American Middle East (Arab World) Communities Demographics

Origins

American Middle East (Arab World) Communities includes Arabs, Chaldeans, Coptics, Maronites, Armenians, Assyrians, Syriacs, and others, constitute an ethnicity made up of several waves of immigrants from the Middle East countries of southwestern Asia and North Africa that have been settling 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.  The American Middle East Communities have a strong commitment to family, heritage, economic and educational achievements, and making contributions to all aspects of American life.  Their Middle East heritage reflects a culture that is thousands of years old and includes countries as diverse as Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and others.

Population

American Middle East Communities (between 6-7 millions) live in all 50 states, but two thirds reside in 10 states; one third of the total live in Michigan (500,000), California, and New York, About 94% live in metropolitan areas.  Detroit, Los Angeles, New York/NJ, Chicago and Washington, D.C., are the top five metro areas of American Middle East Communities concentration.  Lebanese Americans constitute a greater part of the total number of American Middle East Communities residing in most states, except New Jersey, where Egyptian Americans are the largest group. Americans of Syrian decent make up the majority of American Middle East Communities in Rhode Island, while the largest Palestinian population is in Illinois, and the Iraqi and Assyrian / Chaldean communities are concentrated in Illinois, Michigan, and California.

Education

American Middle East Communities with at least a high school diploma number 85 percent.  More than four out of ten Americans of Middle East decent have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 24% of Americans at large.  Seventeen percent of American Middle East Communities have a post-graduate degree, which is nearly twice the American average (9%).

Income

Median income for Middle East American households in 1999 was $47,000 compared with $42,000 for all households in the United States.

Race, Ethnicity and Religion                                                                  
The majority of American Middle East Communities are Ethnics and Christians.           

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Arab American Institute,

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