Five years of the

Staatus Index

2025

Attitudes towards Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders

We surveyed 4,909 Americans across the country to uncover the most pressing issues AANHPIs are facing today.

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A young South Asian woman with long dark hair and a neutral expression gazes directly at the camera, standing against a clear blue sky with strands of hair blowing in the wind. She wears a red patterned top and a single earring.An older East Asian man in a newsboy cap and parka vest stands in front of an iron fence gazes at the camera.

Now in its fifth year, the landmark survey shows a stark disconnect between many Americans’ beliefs about Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) and the reality of AANHPIs’ lived experiences.

It also offers granular analysis of how public knowledge of—and opinion on—the country’s most ethnically diverse communities is actively influenced by longstanding stereotypes, deep-seated misperceptions, and media, culture, and information consumption habits.

01

Perceptions

Americans increasingly believe Asian Americans are treated fairly—but more and more question their loyalty to the United States.

An Asian woman with long dark hair and winged eyeliner rests their face in their hands, looking at the camera.
Will I ever be treated like everyone else?

48% of Americans think Asian Americans are treated fairly. But 40% also believe Asian Americans are more loyal to their countries of origin than to the U.S.

More than 1 in 4 Americans are concerned that Chinese Americans are a threat to U.S. society, especially around national security.

A woman in a dark hijab and patterned coat stands beside a black iron fence, holding one of its bars, with an outdoor setting in the background.
I am worried about my safety in public spaces.
02

Reality

many Asian Americans still deal with harassment, a lack of safety in public and online spaces, and gaps in belonging and acceptance.

Many Americans still feel unsafe in public spaces, and feel they don’t belong due to a lack of representation.

03

Influences

younger Americans turn to social media and global pop culture for insight into Asian American Life.

A South Asian man with earbuds sits indoors, looking at the camera while holding a smartphone. The image has a soft, warm filter.
Media stereotypes feel inescapable.

16-24 year olds cite international pop culture exports—and platforms like TikTok—as top sources of information about Asian American experiences.

An Asian man wearing glasses and a red jacket holds several books and looks to the side in a library or study room, while two people talk in the background at a desk.
Do people want to learn more about my culture?
04

Change

Many Americans support specific initiatives aimed at uplifting Asian American communities.

Nearly 80% of Americans support solutions to uplift Asian American communities, including education reform and community investment.

In order to support Asian American communities in the U.S. some have proposed the following solutions. Which would you support or engage with?

05

Data Playground

Utilize our data to educate, inform, and advocate for change

Explore the survey data below and compare the results by race, age, gender, education, region and other measures. Screenshot and share widely.

Note: Open-ended questions display only the top responses for those questions.

STAATUS Index

2025

Get the full 2025 report

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About the Report

Academic Advisory Committee

The STAATUS Index is advised by our esteemed Academic Advisory Committee (AAC). We are honored to have their guidance and expertise in developing the survey, advising on the methodology, reviewing analyses, interpreting data, and crafting key takeaways.

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Chair

Jennifer Lee

Julian Clarence Levi Professor of Social Sciences, Columbia University

Jennifer Lee

Julian Clarence Levi Professor of Social Sciences, Columbia University

Jennifer Lee is the Julian Clarence Levi Professor of Social Sciences at Columbia University and the 2022-23 Robbert Dijkgraaf Member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. An award-winning author and experienced public commentator, she has been uniquely successful in placing the study of Asian Americans centrally in the discipline. She is author or co-author of four-award winning books, including Asian American Achievement Paradox which garnered five national book awards. In it, she and her co-author dispel the cultural fallacy that Asian Americans excel in education because they value education more than other groups. Her work has also focused on immigrant entrepreneurship, ethnic conflict, intermarriage, multiracial identification, affirmative action, and the surge in anti-Asian violence since the onset of COVID-19.

Lee has been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Russell Sage Foundation and the Obama Presidency Oral History. Her essays and commentary have appeared in The New York Times, The WashingtonPost, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, Science, and The Brookings Institutions, among other venues.

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Chair

Paul Watanabe

Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Asian American Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Paul Watanabe

Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Asian American Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Paul is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He is the author of Ethnic Groups, Congress, and American Foreign Policy and principal author of A Dream Deferred: Changing Demographics, New Opportunities, and Challenges for Boston. His scholarly articles on ethnic studies, Asian Americans, public policy, political behavior, foreign policy, and health disparities have appeared in major academic journals and edited volumes. He currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund; Board of Directors of the South Shore Health System; Board of Directors of North Hill Communities; Board of Trustees of the Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund; Board of Trustees of the town of Weymouth Libraries Foundation; Redistricting Data Hub’s Advisory Data Council, and the City of Boston’s COVID-19 Health Disparities Task Force. He was appointed by President Obama to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and served as the first Chair of the U.S. Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations. The Emperor and Government of Japan have awarded Paul the Order of the Rising Sun. Paul received his B.S. in Political Science from the University of Utah and Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University.

