Iranian Americans
Iranian American population by PUMA and state | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 568,564 (2020 census) 470,341 (ACS, 2011) 1,500,000 (other estimates) 0.45% of the American population | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| California (largest populations in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties), Texas (especially Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth), D.C. metro area (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia), New York metro area | |
| Languages | |
| American English, As well native (Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, and other languages of Iran). | |
| Religion | |
| Islam 31%, Atheism/Realism/Humanism 11%, Agnosticism 8%, Baháʼí 7%, Judaism 5%, Protestantism 5%, Roman Catholicism 2%, Zoroastrianism 2%, Other 15% including Mandaeanism, and No Response 15%.[a] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Iranian diaspora, particularly in Western countries (Iranian Canadians • Iranians in the United Kingdom • Iranians in Germany • Iranians in France • Iranians in Sweden • Iranians of Israel etc. Persians • Iranian Azerbaijanis • Iranian Armenians • Persian Jews • Iranian Kurds etc. | |
^a A 2012 national telephone survey of a sample of 400 Iranian-Americans in the Los Angeles area, commissioned by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans and conducted by Zogby Research Services, asked the respondents what their religions were. The survey had a cooperation rate of 31.2%. |
Iranian-Americans, also known as Persian Americans, are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. According to the National Organization for Civil Registration, an organization of the Ministry of Interior of Iran, the United States has the greatest number of Iranians outside the country.
Most Iranian-Americans arrived in the United States after 1979 in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and the fall of the Iranian monarchy. Over 40% of them settled in California, specifically Los Angeles, where they formed distinct ethnic enclaves, such as the Angelino community of "Tehrangeles" in Westwood, Los Angeles.
Research by the Iranian Studies Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004 estimated the number of Iranian-Americans at 691,000, about half of whom live in California.