potential and representing the economic engine supporting younger and older generations. Most striking is the dramatic underrepresentation among seniors, where only 10.3% of Pacific Islanders are aged 65 and over compared to 17.8% nationally—a gap of 7.5 percentage points representing the lowest elderly proportion of any major racial/ethnic group. This missing elderly population stems from multiple interconnected factors including lower life expectancy due to dramatic health disparities documented earlier, higher premature mortality from chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, the relative recency of major Pacific Islander migration waves meaning fewer immigrants have reached elderly ages, and return migration where some elderly individuals return to Pacific homelands for end-of-life care among extended family.

The median age of 31.4 years for Pacific Islanders falls 7.5 years below the national median of 38.9 years, making this one of America’s youngest populations alongside Hispanic Americans and American Indians/Alaska Natives. This youthful age structure creates both extraordinary opportunities and substantial challenges. The demographic advantage of a large working-age population supporting fewer dependents offers economic growth potential if employment and education barriers can be overcome. The substantial youth cohort represents cultural preservation opportunities if younger generations receive adequate language education, cultural programming, and connections to traditional practices. However, the youth bulge demands massive investment in education infrastructure, youth development programs, college preparation and financial aid, early childhood education, and family support systems. The small elderly population suggests less immediate pressure on Medicare, Social Security, and elder care systems but masks the tragic reality that Pacific Islanders are dying prematurely rather than aging into elderhood. As this young population ages without substantial health intervention, the elderly population will eventually grow while carrying high burdens of chronic disease requiring intensive healthcare and long-term care services. The age structure underscores urgent priorities: comprehensive child health and education investment to ensure youth reach their potential, young adult economic opportunity creation enabling family formation and stability, chronic disease prevention to ensure the working-age population remains healthy and productive, and culturally appropriate eldercare development for the growing but health-compromised senior population that will emerge over coming decades as demographic momentum progresses.

Pacific Islander Household Composition in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 Estimates, Office of Minority Health 2024

Household composition patterns among Pacific Islander families in 2025 demonstrate exceptionally strong family orientation and substantially larger household sizes compared to national averages, reflecting deep cultural values emphasizing family cohesion, collective responsibility, and intergenerational connections. An impressive 77.2% of households are family households versus 66.1% nationally—an 11.1 percentage point difference representing one of the highest family household rates of any American demographic group. This reflects Pacific Islander cultural traditions where extended family networks provide mutual support, childcare, eldercare, economic assistance, and cultural transmission across generations. Married-couple families comprise 49.8% of households, modestly exceeding the national 48.3% rate and indicating marriage remains common despite modern relationship diversity.

However, 18.7% of households are headed by female householders with no spouse present, significantly above the 12.6% national rate—a 6.1 percentage point gap indicating elevated single-mother household prevalence. Male householders without spouses lead 8.7% of households versus 5.2% nationally, also showing elevation. These elevated single-parent household rates reflect multiple factors including higher divorce and separation rates, economic pressures forcing family separation when one parent must relocate for employment, incarceration impacts disproportionately affecting Pacific Islander men at rates 3.5 times higher than white Americans, premature mortality among working-age adults leaving surviving spouses as sole parents, and migration patterns where one parent may precede family members to establish economic stability. Non-family households represent just 22.8% of the total versus 33.9% nationally, indicating Pacific Islanders are far less likely to live alone or in non-family arrangements—cultural values strongly discourage solitary living particularly for elderly individuals who traditionally reside with adult children. The average household size of 3.84 persons dramatically exceeds the national 2.53 average by 1.31 persons—a 52% larger household size ranking among America’s highest alongside Hispanic Americans. This reflects both higher fertility rates with families averaging 2-3 children, and multigenerational living patterns where grandparents, parents, children, and sometimes extended family members share households.

