States With The Largest Populations Of Portuguese Americans

The United States of America has the most diverse population than any other place in the world. It has citizens who have ancestry based in other countries thanks to the opportunities it accords people. People with Portuguese ancestry can be found all over the country.

States With The Largest Populations Of Portuguese Americans

History And Migration

The first Portuguese person to settle in America was a man called Matthias de Soussa in 1634. The first batch of immigrants from Portugal settled in the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The 1900s saw the largest group of Portuguese immigrants who mainly came from Azores and Madeira. They settled along coastal cities of New England, Rhode Island, and Southern Massachusetts.

States With The Largest Populations Of Portuguese Americans

California

The state of California is home to 346,172 Portuguese Americans who reside in San Jose, Santa Cruz, Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego. They migrated to Californian the 19th century from the Azores as fishermen and settlers.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts is home to the second highest population of Portuguese-Americans with a total population of about 296,000. The Portuguese culture has dramatically permeated into Massachusetts to the extent that Portuguese is the second most spoken language in the state.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the smallest state in America covering a total area of about 1200 square miles. The population in the state stands at about 1,000,000 people and it is also home to the third largest Portuguese-American community in the US with a total of 96,433 people currently living and working in the state. The Portuguese language is the third most spoken language in the state with about 3.2% of the population using the language.

New Jersey

The city of Newark in New Jersey hosts a considerable population of Portuguese-Americans. They trace their history way back to the 1900s when they started streaming into the state of New Jersey. Newark has even earned the title of Little Portugal due to the significant influence the Portuguese culture has had on the town with most businesses being run by people of Portuguese descent. As of the last census, there were about 76,000 Portuguese-Americans in New Jersey.

Florida

Florida is the third most populous state in America with about 20 million people living in the State, out of which about 69,000 of them are Portuguese-Americans. Portuguese is the third most widely spoken language in Florida after English and Spanish. Apart from the original Portuguese who migrated from Europe the state of Florida has been receiving a lot of Portuguese immigrants from Brazil who are streaming in for job opportunities and a better life.

Other States With Significant Number Of Portuguese Americans

Other states that have considerable populations of Portuguese-Americans include New York which has about 50,657 people of Portuguese descent. Connecticut has about 49,167 while Hawaii has about 48,634 of them. The Portuguese-Americans live in close-knit communities where they run their businesses among themselves and observe cultural festivals that reflect their connections to their motherland. Notable Portuguese artists, politicians, professionals, and many others have made headlines in the American society with their achievements.