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A Growing Problem

Discrepancies in Reporting Hate

Factors of Hate

Explore Our Data

Building a Stronger Community

Roots of Racism Examining the Conditions for Anti-Asian Hate During COVID-19

Hate towards people in the Asian American community spiked amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We tried to visualize this sudden rise in hate — and understand the forces that may have given rise to it.

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An activist in Times Square holds a sign reading 'We belong here'

A Growing Problem

Lives disrupted by hate

In recent years, anti-Asian hate incidents (AAHI) have impacted a shocking number of Asian Americans. Nearly 3 in 10 of the Asian American respondents to a recent survey indicated that they had been the victim of one in the past twelve months. AAHIs can take many forms — from discrimination, to verbal harassment and intimidation, to physical assaults. And they haven’t gone away.

Keep scrolling to uncover more about the uptick of AAHIs in the U.S.

Stabbing at Sam's Club store

3/14/2020 — Midland, TX

A man stabs a Burmese man and his two children, ages six and two, with a knife at a store. The perpetrator indicates that he stabbed the family because he thought the family was Chinese, and was infecting people with coronavirus.

Source: Daily Beast

A disgusting hate message

4/18/2021 — Santa Cruz, CA

An unknown individual leaves a cup full of urine on a Japanese-American woman’s car; the cup has anti-Chinese messages scribbled across it.

Source: Hopclear

Racist scrawl on car

3/10/2020 — Fresno, CA

An Asian man’s car is defaced with racist graffiti reading “F_CK ASIONS… and CORONYVIRUS!”

Source: NextShark

Physical and verbal assault in subway

3/30/2021 — New York, NY

A man calls an Asian woman an “Asian slut” along with other insults before spitting on her and throwing her phone onto the tracks after slapping it out of her hand. The Asian woman’s children are present during the incident.

Mapping increasing hate across the U.S.

In 2020 and 2021, there were 1,087 anti-Asian hate crimes reported to the FBI through its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. These hate crimes were happening in counties all over the country.

What are considered AAHIs?

AAHIs (Anti-Asian Hate Incidents) include discrimination, harassment, threats, physical assault, shunning, and exclusion based on race, ethnicity, and/or national origin.

Cumulative Total of Anti-Asian Hate Incidents by County, since January 2020

1 incident reported

15 incidents reported

The first case of COVID-19 is reported in the U.S.

This was no accident. Spurred on by rhetoric from elected officials, a startling number of Americans unfairly blamed Asian Americans for COVID-19. So as the pandemic set in, Asian Americans were being scapegoated, targeted, and harassed. Others were the victims of online abuse.

Some of these AAHIs were happening in counties with high rates of new COVID cases, like Los Angeles, CA. But in other places, like Indiana, PA, hate crimes were still happening even as the COVID case rate and death rate were well below the national average.

AAHIs happened in counties that favored Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. But they were happening in plenty of Democratic strongholds too.

Here’s the thing though: the FBI’s data only tells part of the story. That’s because the FBI only knows about hate crimes that are reported through local law enforcement agencies. And according to some estimates, that leads to significant undercounting in many counties.

Mentions of anti-Asian hate crimes in the news can help fill in the gaps. The media covers plenty of incidents that go unreported to the FBI, giving us a fuller picture of bias-motivated violence in America.

That’s why The Asian American Foundation systematically gathered data on AAHIs reported in various news media from 2020 to 2021.

Discrepancies in reporting hate

Comparing data between the media and FBI

County-by-county, we can see large differences between the two datasets. In San Francisco, California, for instance, we see 113 incidents in the news media data. In the FBI data, only 70 were reported.

Discrepancy between News Media and FBI reporting of AAHIs, by county

Highlight a county:

Sort by:

Greatest Discrepancy

  1. Kings, NY had 0 FBI reports and 56 news media reports

  2. San Francisco, CA had 70 FBI reports and 113 news media reports

  3. Queens, NY had 0 FBI reports and 39 news media reports

  4. Alameda, CA had 33 FBI reports and 63 news media reports

  5. Philadelphia, PA had 0 FBI reports and 22 news media reports

  6. New York, NY had 162 FBI reports and 179 news media reports

  7. District of Columbia had 4 FBI reports and 19 news media reports

  8. Orange, CA had 16 FBI reports and 26 news media reports

  9. Cook, IL had 10 FBI reports and 17 news media reports

  10. Bronx, NY had 0 FBI reports and 7 news media reports

  11. Multnomah, OR had 6 FBI reports and 13 news media reports

  12. Bernalillo, NM had 2 FBI reports and 8 news media reports

  13. Onondaga, NY had 2 FBI reports and 8 news media reports

  14. Fulton, GA had 1 FBI reports and 6 news media reports

  15. Salt Lake, UT had 3 FBI reports and 8 news media reports

  16. Howard, MD had 0 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  17. Montgomery, MD had 1 FBI reports and 5 news media reports