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Chair

Russell Jeung

Professor of Asian American Studies, San Francisco State University

Russell Jeung

Professor of Asian American Studies, San Francisco State University

Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, Dr. Russell Jeung is an author of books and articles on race and religion. He's written Family Sacrifices: The Worldviews and Ethics of Chinese Americans (2019); Mountain Movers: Student Activism and the Emergence of Asian American Studies (2019); and At Home in Exile: Finding Jesus Among My Ancestors and Refugee Neighbors (2016).

In March 2020, Dr. Jeung co-founded Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that was awarded the 2021 Webby Award for "Social Movement of the Year." Dr. Jeung was named as one of the TIME 100 Most Influential Persons in 2021 and received the Game Changer Award from the Asia Society in 2022.

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Chair

Pei-Te Lien

Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara

Pei-Te Lien

Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara

Born and raised in Taiwan, Pei-te Lien received a BA in English from the National Taiwan University and an MA in Journalism & Mass Communication and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Florida. She is currently a professor of Political Science affiliated with Asian American Studies, Feminist Studies, and Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Lien’s primary research interest is the political participation and representation of Asian and other nonwhite Americans. Most of her recent work examines the intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, and nativity in political behavior, both of the elites and the mass. In addition to writing journal articles and book chapters, Lien has (co)authored and co-edited eight books, including the award-winning The Making of Asian America Through Political Participation (Temple, 2001), Contested Transformation: Race, Gender, and Political Leadership in 21st Century America (Cambridge, 2016), and Contending the Last Frontier: Race, Gender, Ethnicity, and Political Representation of Asian Americans (2022, Oxford). She is the 2023 recipient of the Don T. Nakanishi Award for Distinguished Scholarship and Service in Asian Pacific American Politics, the Western Political Science Association.

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Chair

Erika Lee

Bae Family Professor of History and Radcliffe Alumnae Professor, Harvard University

Erika Lee

Bae Family Professor of History and Radcliffe Alumnae Professor, Harvard University

Professor Erika Lee is an award-winning historian and author, Regents Professor of History and Asian American Studies, Director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota, and President-Elect of the Organization of American Historians.

The granddaughter of Chinese immigrants, Lee was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and testified before Congress in its historic hearings on anti-Asian discrimination and violence.

Lee is the author of four award-winning books including The Making of Asian America and America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in America, which won the American Book Award and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and more. Identified as an essential book illuminating the Trump era and the 2020 elections, it will be published with a new epilogue on xenophobia and racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Making of Asian America will also soon be republished with a new postscript about the latest campaigns against Asian Americans. Lee has been featured in PBS’s film series “Asian Americans” and has been interviewed for many news shows, podcasts, and publications.

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Chair

Taeku Lee

Bae Family Professor of Government, Harvard University, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

Taeku Lee

Bae Family Professor of Government, Harvard University, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

Taeku Lee is Bae Family Professor of Government at Harvard University and also Professor Emeritus at UC-Berkeley, where he taught for twenty years. Lee’s teaching and research interests are in racial and ethnic politics, public opinion and voting behavior, identity and inequality, and deliberative and participatory democracy. He serves or has served on the the National Advisory Committee for the U.S. Census Bureau, the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the American National Election Studies, and the General Social Survey, as well as Executive Council of the American Political Science Association. At Berkeley he was Chair of the Department of Political Science and Associate Dean at the School of Law. Lee has been a co-PI of the National Asian American Survey, Managing Director of Asian American Decisions, and Senior Fellow at the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund. Born in South Korea, Lee grew up in rural Malaysia, lower Manhattan, and suburban Michigan. He is a proud graduate of K-12 public schools, the University of Michigan (A.B.), Harvard University (M.P.P.), and the University of Chicago (Ph.D.).

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Acknowledgements

Development of the STAATUS Index 2025 was led by Sruthi Chandrasekaran (Director of Data and Research), Matt Kamibayashi (Data and Research Manager), and Lena Pham (Database and Research Specialist) at TAAF.

Norman Chen (Chief Executive Officer) and Georgette Bhathena (Chief Programs Officer) provided key guidance and support, along with other members of TAAF’s Partnerships and Programs teams. Members of TAAF’s Communications team provided leadership and support on report design and copy, including Joy Moh (Head of Communications and Marketing), Andrew Peng (Deputy Director of Communications), Polly Fong (Deputy Director of Brand and Creative), Noho Monarch (Graphic Designer), and Lakshmi Hutchinson (Content Writer).

We are also grateful to the following persons and groups for the critical roles they played in the implementation of this year’s study:

Savanta Research

(data collection)

The DataFace

(data visualization and report design)

Blix

(AI-powered text analysis of open-ended survey responses)

Matter Unlimited

(PR support)

Mr. Calvin Naito

(Japanese American Incarceration question)

Our Partners

We are also delighted to collaborate with the following initiatives: