The first wave of Filipino immigrants arrived in the U.S. in the mid- to late 1700s. The first Filipino immigrant on record deserted a Spanish galleon in Mexico and made his way on foot to Louisiana. Others followed who settled in Alaska, California and Washington. This initial wave of Filipino immigrants was followed by a second wave during the first three decades of the 20th century. During this period many Filipinos were brought to Hawaii as inexpensive farm labor. The third, and largest, wave of Filipino immigrants arrived in the U.S. between 1945 and 1965, a movement that saw thousands of Filipino immigrants come to America many of whom were professionals and students. After 1965 the fourth major wave of Filipino immigration occurred, mainly due to an Amendment to the Immigration Nationality Act of 1924. Filipinos have never looked back. They not only represent the second largest group of Asian Americans, but they are primed to become the largest group in the future. Further, demographically, they have been very successful in America, mainly because of the family emphasis on acquiring education as a means of success. The following list of Filipino American demographics shows many of the values in that culture that have been responsible for making them successful to a higher degree and more quickly than many other immigrants who have chosen America as their home:
In 1990, Filipinos accounted for 20.4% (1.4 million) of Asian Americans, the second largest proportion of Asian Americans.
Altogether, 64.4% of Filipino were foreign born. Before 1975, 21.7% of Filipinos were foreign born. Between 1975 to 1979, 11.1% were foreign born. From 1980 to 1990, 31.6% were foreign born.
The median age of Filipino Americans is 31.1.
Filipino Americans had an average of 4 persons per family.
84.2% of males are High School graduates or higher. 81.4% of females are High School graduates or higher. 36.2% of males have a ba...