An extraordinary 44.5% of households include children under 18 compared to just 29.4% nationally—a 15.1 percentage point difference emphasizing the intensely child-centered nature of Pacific Islander families and the substantial resources required to support these families. These larger, multigenerational households create both significant strengths and considerable challenges. Family support networks provide built-in childcare reducing costs and enabling parental employment, eldercare ensuring seniors age within family context, economic mutual assistance where working members support unemployed or low-income relatives, emotional and social support buffering against isolation and mental health challenges, and cultural transmission occurring naturally as elders teach language, traditions, and values to younger generations. However, larger households also face daunting challenges including housing shortages particularly for 3+ bedroom units in expensive markets like Hawaii and California, overcrowding with families doubling up in units too small for their size, higher income requirements to achieve economic stability when supporting multiple dependents, childcare demands overwhelming working parents despite extended family assistance, privacy limitations affecting adolescent development and couple relationships, and potential conflicts between traditional multigenerational expectations and American individualistic norms.

The high proportion of female-headed households correlates directly with elevated poverty rates, as single mothers typically earn less than coupled households, face childcare barriers to full-time employment, lack partner income contribution, and experience housing instability. Supporting Pacific Islander families requires comprehensive policy approaches including affordable family-sized housing development with 3-4 bedrooms, living wages enabling single earners to support larger households, accessible affordable childcare despite extended family assistance, programs honoring rather than penalizing multigenerational living arrangements, financial assistance scaled to actual household size rather than arbitrary caps, and culturally appropriate family services recognizing extended family decision-making and collective responsibility patterns rather than imposing Western nuclear family assumptions.

Pacific Islander Poverty Rates by Age Group in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 Estimates, Office of Minority Health 2024

Poverty affects Pacific Islander communities disproportionately across nearly all age groups in 2025, creating economic hardship, limiting opportunities, and contributing to the health and education disparities documented throughout this analysis. The overall poverty rate of 15.3% substantially exceeds the national 11.5% rate by 3.8 percentage points, meaning approximately 1 in 6 Pacific Islanders lives below the federal poverty threshold—currently $31,200 annually for a family of four. Children under 18 experience the highest vulnerability at 19.7% versus 15.3% nationally, representing approximately 84,576 Pacific Islander children living in poverty. This 4.4 percentage point gap reflects family economic struggles including parental unemployment, low-wage service sector employment, single-parent household prevalence, larger family sizes stretching limited resources, and high living costs particularly in Hawaii and California where poverty thresholds fail to reflect actual cost-of-living requirements.

Child poverty carries devastating consequences including chronic food insecurity affecting approximately 1 in 5 Pacific Islander households with children, housing instability and homelessness, educational achievement gaps stemming from inadequate school supplies and unstable living situations, healthcare access barriers when families lack insurance or cannot afford copays and medications, adverse childhood experiences including exposure to violence and family stress, developmental delays, mental health challenges, and compromised long-term outcomes affecting lifetime earnings, health, and social mobility. Working-age adults aged 18 to 64 show a 13.8% poverty rate versus 10.4% nationally, representing approximately 85,344 individuals—a 3.4 percentage point gap. This group faces employment barriers including discrimination in hiring and promotion, limited educational credentials, geographic isolation in high-cost areas, occupational concentration in lower-wage sectors like hospitality and retail, language barriers affecting job access, and for some populations like Marshallese holding Compact of Free Association status, restrictions on certain federal benefits despite legal residence.

Interestingly, seniors aged 65 and over show a marginally lower poverty rate at 9.8% compared to the national 10.2%, making them the only age cohort where Pacific Islanders perform slightly better than average. This reflects Social Security and pension income providing basic economic security, though the small number of Pacific Islander seniors due to premature mortality limits this group’s size. The high child and working-age poverty rates demand urgent attention given their concentration in life stages critical for development, education, and economic establishment. Contributing factors include insufficient minimum wages failing to support families particularly in high-cost regions where Pacific Islanders concentrate, lack of affordable quality childcare limiting parental employment, housing costs consuming 40-50% of household income, benefit program limitations with eligibility thresholds too low and benefit levels inadequate, employment discrimination, and limited access to wealth-building opportunities like homeownership and small business development.

