Americans of Hong Kong birth or descent
Ethnic group
Hong Kong Americans Total population 248,024 [ 1] Regions with significant populations California ,New York ,New Jersey ,Washington (Seattle ),[ 2] Texas ,Massachusetts Languages PredominantlyEnglish ,varieties of Chinese :Yue (Cantonese Taishanese Hakka ,Wu (Taihu Wu Oujiang Wu [ 3] Southern Min Mandarin (Standard Chinese Religion Unaffiliated ,Protestantism ,Catholicism ,Buddhism ,Taoism Related ethnic groups Hong Kong Canadians ,Hong Kong Britons Hong Kong Australians ,Hong Kong New Zealanders Chinese Americans ,Taiwanese Americans Americans in Hong Kong ,Overseas Chinese
Hong Kong Americans (Cantonese :香港裔美國人、港裔美國人、美籍香港人、美港人 ), includeAmericans who are alsoHong Kong residents who identify themselves asHongkongers (who see Hong Kong as their home and are culturally associated with Hong Kong, especially through descent, growth, birth, long term residence, or other types of deep affiliations with Hong Kong), Americans ofHong Kong ancestry, and also Americans who have Hong Kong parents.
After the passage of theImmigration and Nationality Act of 1965 , an influx ofCantonese -speaking Hong Kong immigrants settled in Chinatowns inSan Francisco ,California ;Los Angeles ,California ; andManhattan ,New York . In Chinatown neighborhoods, many Hong Kong immigrants opened businesses such as Chinese restaurants and supermarkets.[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] [ 7]
During the 1980s and the 1990s, a large number of high-skilled Hong Kong immigrants moved to the United States due to theHandover of Hong Kong . Many settled in theSan Francisco Bay Area , where many were employed by high-technology companies inSilicon Valley . Many of the Hong Kong immigrants in the Bay Area reside in suburban communities such asBurlingame ,South San Francisco ,San Mateo ,Fremont ,Daly City ,Millbrae ,San Leandro ,Hayward and in theRichmond District andSunset District in San Francisco.[ 8] [ 9] San Francisco Peninsula in great number; the restaurant Laka Spicy in Millbrae is an example of this, which also incorporatesBritish food and nearby Hong Kong Palace is a Hong Kong-styled restaurant. Thedim sum restaurant Koi Palace is founded and owned by Hong Kong immigrant brothers Willy and Ronny Ng and has expanded their Bay Area presence from their Daly City flagship restaurant by opening branches inMilpitas andDublin, CA .[ 10] New York Metropolitan area withBrooklyn andQueens having a sizable Hong Kong diaspora. In theGreater Los Angeles area, many settled in the westernSan Gabriel Valley , including cities such asMonterey Park ,Alhambra ,San Gabriel , andRosemead .[ 11]
As of 2021, there are 248,024 people in the United States who are born in Hong Kong.[ 12] [ 13] [ 14] [ 15] [ 13] Greater Los Angeles with 34,323 residents born in Hong Kong.[ 13]
Among other areas,Texas andWashington have 8,671, and 8,191 Hong Kong-born residents, respectively. There is also a notable community ofHongkongers in theGreater Boston Area , especially inQuincy, Massachusetts . Massachusetts has 7,464 residents who were born in Hong Kong.[ 16]
