Filipino in NYC: A Profile (2025)

August 25, 2025

PROFILE MATERIALS

2019-2023 ACS 5-Year PUMS

2014-2018 ACS 5-Year PUMS

Asian American Federation

Population

In 2018, there were about 85,000 Filipino New Yorkers in New York City. Between 2018 and 2023, the Filipino population grew by 8,900, or 9.5%, to a total of 94,000 residents. This increase is higher than the 7.3% increase of Asians as a whole.

While Queens remains home to the largest number of Filipino New Yorkers with a population of 49,500, recent trends show a shift in settlement patterns. Between 2018 and 2023, the proportion of the Filipino population living in the Bronx saw the most growth (+1.8 percentage points) followed by Brooklyn (+1.7 percentage points) while it declined slightly in Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

From 2018 to 2023, the age distribution of Filipino New Yorkers remained relatively stable. Even so, the number of Filipino children and older adults grew by 12.3% and 14.5%, respectively. Although the proportion of adults among Filipino New Yorkers slightly declined, the actual population grew by 9.2%.

Immigration, Citizenship & Mobility

Of the total Filipino population in New York City, 40.8% are U.S.-born, 41.4% are naturalized citizens, and 17.9% are non-citizens. As of 2023, the Filipino population has one of the highest proportions of naturalized citizens in the city among all Asian ethnic groups. Since 2018, the share of Filipinos who are U.S. citizens by birth has risen by 5.8 percentage points while the share of non-citizens has declined by 5.1 percentage points.

Only one third (36.7%) of New Yorkers are foreign-born while about two-thirds (59.3%) of Filipino residents are.

Between 2019 and 2023, 10.5% of the Filipino population settled in New York City from elsewhere, which aligns closely with the city’s estimate of 10.1% for recent arrivals. However, only 1.6% of the total Filipino population had moved to NYC from abroad. In contrast, the vast majority of Filipinos (89.5%) had not relocated from their previous residence within the city.

Education & English Proficiency

Filipinos are among the most educated Asian ethnic groups. 5.2% of Filipino adults hold less than a high school education while nearly two-thirds (65.7%) hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. This is significantly more educated than the city’s overall population, where 16.3% have less than a high school education and 41.1% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Across Asian ethnic groups, Filipinos have the highest rate of adults with a bachelor’s degree at 49.4%.

Filipinos in New York City have the highest English proficiency among Asian ethnic groups. Only 16.2% of them report having limited English proficiency (LEP), which is lower than the citywide rate of 22.2%. In contrast, 83.8% of Filipinos speak English very well or better, surpassing rates for both the overall Asian population (57.6%) and the city’s total population (77.8%).

Income & Poverty

Compared to other Asian ethnic groups and New York City residents overall, Filipinos have above-average per capita median incomes and higher median incomes for both families and households. The median Filipino household earns 37.2% more than the average household in New York City. Filipino New Yorkers also experience income inequality to some degree with the top 10% of earners making about 8 times that of the lowest 10%.

Filipinos have the lowest poverty rates compared to other Asian ethnic groups overall as well as across all age groups.

Benefits & Health

Filipino households living in poverty are enrolled in SNAP at a much lower rate than both New York City and Asian households.

Citywide, the percentage of uninsured individuals in the city decreased on almost all accounts, and the Filipino population is no exception. Between 2018 and 2023, the uninsured rate lowered by 3.1 percentage points. Around three in four Filipinos (74.6%) are enrolled in private insurance, which is significantly higher than the City average (57.8%) and the Asian ethnic population as a whole (56.5%). Although the Filipino community has a lower public insurance enrollment rate (31.8%) than both the citywide (45.6%) and Asian (43.8%) population averages, they experienced a 5.2 percentage point increase in public health insurance enrollment.

Employment

Filipino unemployment rates are lower than the overall City rate. However, the unemployment rate for Filipina women is above the average for Asian women in the labor force overall.

Filipino New Yorkers are less likely to be self-employed with a self-employment rate of 8.5%, compared to 9.8% for the overall population and 11.1% for the Asian population. This rate is particularly low among male Filipino employees, who have a self-employment rate of 9.1%. In comparison, the city’s overall rate for men is 11.6%, and the rate for the Asian men is 14.2%.

The healthcare industry employed the highest percentage of Filipino workers at 32%. This is followed by professional services (including legal, accounting, management, etc.), entertainment (such as restaurants and drinking places), retail (including grocery, apparel, etc.), and financial services (including banking, insurance, and brokerages). Both male and female Filipino workers were most commonly employed in the medical services sector, at 25.2% and 37.4%, respectively.

Housing

Average household size, NYC, 2018 and 2023

Household group	2018	2023
Overall	2.50	2.44
Asian	3.88	2.81
Filipino	2.88	2.81

Since 2018, the average household size in New York City has generally decreased, and Filipino households are no exception. Filipino households in 2023 were, on average, slightly smaller than Asian households overall.

Note: Overcrowding is defined as more than one person per room.

Filipino households experience overcrowding at a rate of 11.5%, which is higher than the 9.6% rate in City households but lower than the 16.7% rate among Asian households.

Filipino households own their homes at a higher rate and rent at a lower rate than City households.

41.9% of rented Filipino households are rent-burdened in some capacity with more than half of those households qualifying as severely rent-burdened. However, these rates are below those of rented households overall in the city and Asian households.

¹ Filipino statistics are for the Filipino Alone or in Any Combination category unless otherwise noted.

² Population estimates are rounded to the nearest hundred.

³ Asian statistics are for the Asian Alone or in Any Combination category unless otherwise noted.

⁴ “New Yorker” indicates New York City residents.

⁵ Percentage point changes indicate changes in percentages; percentage changes indicate changes in numbers.

⁶ Asian households are led by an Asian householder and can consist of non-Asian persons. Similarly, Filipino households are led by a Chinese householder and can consist of non-Chinese persons.

Technical Notes

Race categories
Beginning with the Census 2000, the Census Bureau collects data in which respondents were allowed to mark more than one race. For example, 2000 data include results for single race as well as multiple-race responses. “Filipino Alone” corresponds to the respondents who reported only Filipino and no other race category. “Alone” should be considered the minimum population size in any analysis that uses Census Bureau data.

To be as inclusive as possible, this profile uses “Filipino Alone or in Any Combination” numbers where possible. “Alone or in Any Combination” corresponds to the responses (not respondents) that included Filipino, either alone or in any combination with other Asian groups or other race categories. If a respondent selected Filipino and another racial group (e.g., Filipino and Black), that individual, while excluded from the “Filipino Alone” count, was tallied in the “Alone or in Any Combination” count for Filipino and the other racial group. Hence, some overlap in the “In Any Combination” numbers occurred. “Alone or in Any Combination” should be considered the maximum population size in any analysis that uses Census Bureau data.

About this profile
These profiles were released in August 2025 and are based on the 2018 and 2023 American Community Survey 5-year Public Use Microdata Sample.

This is one of a series of Asian American population profiles prepared by the Asian American Federation Census Information Center (CIC) to increase understanding of the rapidly growing and diverse Asian American population in the New York metropolitan area. Data citations from this profile should include the following acknowledgment: “Data derived from analysis by the Asian American Federation Census Information Center.”

For more information regarding this profile, please contact the Asian American Federation Census Information Center at (646)492-8958 x 221 or dena.li@aafederation.org, or visit our Census Center.

This profile was authored by Bella Lu, AAF’s Spring 2025 Research Intern (Bard College, ’25) and Dena Li. Review and edits were made by Annie Yang and Meera Venugopal. Infographics and design by Jenny Shin.