Poverty rates also vary substantially across Pacific Islander ethnicities: Marshallese populations in Arkansas experience poverty rates exceeding 25%, while Tongans and some Native Hawaiian subgroups achieve rates closer to or below national averages. Addressing these disparities requires comprehensive poverty reduction strategies including living wage policies ensuring full-time work provides adequate income, expanded Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit benefits particularly for larger families, universal affordable childcare and pre-K programs, housing assistance including rent subsidies and affordable unit construction, SNAP benefit increases recognizing actual food costs in expensive markets, workforce development programs providing pathways to higher-wage careers, anti-discrimination enforcement, support for Pacific Islander entrepreneurship, and for Compact populations currently excluded from many federal benefits despite legal residence, policy reforms providing equal access to safety net programs.

Pacific Islander Housing Characteristics in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 Estimates, Office of Minority Health 2024

Housing conditions represent perhaps the most severe challenge facing Pacific Islander families in 2025, with dramatic disparities across multiple indicators revealing systemic barriers to housing security and wealth accumulation. The homeownership rate of 53.7% falls 12.1 percentage points below the national 65.8% rate, indicating nearly half of Pacific Islander families rent rather than own—missing crucial wealth-building opportunities as homeownership remains America’s primary vehicle for middle-class wealth accumulation. This homeownership gap stems from multiple interconnected barriers including lower median incomes reducing mortgage qualification ability, limited generational wealth preventing down payment accumulation when parents and grandparents also rented, discrimination in lending despite Fair Housing Act protections with Pacific Islanders receiving higher mortgage denial rates and less favorable terms, extraordinarily high home prices particularly in Hawaii where median values approach $730,000 and California where they exceed $500,000, inadequate credit histories particularly for immigrant populations, and for Hawaiian Homelands beneficiaries, decades-long waiting lists with 28,000+ applicants waiting for homestead awards.

The median home value of $522,800 for Pacific Islander-owned homes exceeds the national $344,000 by $178,800—a 52% premium—primarily reflecting geographic concentration in expensive Hawaii, California, Washington, and Oregon markets where all housing carries premium prices. Similarly, median gross rent of $1,847 monthly surpasses the national $1,372 by $475—a 35% premium—creating severe affordability pressures particularly for low-income families. An alarming 47.3% of households face housing cost burden, spending 30% or more of household income on housing versus 38.4% nationally—an 8.9 percentage point gap. More concerning, 22.1% experience severe housing cost burden at 50%+ of income versus 16.8% nationally, meaning more than 1 in 5 Pacific Islander households devote half or more of earnings to housing alone, leaving insufficient funds for food, healthcare, transportation, and other necessities. Overcrowding affects 8.9% of households versus 3.5% nationally—a rate 2.5 times higher than average—with 1 or more persons per room indicating families packed into units too small for their size. This overcrowding results from multiple factors: unaffordable housing forcing families to double or triple up, cultural preferences for multigenerational living requiring larger units, large family sizes needing 3-4+ bedrooms, and limited availability of large units as most rental construction focuses on studios and 1-2 bedroom apartments.

