Persian Demographics in the United States

Percent of Iranian-Americans in the United States

*The United States Census Bureau refers persons from various
origins (e.g. The Middle East, North Africa, Europe) as being
classified as “white.”
*Collected from ​nationwide public opinion ​surveys of Iranian
Americans​, ​there is an estimated one million Iranian Americans
living in the United States.

Geographic Distribution throughout the Country

Iranian Americans are highly concentrated in the
following cities:
***Los Angeles, CA **San Francisco, CA
**New York City, NY **Washington, D.C.
*Other areas with significant Iranian American
populations shown in purple include San Diego, CA,
Dallas, TX, Houston, TX, Chicago, IL, Boston, MA,
Atlanta, GA, and Seattle, WA.

Waves of Immigration
Peek Immigration Period: 1979-2008
1. The First Wave (1950-1979):​ Educational opportunities to study
engineering and other technical fields at American Universities.
2. The Second Wave (1979-2001):​ The Iranian Revolution of 1979
transformed Iran into a major world event which resulted in an
increased Iranian migration to the United States.
3. The Third Wave (2001-Present):​ After 9/11/2001

Age Distribution
The age distribution of this culture varies within the United States:
Iranian Americans can range from university students, political refugees, political figures, people reuniting with
their families, or the formation of a new generation of Iranian Americans.

Religion
The common religion of this culture is Islam.
It is noted that prior to the Islamic faith, a large portion of Persians identified with a religion known as
Zoroastrianism.

Collectivists
According to research on Persian cultural values, these individuals usually hold a collectivist view.
Persian collectivism is evident in displays of loyalty to a group, a shared responsibility for one another and
conformity to values.
References

​ etrieved October 17, 2019, from

Bankston, C. L. (n.d.). ​Iranian immigrants. R
https://immigrationtounitedstates.org/628-iranian-immigrants.html​.

Hamedani, N. G., Purvis, T. M., Glazer, S., & Dien, J. (2012). Ways of Manifesting Collectivism: An Analysis
of Iranian and African Cultures. Retrieved October 17, 2019, from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/82b2/3f0b4423c32f37b9407284710b3258cc73f7.pdf

Organization of Iranian American Communities. (n.d.). ​Iranian Community USA. ​Retrieved October 17, 2019,
from ​https://oiac.org/iranian-community-usa/

Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans. (n.d.). ​Iranian Americans.​ Retrieved October 17, 2019, from
https://paaia.org/iranian-americans

PAAIA. (2014). ​Iranian Americans: Immigration and Assimilation.​ Retrieved October 17, 2019, from
https://paaia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/iranian-americans-immigration-and-assimilation.pdf

United States Census Bureau. (2010). ​Percentage of Distribution of the White Population by Region: 2010​.
Retrieved October 17, 2019, from ​https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-05.pdf