Demographics

To see the most current Arab American demographic information, visit the Arab American Institute’s Demographics page.

Population*

Arab immigrants began coming to the U.S. in sizable numbers during the 1880s. Today, it is estimated that nearly 3.6 million Americans trace their roots to an Arab country.
The population who identified as having Arabic-speaking ancestry in the U.S. Census grew by more than 72% between 2000 and 2010. The Arab diaspora is among the fastest growing diaspora populations in the world.
About 90% of Arab Americans live in urban areas.
The cities with largest metropolitan Arab American populations are Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. These areas are home to one-third of the Arab American population.

*NOTE: Arab Americans are not officially recognized as a federal minority group and because of this, reporting numbers are almost never exact.

Origins

The Arab World includes 22 countries stretching from North Africa in the west to the Arabian Gulf in the east.
Arabs are ethnically, religiously and politically diverse, but descend from a common linguistic and cultural heritage.

Religion

Arab Americans are a religiously diverse community.
Nearly every major religion is represented in the Arab American community. Not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arab.
Among Christians, Arab Americans hail Maronite Catholic, Melkite Catholic, Syrian Catholic, Chaldean Catholic, Roman Catholic, Antiochian Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox and various Protestant denominations.
Among Muslims, Arab Americans are Sunni, Shia and Druze.

Education

Eighty-five percent of Arab Americans have at least a high school diploma.
More than 4 out of 10 Arab Americans have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Seventeen percent of Arab Americans have a post-graduate degree, which is nearly twice the American average (9%).
Of the school age population, 13% of Arab Americans are in pre-school, 58% are in elementary or high school, 22% are in college, and 7% are in graduate school.

Income

The median income for Arab American households in 1999 was $47,000, compared with $42,000 for all households in the U.S.
Approximately 30% of Arab Americans have an annual household income of more than $75,000, compared to 22% of all households in the U.S.
Mean income for Arab American households measures 8% higher than the national average of $56,644.
The average income of Arab Americans is 22% higher than the U.S. national average.

DEMOGRAPHICS