  18. Nassau, NY had 0 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  19. Dane, WI had 2 FBI reports and 6 news media reports

  20. Milwaukee, WI had 0 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  21. Fresno, CA had 1 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  22. Santa Cruz, CA had 3 FBI reports and 6 news media reports

  23. Jefferson, CO had 0 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  24. DuPage, IL had 0 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  25. Baltimore, MD had 1 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  26. Montgomery, OH had 0 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  27. Oklahoma, OK had 1 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  28. Harris, TX had 4 FBI reports and 7 news media reports

  29. San Mateo, CA had 9 FBI reports and 11 news media reports

  30. Palm Beach, FL had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  31. Pinellas, FL had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  32. Gwinnett, GA had 2 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  33. Marion, IN had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  34. Polk, IA had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  35. Prince George's, MD had 1 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  36. Norfolk, MA had 1 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  37. St. Louis, MO had 2 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  38. Douglas, NE had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  39. Tompkins, NY had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  40. Westchester, NY had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  41. Durham, NC had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  42. Mecklenburg, NC had 2 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  43. Lane, OR had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  44. Dallas, TX had 4 FBI reports and 6 news media reports

  45. Arlington, VA had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  46. Brown, WI had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  47. Portage, WI had 0 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  48. Benton, AR had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  49. Garland, AR had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  50. Pope, AR had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  51. Marin, CA had 1 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  52. Placer, CA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  53. San Joaquin, CA had 4 FBI reports and 5 news media reports

  54. Santa Barbara, CA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  55. Solano, CA had 1 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  56. Fairfield, CT had 1 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  57. New Castle, DE had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  58. Alachua, FL had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  59. Hernando, FL had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  60. Lake, FL had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  61. Okaloosa, FL had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  62. Orange, FL had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  63. Santa Rosa, FL had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  64. Volusia, FL had 1 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  65. Hawaii, HI had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  66. Kauai, HI had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  67. Kootenai, ID had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  68. Sangamon, IL had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  69. Allen, IN had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  70. Marshall, IN had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  71. Morgan, IN had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  72. Johnson, KS had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  73. Russell, KS had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  74. Jefferson, LA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  75. Penobscot, ME had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  76. Allegany, MD had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  77. Muskegon, MI had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  78. Oakland, MI had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  79. Wayne, MI had 3 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  80. Dakota, MN had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  81. Mower, MN had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  82. St. Louis, MN had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  83. Boone, MO had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  84. Cole, MO had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  85. Carson City, NV had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  86. Atlantic, NJ had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  87. Dona Ana, NM had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  88. Santa Fe, NM had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  89. Oneida, NY had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  90. Richmond, NY had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  91. Saratoga, NY had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  92. Suffolk, NY had 2 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  93. Cumberland, NC had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  94. Wake, NC had 1 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  95. Cuyahoga, OH had 3 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  96. Lucas, OH had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  97. Columbia, OR had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  98. Jackson, OR had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  99. Bucks, PA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  100. Cumberland, PA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  101. Montgomery, PA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  102. Northampton, PA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  103. Horry, SC had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  104. Ector, TX had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  105. Travis, TX had 2 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  106. Weber, UT had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  107. Albemarle, VA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  108. Campbell, VA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  109. Prince William, VA had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  110. Kitsap, WA had 1 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  111. Monongalia, WV had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  112. Marathon, WI had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  113. Sheboygan, WI had 0 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  114. Sebastian, AR had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  115. Monterey, CA had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  116. Yolo, CA had 4 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  117. Boulder, CO had 2 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  118. Broward, FL had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  119. Cobb, GA had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  120. Will, IL had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  121. Fayette, KY had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  122. Jefferson, KY had 2 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  123. Kenton, KY had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  124. Lafayette, LA had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  125. Macomb, MI had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  126. Washtenaw, MI had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  127. Washington, MN had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  128. Broome, NY had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  129. Hamilton, OH had 3 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  130. Tulsa, OK had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  131. Centre, PA had 2 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  132. Dauphin, PA had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  133. Shelby, TN had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  134. McLennan, TX had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  135. Midland, TX had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  136. Tom Green, TX had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  137. Davis, UT had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  138. Chesapeake, VA had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  139. Pierce, WA had 6 FBI reports and 6 news media reports

