Demographics

Arab Americans constitute an ethnicity made up of several waves of immigrants from the Arabic-speaking countries of southwestern Asia and North Africa that have settled in the United States since the 1880s. More than 80 percent are U.S. citizens. Descendants of earlier immigrants and more recent immigrants work in all sectors of society and are leaders in many professions and organizations. As a community, Arab Americans have a strong commitment to family, economic and educational achievements, and making contributions to all aspects of American life. Their Arab heritage reflects a culture that is thousands of years old and includes 22 Arab countries as diverse as Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Yemen, Tunisia and Palestine.

The American Community Survey
Data on Americans of Arab descent have been available from the U.S. Census Bureau since 1980. Population estimates and socio-economic characteristics on the Arab Americans have been published using the question on "ancestry" in the decennial census between 1980 and 2000. Since 2003 however, ancestry data has been available through the the American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is collected as a rolling sample to replace the "long form" of the decennial census, which used to ask the question on "ancestry"; it captures demographic details of the U.S. population and its subgroups to provide an updated profile of  American characteristics. Whereas the decennial census is meant to be a snapshot of our country and only asks questions like  race, age and household size, the ACS is constantly in circulation and asks many  more questions ranging from education and income to language and ancestry. For more information about the ACS, please click here.

Using the ACS
The Following profiles and population figures are drawn from the most recently published ACS. It is important to note that  census ancestry data have historically undercounted the Arab American population, and community leaders estimate the undercount to  be by as much as two-thirds. Arab ancestry responses do, however, provide valuable information on the changing demographics of this population, such as  trends in family size, education levels, language proficiency, occupation, etc.  The Arab American Institute s to work with the Census Bureau to improve the accuracy and availability of data concerning our community.

 

Click on the map below to find information on your state.

Selected Population Characteristics

  • At least 3.5 million* Americans are of Arab descent
  • Arab Americans live in all 50 states, but two thirds are concentrated in 10 states; one third of the total live in California, New York, and Michigan
  • About 94% of Arab Americans live in metropolitan areas. Los Angeles, Detroit, New York/NJ, Chicago and Washington, D.C., are the top five metropolitan areas of Arab American concentration
  • Lebanese Americans constitute a greater part of the total number of Arab Americans residing in most states, although in New Jersey, Egyptian Americans are the largest Arab group
  • Americans of Iraqi decent make up the majority of Arab Americans in Tennessee
  • While the largest Palestinian population is in California, the greatest concentration of Palestinians can be found in Illinois
  • There are almost as many Iraqis living in Michigan as there are living in California, even though California is 3.5% larger than Michigan

 

National Arab Sub-Ancestry

 

 

Education

Arab Americans with at least a high school diploma number 89%. More 46% of Americans of Arab decent have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 28% of Americans at large. 19% of Arab Americans have a post-graduate degree, which is nearly twice the American average (10%). Of the population currently enrolled in school, 13% are in pre-school, 57% are in elementary or high school, 22% are enrolled in college, and 7% are conducting graduate studies.

Occupation

Similar to the national average, about 66% of Arab American adults are in the labor force; with 5% unemployed. 73% percent of working Arab Americans are employed in managerial, professional, sales or administrative fields. Most Arab Americans work in the private sector (79%), while 12% are government employees. Median income for Arab American households is $59,012 compared to a median income of $52,029 for all households in the United States.

 

 

Custom Research on Arab Americans

The Arab American Institute Foundation (AAIF) is available to provide custom research requests regarding inquiries to locate population concentrations and characteristics of Americans with Arab ancestry.

Our Census Information Center (CIC) conducts research on the Arab American population using data available from the Census Bureau and projections based on other surveys by reputable scholars and organizations such as Zogby International. We have access to current population data at various geographic levels as well as figures pertaining to socio-economic characteristics.

Please find a comprehensive list of the products and services available on our Custom Research requests page.