Pacific Islander Americans

Pacific Islander Americans
Total population
1,586,463 alone or in combination
0.5% of the total U.S. population (2020 Census)[1]
Regions with significant populations
American Samoa, Guam,
Northern Mariana Islands,
California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, New York,
Texas, Utah, Florida
Languages
American English, Oceanic languages
Religion
Christianity, Polytheism, Baháʼí, Judaism, Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, Confucianism
Related ethnic groups
Pasifika New Zealanders, other Pacific Islanders

Pacific Islander Americans (also colloquially referred to as Islander Americans) are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry (or are descendants of the indigenous peoples of Oceania or of Austronesian descent). For its purposes, the United States census also counts Aboriginal Australians as part of this group.[2][3]

Pacific Islander Americans make up 0.5% of the U.S. population including those with partial Pacific Islander ancestry, enumerating about 1.4 million people. The largest ethnic subgroups of Pacific Islander Americans are Native Hawaiians, Samoans, and Chamorros. Much of the Pacific Islander population resides in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Utah, and Texas.

Pacific Islanders may be considered Oceanian Americans, but this group may include Australians and New Zealander-origin people, who can be of non-Pacific Islander ethnicity. Pacific Islander Americans are often mixed with other races, especially European and Asian, due to Pacific Islanders being a small population in most communities in mainland U.S. For instance, most Hawaiian Americans are only part Hawaiian in ethnicity.

American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are insular areas (U.S. territories), while Hawaii is a state.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Asian Population 2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ University of Virginia. Geospatial and Statistical Data Center. "1990 PUMS Ancestry Codes." 2003. August 30, 2007."1990 Census of Population and Housing Public Use Microdata Sample". Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2007.
  3. ^ "Clark Library - U-M Library". www.lib.umich.edu.