  140. Thurston, WA had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  141. Yakima, WA had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  142. Eau Claire, WI had 1 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  143. Anchorage, AK had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  144. Contra Costa, CA had 9 FBI reports and 8 news media reports

  145. Riverside, CA had 5 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  146. Sonoma, CA had 2 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  147. Clear Creek, CO had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  148. Douglas, CO had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  149. La Plata, CO had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  150. Larimer, CO had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  151. Hartford, CT had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  152. New Haven, CT had 4 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  153. Kent, DE had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  154. Lee, FL had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  155. Coweta, GA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  156. DeKalb, GA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  157. Glynn, GA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  158. Ada, ID had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  159. Adams, IL had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  160. Clark, IN had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  161. Hendricks, IN had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  162. Monroe, IN had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  163. Tippecanoe, IN had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  164. Clinton, IA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  165. Johnson, IA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  166. Douglas, KS had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  167. Allen, KY had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  168. Calloway, KY had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  169. Daviess, KY had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  170. Grant, KY had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  171. Orleans, LA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  172. Cumberland, ME had 2 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  173. Kennebec, ME had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  174. Bristol, MA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  175. Hampshire, MA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  176. Plymouth, MA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  177. Berrien, MI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  178. Genesee, MI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  179. Leelanau, MI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  180. Mason, MI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  181. Montcalm, MI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  182. Saginaw, MI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  183. Wexford, MI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  184. Anoka, MN had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  185. Blue Earth, MN had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  186. Carver, MN had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  187. Mille Lacs, MN had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  188. Attala, MS had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  189. Oktibbeha, MS had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  190. Lewis and Clark, MT had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  191. Dodge, NE had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  192. Clark, NV had 5 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  193. Storey, NV had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  194. Burlington, NJ had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  195. Hunterdon, NJ had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  196. Sussex, NJ had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  197. Warren, NJ had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  198. Albany, NY had 2 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  199. Otsego, NY had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  200. Guilford, NC had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  201. Mahoning, OH had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  202. Stark, OH had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  203. Warren, OH had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  204. Canadian, OK had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  205. Benton, OR had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  206. Clackamas, OR had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  207. Deschutes, OR had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  208. Polk, OR had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  209. Washington, OR had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  210. Allegheny, PA had 2 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  211. Lancaster, PA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  212. Lehigh, PA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  213. Bristol, RI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  214. Kent, RI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  215. Richland, SC had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  216. Carter, TN had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  217. El Paso, TX had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  218. Montgomery, TX had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  219. Orange, TX had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  220. Rutland, VT had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  221. Windsor, VT had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  222. Goochland, VA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  223. Loudoun, VA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  224. Petersburg, VA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  225. Williamsburg, VA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  226. Grant, WA had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  227. Cabell, WV had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  228. Preston, WV had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  229. Grant, WI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  230. Waukesha, WI had 1 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  231. Sacramento, CA had 15 FBI reports and 13 news media reports

  232. Adams, CO had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  233. El Paso, CO had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  234. Harvey, KS had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  235. Baltimore City, MD had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  236. Hampden, MA had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  237. Greene, MO had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  238. Lancaster, NE had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  239. Rockingham, NH had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  240. Camden, NJ had 3 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  241. Passaic, NJ had 3 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  242. Buncombe, NC had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  243. Marion, OR had 3 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  244. Charleston, SC had 2 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  245. Bexar, TX had 3 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  246. Fairfax, VA had 5 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  247. Whatcom, WA had 3 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  248. Arapahoe, CO had 4 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  249. Denver, CO had 8 FBI reports and 5 news media reports

  250. Pulaski, GA had 3 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  251. Essex, MA had 3 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  252. Worcester, MA had 3 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  253. Ingham, MI had 3 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  254. Scott, MN had 3 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  255. Jackson, MO had 3 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  256. Hudson, NJ had 5 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  257. Tarrant, TX had 6 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  258. San Bernardino, CA had 8 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  259. San Diego, CA had 17 FBI reports and 13 news media reports