Overcrowding creates health hazards including disease transmission, injury risks, mental health stress, inadequate study space affecting children’s educational achievement, and privacy limitations affecting adolescent development. Despite dramatically higher need, only 12.4% receive housing assistance versus 8.7% nationally—though this 3.7 percentage point higher rate still leaves the vast majority of struggling families without support. Section 8 voucher waiting lists in Hawaii and major California cities stretch years long with 10,000+ families waiting. Public housing has insufficient units to meet demand, and subsidy programs serve only a fraction of eligible families. Housing challenges particularly devastate Hawaii residents where Pacific Islanders comprise 27.8% of the state population but face median home prices exceeding $730,000, median rents over $2,000 monthly in urban areas, and the nation’s highest homelessness rate per capita with Pacific Islanders overrepresented among unsheltered populations. Many families face impossible choices: pay rent and skimp on food and healthcare, live in overcrowded substandard conditions, experience homelessness, or relocate to the mainland seeking affordability—a migration that disconnects them from ancestral lands, extended family support networks, and cultural community. The housing crisis drives the Hawaii to mainland migration trend, with thousands of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander families annually leaving the islands they call home, often with profound grief and cultural loss, simply to afford housing.

Addressing this crisis requires massive housing investments including substantial affordable housing construction specifically targeting family-sized 3-4 bedroom units, stronger tenant protections against exploitation and displacement, rent control or stabilization policies preventing runaway increases, down payment assistance programs enabling creditworthy families to purchase, accelerated Hawaiian Homelands awards fulfilling the 1920 Act mandate, Community Land Trusts providing permanently affordable homeownership, increased housing voucher funding serving all eligible families rather than lottery selection, zoning reforms allowing Accessory Dwelling Units and gentle density, and for mainland Pacific Islander communities, proactive planning ensuring affordable housing availability as populations grow rather than repeating Hawaii’s mistakes.

Pacific Islander Military Veterans in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2024, U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024

Pacific Islander military service represents a profound tradition of patriotism and sacrifice spanning American military conflicts from World War I through current operations, with 27,469 veterans in 2025 comprising 4.7% of the adult Pacific Islander population—a rate significantly exceeding the national veteran rate of 3.8% and representing extraordinary military service contributions from such a small population. This military service overrepresentation stems from multiple interconnected factors including limited economic opportunities particularly in Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and other Pacific territories where government and military employment often provide the most stable careers, family traditions of military service spanning three to four generations creating cultural expectations and pride, Pacific Islander cultural values emphasizing honor, courage, communal protection, and warrior traditions, targeted military recruitment in high schools with large Pacific Islander enrollments, pathways to citizenship and federal benefits for Compact populations, and for Guam and American Samoa, military bases providing employment and cultural integration with armed forces. Age distribution shows 43.4% of veterans are 65 and older, 21.9% are 55-64, 26.7% are 35-54, and 8.0% are 18-34, reflecting both Vietnam War era service concentrations and continued recent enlistment including substantial Iraq and Afghanistan combat deployments.

Female veterans comprise 13.0% of the total, slightly below the national 14.2% rate but growing as military gender barriers fall and opportunities expand for women. The 6.0% veteran poverty rate, while better than the 15.3% overall Pacific Islander poverty rate, still indicates 1,648 veterans struggle economically despite their service—a disgraceful outcome for individuals who risked their lives defending America. Approximately 30% (8,246 veterans) carry service-connected disabilities ranging from mild hearing loss to severe traumatic brain injury, PTSD, amputations, and paralysis requiring lifelong care. Pacific Islander service members have received numerous military honors including Medals of Honor, with PFC Anthony Kaho’ohanohano and PFC Herbert Pililaau receiving America’s highest military decoration during the Korean War, while countless others earned Silver Stars, Bronze Stars, and other valor awards often without public recognition. The Samoan population shows particularly high military participation rates exceeding 5% of adults, while Chamorros from Guam serve at even higher rates given the island’s massive military presence. The military provides crucial benefits including VA healthcare, GI Bill education benefits enabling college attendance, VA home loan programs like the Native American Direct Loan (NADL) serving 550+ Native Hawaiian veterans with low-interest mortgages on Hawaiian Homelands, disability compensation, and transition assistance.

