Asian Americans have formed an important part of the society and economy of the United States South since before the founding of the United States. As of 2020, Asian Americans were the fastest growing population across the South. There are many thriving Asian ethnic communities in and near urban centers and college towns across the South, such as the Korean American population outside Atlanta, Georgia, or the South Asian and Southeast Asian populations of Houston, Texas. But there are also towns and counties still with just one or two Asian American families, and many Asian Americans tell stories of being one of a few in their school growing up.

This chapter is an overview of the histories and creations of Asian American communities in the US South. We begin before the founding of the United States and look at how the population has grown, diversified, and found different socioeconomic niches. Asian Americans live in every southern state, in rural, suburban, and urban locales, and have found different ways to construct communities. The chapter modules that follow explore the migration of and their involvement in specific industries, community building and activism, the role that Asian Americans played in the fight for civil rights, and the growing presence of Asian American authors from the South.

Although principally about Asian Americans in the US South, this chapter also touches on Pacific Islanders communities, such as the Marshallese in Arkansas and Native Hawaiians throughout the South.