  260. San Luis Obispo, CA had 6 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  261. Miami-Dade, FL had 4 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  262. Essex, NJ had 5 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  263. Mercer, NJ had 4 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  264. Union, NJ had 5 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  265. Franklin, OH had 5 FBI reports and 1 news media reports

  266. Bradley, TN had 4 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  267. Ramsey, MN had 7 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  268. Maricopa, AZ had 10 FBI reports and 4 news media reports

  269. Middlesex, MA had 13 FBI reports and 7 news media reports

  270. Morris, NJ had 6 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  271. Clark, WA had 6 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  272. Snohomish, WA had 6 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  273. Honolulu, HI had 9 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  274. Hennepin, MN had 12 FBI reports and 5 news media reports

  275. Washoe, NV had 10 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  276. Gloucester, NJ had 8 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  277. Somerset, NJ had 8 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  278. Monmouth, NJ had 10 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  279. Los Angeles, CA had 90 FBI reports and 79 news media reports

  280. Suffolk, MA had 26 FBI reports and 11 news media reports

  281. Santa Clara, CA had 46 FBI reports and 28 news media reports

  282. Middlesex, NJ had 20 FBI reports and 2 news media reports

  283. Bergen, NJ had 23 FBI reports and 3 news media reports

  284. Indiana, PA had 27 FBI reports and 0 news media reports

  285. King, WA had 60 FBI reports and 30 news media reports

In other counties, the inverse was true.

King County, WA registered twice as many AAHIs in the FBI’s data as in the news media data.

Try examining a few counties to find more discrepancies.

Plotted over time, we see that the gap between the two datasets grew in early 2021. Mentions of AAHIs in the media show a more dramatic spike immediately after COVID-19 cases peak, while the FBI data lags behind.

What accounts for these differences? Partly, it could be that the media is picking up stories that may not necessarily be categorized as crimes. But the media could also be covering crimes that are not being reported to law enforcement.

A recent study shows that Asian American hate crime victims are less likely to report incidents to police than other racial groups. Discomfort and lack of trust toward law enforcement was one of the main barriers to reporting, per a 2023 study on safety of Asian Americans in NYC.

In any case, comparing these two datasets suggests that neither provides a full picture of anti-Asian hate incidence. In some areas, FBI counts don’t do justice to the extent of anti-Asian hate – and in others, media coverage may not reflect harsh realities experienced by Asian American communities.

Factors of Hate

Identifying Key Predictors

We wanted to better understand the possible catalysts for anti-Asian hate incidences. Observing an uptick in AAHIs is one thing; but if we can unearth the conditions that allow hate to thrive, then we can better devise strategies to combat it. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we assembled a team of researchers from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) and universities across the country to investigate.

Tap on a factor to define it

      Politics

      COVID-19

      Safety

      Demographics

      Economy

      Healthcare Access

      Health Behaviors

So what characteristics about a county are most associated with AAHIs? Is it a county’s political affiliation? Is it demographic makeup? Our research team built a few statistical models to find out.

Here’s a look at all of the factors that we considered in our analysis. Taken together, they give a good sense of a county’s demographic, political, social, and economic situation.

Based on our research, there were some factors that weren’t very helpful in understanding AAHIs across either dataset. Take the college education rate, for instance. Whether a county had a higher or lower percentage of adults with some post-secondary education, it didn’t seem to make a difference in the number of AAHIs observed there.

Some factors showed a strong correlation with counts of AAHIs in the news media data. As the value of these factors increased, we saw more instances of AAHIs. Meanwhile, an increase in these factors corresponded to a decline in AAHIs.

Other factors were closely associated with the counts of AAHIs in the FBI’s data.

But only a handful of factors were most statistically significant in both models. That is, these factors had such a strong relationship with AAHIs, it’s unlikely that’s purely by chance. Most of the political, demographic, and safety-related factors weren’t among them.

In the end, we find that AAHIs are closely related to certain local economic conditions and unequal health outcomes. Counties with more inequality tended to experience more hate crimes according to our data. This makes sense — previous research has found that income inequality is a powerful predictor of neighborhood turmoil and violent crime in general. And our research suggests that this relationship holds true for AAHIs, too.

A group of people in San Francisco holding up signs to stop Asian hate

Explore the model

Let’s see how some of the factors with the strongest association play a role in predicting Anti-Asian hate crimes.

Our statistical models aren’t perfect. They may not always capture the story of any individual county. But they are helpful in explaining national trends and the key factors most closely associated with AAHIs.

