Pacific Islander Americans

Pacific Islander Americans are people in the United States who have ancestors from the Pacific Islands. They make up about 0.5% of the entire U.S. population, which means there are roughly 1.4 million people with Pacific Islander heritage. The three biggest groups are Native Hawaiians, Samoans, and Chamorros.

Most Pacific Islander Americans live in places like Hawaii, Alaska, California, Utah, Texas, and Minnesota. Many of them have mixed ancestry, meaning they also have European or Asian family backgrounds. This is because Pacific Islanders are a smaller group spread out across different areas in the U.S.

The United States census counts Indigenous Australians as part of this group, but it does not include Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, or Taiwanese Americans—they are grouped under Asian American categories instead. Also, the people from the Aleutian Islands are considered Alaskan Natives, not Pacific Islander Americans.

American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are U.S. territories, not states, while Hawaii is a full state.

History

First stage: Hawaiian migration (18th-19th centuries)

People from Oceania began moving to the United States in the late 1700s. The first to arrive were Native Hawaiians. At first, they worked for fur traders and later settled in places like Oregon. Over time, more Native Hawaiians came to the U.S., working in jobs like building cities and fishing.

By the 1800s, Native Hawaiians had also reached places like California, where they became part of the local communities. Some even joined in the search for gold during the California gold rush. In the late 1800s, small groups of people from other Pacific islands also began to move to the U.S., especially after the U.S. took control of places like Guam and American Samoa.

Second stage (20th-21st centuries

The first non-Hawaiian Pacific Islanders arrived in the U.S. around 1910. Over the next decades, more people from islands like Guam, Tonga, and American Samoa moved to the U.S. Many came for education or religious reasons, especially to help build churches.

After World War II, more Pacific Islanders came to the U.S., often because of military connections or job opportunities. In the 1950s, many from American Samoa and Guam moved to the U.S., with some working at military bases.

When Hawaii became a state in 1959, many more Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders moved to the mainland U.S. In the 1960s and beyond, people from islands like Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa continued to come to the U.S. for jobs, education, and new opportunities. By the 1970s, thousands more had settled in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Population

Demography

In the 2000 and 2010 censuses, the term "Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander" refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Marshalls or other Pacific Islands. Most Pacific Islander Americans are of Native Hawaiian, Samoan, and Chamorro origin.

Because Hawaii is a US state, many Native Hawaiians live in the US. Migration and higher birth rates have helped this population grow, especially the number of people who have some Pacific Islander heritage. In the 2000 census, over 800,000 people said they were of Pacific Islander descent, and in the 2010 census, 1,225,195 Americans said they were "Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander." Most live in urban areas of Hawaii and California, but they also have big groups in Washington, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Arizona, and New York. Pacific Islander Americans are the main group in American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, where many are native.

Areas of origin

Melanesian Americans

Melanesian Americans are Americans of Melanesian descent.

Most are of Fijian descent. Most Fijian Americans have Fijian and Indian roots. Over 32,000 people of Fijian origin live in the US, mostly in California.

Smaller groups from New Caledonia, Papua, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands also live in the US.

Micronesian Americans

Micronesian Americans are Americans from the Micronesian region. They come from places like the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau.

More than 8,000 people in the US are from the Federated States of Micronesia, mostly in Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Texas, as well as the Mariana Islands. About 7,000 Americans are of Palauan descent.

The largest Chamorro groups were in California, Washington, and Texas, but their total number in these states was less than half of all Chamorro people in the US. The Chamorro are the most spread-out Oceanian group in the country.

Marshallese Americans come from the Marshall Islands. In the 2010 census, 22,434 Americans said they were of Marshallese descent. The Marshall Islands can send people to live and work in the US, which many do for better education, jobs, or health care. Arkansas has the most Marshallese, with over 6,000 living in Springdale, where they make up over 5% of the city. Other big groups live in Spokane and Costa Mesa.

Smaller groups from Kiribati and Nauru also live in the US.

Polynesian Americans

Polynesian Americans are Americans of Polynesian heritage.

Big groups include Native Hawaiians and Samoan Americans. There are also smaller groups of Tongan Americans, French Polynesian Americans, and Māori Americans.

Native Hawaiians are noticeable in Las Vegas, sometimes called the "Ninth Island" after the eight islands of Hawaii.

A Samoan American is someone with Samoan roots, from Samoa or the US territory of American Samoa. About 55,000 people live on American Samoa, but the 2000 and 2008 censuses found four times as many Samoan Americans live in the mainland US. California has the most Samoans, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County. Cities like San Francisco, East Palo Alto, and Daly City have Samoan communities. In Los Angeles County, Long Beach and Carson have many Samoans, as does Oceanside in San Diego County. Other places on the West Coast like Seattle also have strong Samoan groups, especially in King County and Tacoma. Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii, each have thousands of Samoan Americans. People born in American Samoa are US nationals but not US citizens, so they can more easily become citizens if they move to Hawaii or the mainland US. Like Native Hawaiians, Samoans came to the mainland in the 20th century to work on farms and in factories. Samoan Americans are also common in Utah, Killeen, Texas, Norfolk, Virginia, and Independence, Missouri.

A Tongan American is someone with Tongan roots. Utah has the most Tongan Americans, followed by Hawaii. Many first moved to the US because of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are strong in parts of Salt Lake Valley in Utah, especially West Valley City and Salt Lake City. Utah has about one percent Tongan, which is high compared to Tongans making up less than 0.02% of the US population. Tongan communities are also common on the West Coast, like in San Mateo County, some areas of the South Bay of Los Angeles, and the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington. Portland, Oregon has a Tongan community that began in the 1970s. The Dallas, Texas suburb of Euless also has several thousand Tongan Americans.

Origins (alone or in any combination)

Location

Military

Pacific Islander Americans have served in large numbers in the U.S. military. They joined the military more often than many other groups.

Some Pacific Islander Americans have joined special units like the United States Navy SEALs.