A new AP-NORC/AAPI Data poll reveals that Asian American and Pacific Islander adults are primarily preoccupied with economic concerns, with personal finances identified as a “major source” of stress for around 4 in 10 respondents. This finding overshadows concerns about racial discrimination, which only about 1 in 10 AAPI adults cited as a major stressor, and which half reported as no source of stress at all. The survey highlights the material conditions impacting the working class, regardless of racial background.
John Magner, 58, who is of Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry and also half white, stated, “I work full-time but we’re struggling,” citing “Inflation and then also some family stuff that’s gone on, having to pay medical bills. It’s just bills.” His experience reflects the broader economic pressures documented by the poll. In contrast, health concerns and relationships with family or friends were cited as major stressors by about 2 in 10 AAPI adults.
Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data, noted that the economic struggles faced by people have “nothing to do with race or immigration.” Ramakrishnan specified that these struggles “have to do with other factors, like tariffs, war on foreign policy, AI data centers,” which he identified as “all the things that people see that are driving up costs.” This analysis points to the systemic mechanisms of surplus extraction that impact workers.
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While economic anxieties persist, fewer AAPI adults are reporting overt anti-Asian attacks compared to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. About one-quarter of AAPI adults reported personally experiencing a hate crime or incident, such as verbal harassment or physical assault, in the past year. This level is consistent with a survey conducted last summer but marks a decline from an October 2023 poll, about two and a half years ago, where 36% reported being victims of race- or ethnicity-tied abuse over the prior year.
Preliminary FBI data also indicates a decline in anti-Asian hate crimes and bias crimes overall between last year and this year, as the pandemic receded. Despite this decline in reported incidents, approximately 3 in 10 AAPI adults in the new survey expressed that it is “extremely” or “very” likely they will be victims of discrimination based on their race or ethnicity in the next five years. Ramakrishnan characterized this trend as a “decline but a stabilization,” emphasizing that “Both hate crimes and hate incidents are still an issue in our community.”
The poll found that roughly 1 in 10 AAPI adults reported being called a racial or ethnic slur in the past 12 months, a decrease from approximately 2 in 10 in October 2023. Similarly, around 15% reported verbal harassment or abuse due to their race or ethnicity in the past year, down from 23% in 2023. Advocates noted a shift in the rhetoric, moving away from COVID-19-related tropes towards anti-immigrant sentiments.
Stephanie Chan, data and research director at Stop AAPI Hate, stated, “We’re seeing things like ‘Go back to China’ still. But, it’s more like ‘ICE is going to deport you.’” Chan linked this rhetoric to “very harsh and aggressive immigration enforcement,” asserting that “all of this is also feeding into anti-AAPI hate persisting.” This highlights the state’s role in normalizing and enforcing divisions that contribute to racialized hostility.
Ambar Capoor, 52 and India-born, a naturalized citizen who has lived in the U.S. for 26 years, recounted being pushed and told, “You don’t belong here. You should go back to your country,” in his Los Angeles neighborhood. Capoor, a Democrat, suggested that the “divisive political climate has emboldened people to openly say racist things.” Nosheen Hamid, 36, a stay-at-home mother who has lived in Salt Lake City for 17 years, described being racially profiled, with a salesman questioning if she was renting her home, noting, “People didn’t expect me to be in the space that I was, work-wise, school-wise.”
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John Magner also reported facing discrimination from Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in his West Jordan, Utah, community, who questioned his Hawaiian identity. He recounted being called “cracker and a little wannabe Pacific Islander” by a customer at his workplace. Despite these experiences of racialized division, Magner’s primary concern remained the economic struggle to pay bills while working full-time.
The poll of 1,228 U.S. adults who are Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders was conducted last month, from March 23-30, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based Amplify AAPI Panel. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. The study is part of an ongoing project to highlight the views of these communities, which are often underrepresented in other surveys.