Nathan Adrian – swimmer andOlympic medal winnerCelia Au – actress and filmmakerJin Au-Yeung , professionally known as "MC Jin" – rapper, songwriter, actor, comedianBrian Burrell – actorFlora Chan –TVB actressFrancis Chan – preacherJaycee Chan – singer, film actorMelissa Chan – journalistSteve Chan – New York State SenatorEd Chau – former California State AssemblymanJohn S. Chen – CEO ofBlackBerry Kevin Cheng – TVB actorAmy Chow – gymnast and Olympic medal winnerDenny Chin – judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1994–present), first Asian American appointed as a United States district court judgeMargaret Chin – member of the New York City Council representing ChinatownJohn Eng – served in Washington state's House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983Khalil Fong – singer-songwriterThe Fung Brothers – comedy and hip hop duoJames Hong – actorWilliam Hung – singerYuet Wai Kan – pioneer in the use of DNA to diagnose human diseases; helped set the stage for the Human Genome ProjectMichelle Kwan – Olympic medal winner, ice skaterNancy Kwan – actress and modelKent Lai – tenured full professor,University of Utah School of Medicine Brandon Lee – martial artist and actorBruce Lee – martial artist and actorCoco Lee – musician, singer-songwriter, actress, and dancerOtto Lee –Santa Clara County Supervisor Justin Lo –Cantopop singer-songwriterJaeson Ma – entrepreneurByron Mann – actorJimmy O. Yang – comedianRobin Shou – actor, martial artist and stuntmanHarry Shum Jr. – actorVivienne Tam – fashion designerStanley Tang – DoorDash Co-founder and Chief Product OfficerSam Tsui – musician, singer-songwriter and anInternet celebrity through YouTubeMargaret W. Wong – Hong Kong-born naturalized American immigration attorneyDaniel Wu – actorWayne Wang – film directorMartin Yan – chef and food writerJanice Zahn – Washington State Representative^ "S0201: SELECTED POPULATION PROFILE IN THE UNITED STATES" . U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved17 October 2022 .^ "Host of Papers Cater to Seattle's Asian American Community : Media: An increasing inflow of immigrants is a major reason for the proliferation of such publications" .Los Angeles Times . RetrievedOctober 4, 2013 .^ "Ethnologue report for language code: wuu" . Ethnologue.com. Retrieved2011-12-31 .^ "Chinatown History" . San Francisco Chinatown. Archived fromthe original on March 15, 2015. RetrievedOctober 6, 2013 .^ Ronald Skeldon (1994).Reluctant Exiles?: Migration from Hong Kong and the New Overseas Chinese ISBN 978-962-209-334-8 . RetrievedJuly 25, 2012 . ^ Ming K. Chan; Gerard A. Postiglione (1996).The Hong Kong Reader: Passage to Chinese Sovereignty 174 –.ISBN 978-1-56324-870-2 . RetrievedJuly 25, 2012 . ^ "As Chinatown Changes, the Neighborhood's Chinese Restaurants Move Away from Cantonese Food" .LA Weekly . RetrievedApril 3, 2021 .^ Ronald Skeldon (1994).Reluctant Exiles?: Migration from Hong Kong and the New Overseas Chinese ISBN 978-962-209-334-8 . RetrievedJuly 25, 2012 . ^ Foley, Michael (2007). Religion and the New Immigrants : How Faith Communities Form Our Newest. Page 42. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ^ Shu, Anthony (2022-01-31)."How Dim Sum Legend Koi Palace Preserves the Legacy of Cantonese Banquet Culture" .Eater SF . Retrieved2025-07-17 . ^ https://ericbrightwell.com/2020/05/19/no-enclave-hongkonger-los-angeles/ ^ "B05006 Place Of Birth For The Foreign-born Population In The United States" .data.census.gov . Retrieved2025-07-17 .^a b c "B05006 Place Of Birth For The Foreign-born Population In The United States" .data.census.gov . Retrieved2025-07-17 .^ "The First "Hong Kong Carnival" in America (Milpitas)" .Funcheap . 2022-06-29. Retrieved2025-07-17 .^ "Hong Kong Carnival Update 8/31/2023 - XPT Resources" .XPT Resources - Crosspoint Resources . Retrieved2025-07-17 .^ "Chinatown South - The Patriot Ledger 4-part series" .www.southofboston.net . Archived fromthe original on 2022-06-01. Retrieved2025-07-17 .
By country By migration history By Chinese subgroup Non-Chinese ethnicity or nationality
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