Vietnamese Americans are among the lowest-income earners in Orange County.

Statistics released in late May by the Association for Asian American Justice in Southern California (AJSOCAL) show that there are currently 815,000 people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent living in Orange County, California, accounting for 26% of the county’s population.

The Asian population in Orange County increased by 33% between 2010 and 2020, with Vietnamese Americans being the largest group, numbering over 241,000.

However, the income of Vietnamese Americans is among the lowest, only higher than that of Cambodian and Latino Americans. The average annual income of a Vietnamese American in Orange County is $32,000, less than half that of a white American.

Vietnamese Americans also have the highest poverty rate among minority ethnic groups in Orange County, at 14%, according to Dr. June Lim, who directs the new Demographic Research Project. This research is part of the Community of Contrasts, an AJSOCAL data project that analyzes demographic, economic, and social trends and needs within the Asian American community.

The next highest poverty rates in Orange County are Chinese Americans at 13%, Korean Americans at 12%, and Cambodian Americans at 12%.

In California, the federal poverty line for 2026, as announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is $15,960 per year for a single person and $33,000 for a four-person household. However, this figure does not fully reflect the cost of living in Orange County.

According to fiscal year 2026 data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, CA HUD Metro FMR Area, which is the HUD area for Orange County, has a median household income of $138,600.

Here, a person earning $39,100 a year still falls into the “extremely low income” category, $65,150 into the “very low income” category, and $104,200 into the “low income” category when HUD considers housing assistance. For a four-person household, the corresponding thresholds are $55,850, $93,050, and $148,850.

Economic pressure on the poor in Orange County has increased significantly as rental prices have risen sharply in recent years. Rent across the county has increased by 19%, while rents in Orange County cities like Westminster and Irvine have risen by 20-25%.

Regarding language, the survey revealed that approximately 33% of Asian Americans in Orange County have limited English proficiency. The need for language support therefore varies across communities, ranging from around 30% for Chinese and Cambodian Americans to nearly 50% for Vietnamese and Korean Americans.

According to Dr. Lim, language barriers affect many areas, from elections and political participation to healthcare, and force many people to rely on friends and relatives to translate necessary procedures.

In Orange County, the Vietnamese community is concentrated in the Little Saigon area, which is associated with the cities of Westminster, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, and Fountain Valley.

This is the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam, with a network of commercial establishments, services, markets, and restaurants. However, data on poverty rates and income published by AJSOCAL shows that the development of this area is accompanied by significant economic pressures on people of Vietnamese origin.