When it comes to their outlook on life in Houston, local Asian residents share a lot in common with their neighbors.
They’re generally happy with living in the region and plan to put down roots here, yet are often annoyed by snarling traffic and worried about safety.
Those attitudes emerged from a new Kinder Institute report examining results from a survey of 2,500 Asian residents across Houston, conducted as part of a multiyear research effort dedicated to understanding the region’s Asian population.
This post is part of a series exploring the findings and implications of the Asian American Community Study, a multiyear initiative exploring the diverse experiences, attitudes and beliefs of this dynamic and fast-growing population group in the Houston region.
Houston’s Asian community accounts for 10% of the local population following decades of rapid growth. As a result, Asian Americans are taking a larger role in shaping the region’s economic, political and social landscape.
The new report combines the responses of about 1,500 survey participants with the over 1,000 Asian residents participating in the Greater Houston Community Panel, a group of nearly 10,000 residents representing the region’s racial and ethnic diversity.
While Asian residents’ opinion of Houston largely reflected regionwide viewpoints, a few key differences and ethnic splits emerged from the survey. Here are five key takeaways from the report.
Asian residents enjoy life in the Bayou City
When asked to rate their quality of life in Houston, 86% of Asian respondents chose “good,” “very good” or “excellent.” The remaining respondents labeled the quality of life “fair” or “poor.”
Satisfaction followed across all Asian ethnic groups, with Vietnamese respondents reporting the lowest rate of happiness (81% selecting good, very good or excellent) and Filipino respondents the most content (91%).
Asian residents were a bit more buoyant about Houston than all residents of Harris County (71%), Montgomery County (80%) and Fort Bend County (83%) who participated in the Kinder Houston Area Survey.
The countywide results include all participants of the Greater Houston Community Panel, but not the 1,500 Asian respondents who answered the same questions through a separate survey.
Diversity, cost of living rank as Houston’s top features
Slightly more than one-third of Asian residents ranked the region’s diversity as the best part of living in Houston, with respondents of every ethnicity but one — Chinese/Taiwanese — agreeing that it tops the list.
Nearly 20% of respondents chose the region’s cost of living as Houston’s top feature, the clear second choice. Several other options garnered less than 10% of the vote, including local community and culture, economic opportunity, the region’s food scene, and activities and entertainment.
The results show Asian residents prioritized diversity slightly more than all Kinder Houston Area Survey respondents (25% selecting as top feature) and cost of living notably higher than others (9%).
A trio of biggest frustrations
Across ethnicities, three pain points about living in Houston consistently surfaced: traffic, public safety and infrastructure.
Asked to name the worst part about Houston life, a plurality of respondents of every larger ethnic group cited traffic. Asian residents were slightly more exasperated with congestion than survey respondents of other races and ethnicities.
Infrastructure or crime ranked as the second-most common choice across all larger ethnic groups. Climate change, the economy and the cost of housing also rankled Asian respondents.
Ethnic differences emerge on public services, environment
Houston’s Asian population generally held similar views on the quality of various public services and environmental conditions when compared to the broader population. Local Asian residents were slightly more frustrated with public transportation services, disappointed in the quality of greenspaces and pessimistic about public safety.
Wider schisms, however, were seen between various Asian ethnicities.
Vietnamese residents were particularly down on the quality of parks and greenspaces, with roughly 60% rating them “good,” “very good” or excellent, compared to about 70% to 80% of respondents from other ethnicities.
Filipino residents were overwhelmingly happy with the region’s college and job opportunities, while Chinese/Taiwanese respondents were more sanguine about postsecondary options and Pakistani respondents were exceptionally gloomy about the local labor market.
The largest gap emerged when residents were asked to rate the region’s air and water quality. Nearly four-fifths of Japanese respondents deemed them poor or fair, compared to roughly half of Asian Indian and Filipino respondents.
Most residents aren’t moving anytime soon
About two-thirds of respondents said it’s not at all likely or not too likely that they will leave Houston in the next few years, with the remaining one-third describing the odds as moderately, very or extremely likely they’ll be on the move.
Houston’s Vietnamese population signaled the most appetite for change, with 40% of respondents saying there’s a decent likelihood they will move. Vietnamese respondents were slightly less satisfied with life in Houston than other Asian residents, though proximity to family and friends ranked as the top reason they stay in the area.
Chinese/Taiwanese and Pakistani residents reported the deepest ties to Houston, with only 25% forecasting a potential move. Members of both ethnicities reported some of the highest rates of satisfaction with their life in Houston and a relatively positive outlook on raising kids in the region.