However, Pacific Islander veterans face unique challenges including geographic isolation from VA facilities particularly on outer islands and in Arkansas, Utah, and other inland locations, cultural barriers in mainstream VA healthcare where providers lack understanding of Pacific Islander cultural values around health and family decision-making, language access limitations, higher documented rates of PTSD particularly among Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan combat veterans, complex eligibility issues for Compact populations sometimes facing benefits restrictions despite military service, and inadequate outreach ensuring eligible veterans actually access available benefits. The 2024 Parity for Native Hawaiian Veterans Act aims to eliminate copays for VA services and enable Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems to receive VA reimbursement, mirroring benefits already available to American Indian and Alaska Native veterans through IHS, but implementation remains incomplete and the policy doesn’t extend to other Pacific Islander populations. Supporting Pacific Islander veterans requires continued advocacy for healthcare access expansion, culturally appropriate PTSD treatment incorporating traditional healing practices and community support, peer support networks connecting veterans across geographic isolation, employment assistance ensuring military skills translate to civilian careers, housing assistance given the 6% homelessness rate among Pacific Islander veterans in some markets, family services recognizing military stress affects entire families not just service members, and full recognition of the disproportionate sacrifice this small population makes defending America.

Pacific Islander Employment by Industry in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024

Employment patterns for Pacific Islander workers in 2025 reveal concentrated representation in specific industry sectors creating both employment stability and economic vulnerability through lack of diversification. The largest sector, Educational Services, Healthcare, and Social Assistance, employs 22.3% of Pacific Islander workers, slightly below the national 23.6%. Within this broad category, Pacific Islanders are overrepresented in healthcare support occupations including certified nursing assistants, home health aides, patient care technicians, and other direct care positions but significantly underrepresented in higher-paying professional roles like physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and therapists—a pattern reflecting educational attainment gaps limiting access to professional credentials. Accommodation and Food Services shows dramatic overrepresentation at 13.4% versus 8.5% nationally—a 4.9 percentage point excess representing the sector’s largest disparity. This concentration reflects Hawaii’s tourism-dominant economy where hotels, restaurants, catering, and hospitality businesses provide substantial employment particularly for Native Hawaiians and recent Pacific Islander immigrants, but typically at lower wages with irregular schedules, seasonal volatility, limited benefits, and minimal advancement opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated this sector with Hawaii experiencing 20%+ unemployment in 2020, illustrating dangerous economic dependence on tourism.

Retail Trade employs 11.8% compared to 10.9% nationally, representing modest overrepresentation in sales positions in stores, malls, and retail establishments—another sector offering accessible entry-level employment but limited wages and advancement. Construction shows notable concentration at 9.7% versus 6.8% nationally—a 2.9 percentage point overrepresentation reflecting both Hawaii’s continuous building activity and Pacific Islander cultural traditions around physical labor, skilled trades, and collective work patterns. Construction offers higher wages than hospitality ($50,000-$70,000 median for skilled trades) but carries high injury risks, employment volatility tied to economic cycles, and limited employer-provided benefits particularly in small residential construction firms. Public Administration at 7.2% versus 5.1% nationally reflects military service transitions to federal civilian employment, territorial government employment in Guam and American Samoa, state and local government positions including education, and federal agency employment. Government work provides crucial stability, benefits, and pension plans enabling middle-class security.

Transportation and Warehousing employs 7.8% versus 5.3% nationally, including airport operations, shipping and logistics, trucking, and warehouse work critical to island economies and increasingly to mainland e-commerce distribution—sectors providing decent wages but often requiring shift work and physical demands. The most concerning underrepresentation appears in Professional, Scientific, and Management occupations employing just 8.9% of Pacific Islander workers versus 12.8% nationally—a 3.9 percentage point gap reflecting educational barriers limiting access to careers as engineers, accountants, lawyers, IT professionals, consultants, and managers that offer median salaries exceeding $80,000. Manufacturing similarly shows underemployment at 6.4% versus 10.3% nationally, partly reflecting Hawaii’s limited manufacturing base and Pacific Islander geographic concentration in service economies. These industry patterns create dangerous economic vulnerability as Pacific Islander workers concentrate heavily in hospitality, retail, and other service sectors offering lower median wages averaging $30,000-$40,000, fewer benefits with only 55% of hospitality workers receiving health insurance, greater employment volatility with seasonal fluctuations and economic sensitivity, and limited advancement prospects.