Compare how different factors affect AAHI counts, by county

Predictions are based on data collected in 2021

Data Source
Key Factors
0.34
6.9
46.0%
6.5

16 Predicted # of AAHI incidents

  • Low # of incidents of AAHI
  • Medium # of incidents of AAHI
  • High # of incidents of AAHI

Your selection is most similar to these counties:

    Building a stronger community

    What can we do to make sure waves of hate like the one we saw in 2020 and 2021 never happen again?

    Supporting nonprofits that strengthen local AAPI communities is a great first step. In a follow-up analysis, our research team found that areas with more AAHIs tended to see higher rates of depression and anxiety. But they also found that this trend was diminished in certain areas with better-funded AAPI nonprofits.

    While more research is needed to understand these trends, the good news is that there are already hundreds of AAPI-serving nonprofits around the country who work against hate and toward healthier communities. To find the right organization to support, please visit The Asian American Foundation’s AAPI Nonprofit Database. Whether you can donate $5 or $5,000, we invite you to join the fight for healthier, more resilient communities for Asian Americans everywhere.

    Nationwide Organizations Fighting Against Anti-Asian Hate

    233 Organizations Sourced from the AAPI Nonprofit Database

    Explore the organizations here.

    A logo of the AAPI Nonprofit Database Matching Service

    AAPI Nonprofit Database Matching Service

    Get matched to AAPI nonprofits via TAAF’s vast database of AAPI-focused organizations. Find community, resources, and support.

    Areas for Future Research

    Through our research, we learned a lot about anti-Asian hate incidence during the COVID-19 pandemic. But we need more research to better understand the trends our team uncovered. Here are a few questions for future research.

    What causes AAHIs?

    Our study gives us more information about the kinds of communities that are more at risk for AAHIs, but it can’t tell us what causes them.

    How can we make sure fewer AAHIs go uncounted?

    Our research revealed large discrepancies between FBI data and news media data, but both datasets are incomplete snapshots of what Asian Americans experience on a daily basis.

    We invite future researchers and funders to help us build on these and other questions that are critical to the safety and health of our communities.

    Our Team

    This project was made possible by the research, design, and development efforts of the following:

    • Hee Yun Lee, Ph.D.

      Hee Yun Lee, Ph.D.

      Professor and Endowed Academic Chair in Social Work (Health)

    • Su Hyun Shin, Ph.D.

      Su Hyun Shin, Ph.D.

      Associate Professor of Family and Consumer Studies and Director of Financial Planning

    • Young Ji Yoon, Ph.D.

      Young Ji Yoon, Ph.D.

      Assistant Professor of Department of Social Work

    • The Asian American Foundation (TAAF)

      The Asian American Foundation (TAAF)

    • The DataFace

      The DataFace

      Design and Web Development

    Methodology

    The study analyzed anti-Asian hate incidents (AAHIs) using data from January 2020 and December 2021 from two key repositories: (1) media data on AAHIs compiled by The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) through web scraping techniques, and (2) law enforcement data documented by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program (UCR). During this period, the datasets showed 1,288 and 1,087 reported AAHIs, respectively. Additional county-level variables were sourced from Johns Hopkins, HealthData.gov, MIT Election Data + Science Lab, and County Health Rankings & Roadmaps.

    TAAF monitored AAHIs by scanning Google News Alerts and Feedly on a weekly or biweekly basis using keywords related to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). They manually reviewed headlines to identify incidents motivated by racial or ethnic bias. The FBI’s hate crime data offers detailed information about reported incidents, detailing bias types, motivations, criminal acts, and the demographics involved. A responding officer initially assesses if an incident is bias-motivated, and upon confirmation, it is reviewed further before being reported to the FBI’s UCR program. As noted, neither dataset provides a complete picture of the number of AAHIs that occurred during this period, but taken together they offer meaningful insights into the times and places where such incidents occurred.

    The study analyzed the number of AAHIs reported in media and law enforcement data on a monthly basis (dependent variable). It considered a broad range of county-level independent variables, including factors related to COVID-19, political affiliation, health, access to healthcare, social and economic conditions, and demographics. Choropleth maps were used to visualize the data, displaying AAHIs per capita by state/county for each year. County-random effects models were employed to identify factors associated with AAHI reports in both media and law enforcement, analyzing data from 1,962 counties. Data cleaning and analysis were conducted using Stata 15, with results validated at a 95% confidence level.

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