The underrepresentation in high-wage professional and technical careers directly reflects educational attainment gaps and perpetuates intergenerational economic disadvantage. Improving economic outcomes requires aggressive workforce development targeting high-growth higher-wage sectors including healthcare professions beyond entry-level, technology and IT careers, skilled trades with union representation ensuring fair wages, business and finance positions, and engineering and technical fields, support for Pacific Islander entrepreneurship enabling business ownership rather than employee dependence, apprenticeship programs providing earn-while-you-learn pathways to skilled careers, elimination of hiring and advancement discrimination through enforcement, education, and monitoring, living wage policies ensuring service sector jobs provide adequate income, and economic diversification in Hawaii reducing dangerous tourism dependence.

The Pacific Islander population stands poised for continued robust growth through 2030 and beyond, with demographic projections suggesting the community will exceed 2 million by 2035, maintaining position as one of America’s fastest-growing populations. This growth trajectory reflects sustained high birth rates, continued migration from Pacific territories and nations, and increasing ethnic identification as Pacific Islander cultural pride strengthens. However, the community faces a critical juncture where population growth alone does not guarantee improved outcomes without substantial policy intervention addressing the severe health, education, economic, and housing disparities documented throughout this analysis. The 51.7% obesity rate and 57% higher diabetes mortality represent public health emergencies demanding immediate comprehensive intervention, yet current funding and programming remain grossly inadequate to the crisis scale. Without aggressive action, the young age structure ensuring population growth will also ensure an epidemic of premature chronic disease, disability, and death affecting hundreds of thousands of Pacific Islander Americans in their prime working years.

Educational improvement represents perhaps the most critical pathway to community advancement, as the 9.9 percentage point bachelor’s degree gap directly translates to $30,000-$50,000 lower lifetime earnings per individual and perpetuates intergenerational disadvantage. Substantially increased scholarship funding, culturally relevant college recruitment and retention programming, family engagement initiatives, and community college pathway strengthening could dramatically improve attainment over the next decade if implemented at sufficient scale. The housing crisis particularly in Hawaii continues worsening with no meaningful relief in sight—without massive affordable housing construction and protections against displacement, the Hawaii to mainland migration accelerating over the past 15 years will continue, potentially resulting in Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders becoming a minority in their ancestral homeland while facing cultural disconnection and discrimination in mainland communities. The community’s remarkable resilience demonstrated through population recovery from colonial devastation, cultural revitalization movements, and adaptation to American society provides hope, but resilience alone cannot overcome systemic barriers requiring policy solutions. Pacific Islander communities need and deserve substantial investment in health infrastructure including culturally adapted diabetes prevention, obesity reduction honoring cultural values around food and body size, primary care expansion, culturally competent provider training, and traditional healing integration; education support through need-based scholarships, culturally relevant curriculum, Pacific Islander educator recruitment, family engagement programs, and Native language education; economic development including living wages, workforce training, anti-discrimination enforcement, entrepreneurship support, and economic diversification; housing including massive affordable construction, rental assistance expansion, homeownership preparation, tenant protections, and Hawaiian Homelands acceleration; and data collection improvements enabling accurate health monitoring and policy evaluation. The next decade will determine whether the Pacific Islander population’s growth translates into genuine empowerment with improved health, education, economic security, and cultural vitality, or merely represents demographic expansion accompanied by persistent disparities, cultural loss, and continued struggle. With adequate support respecting Pacific Islander self-determination, cultural values, and community leadership, this diverse and resilient population can thrive while maintaining the rich cultural traditions, languages, and values that define their unique place within America’s multicultural society.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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