Total population | |
---|---|
estimated 92,638 [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C., Boston, Seattle, New York, Minneapolis. Maryland, North Carolina, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Texas, Southern United States [2] | |
Languages | |
Swahili, English (Kenyan dialect) | |
Religion | |
Roman Catholicism , Protestantism and Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Kenyan Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of Kenyan descent and ancestry. As of the 2010 census, there were an estimated 92,638 Kenyan-born persons living in the United States. Most Kenyan Americans are concentrated in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle, Texas, Maryland, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, and the greater Washington, D.C. area. [3]
Restrictions against immigration from Asia and Africa led to little voluntary immigration from Kenya until the latter half of the 20th century and low a number of slaves bringing to the americas in late 18th century and early 19th century at the Atlantic slave trade. Kenyan emigration to the United States then noted a large increase, nearly doubling from the decades before.
This increase was caused by several factors; political instability and a downturn in the economy in the 1980s in Kenya coupled with a high rate of unemployment (over 35 percent) led to a greater desire to immigrate. Some immigrants were also attracted to technology-oriented careers in the United States that boomed in availability in the 1990s and early 2000s. [3]
Kenyan Americans come from ethnic groups such as the Kikuyu, Kisii, Luhya, Kamba, Kalenjin, Meru or Luo people.
The largest populations of Kenyans in the United States are found in Texas, Minnesota, Washington, Southern California, Massachusetts, and Maryland (including the greater Washington, D.C. area.) Many Kenyans are also established in Georgia and North Carolina, states with important health care centers.
According to the 2010 census, approximately one-third of persons born in Kenya who are living in the US have become naturalized citizens. [1] [3]
African immigrants are among the most educated groups in the United States. Like their recent immigrant counterparts Kenyan Americans give a high value to education. [3]
According to estimates from the Migration Policy Institute for 2015 to 2019, the total number of immigrants from Kenya in the USA was 141,800. [4] The top counties of settlement were as follows:
1) Hennepin County, MN ------------------------ 6,900
2) King County, WA ------------------------------- 4,500
3) Tarrant County, TX ----------------------------- 4,400
4) Dallas County, TX ------------------------------ 3,700
5) Baltimore County, MD ----------------------- 3,000
6) Harris County, TX ------------------------------ 2,900
7) Los Angeles County, CA -------------------- 2,500
8) Franklin County, OH --------------------------- 2,500
9) Middlesex County, Mass.------------------- 2,400
10) Collin County, TX ----------------------------- 2,400
11) Pierce County, WA --------------------------- 2,200
12) Montgomery County, MD ---------------- 2,000
13) Cobb County, GA ----------------------------- 2,000
14) Ramsey County, MN ------------------------ 1,900
15) New Castle County, DE -------------------- 1,900
16) Maricopa County, AZ ---------------------- 1,800
17) Johnson County, KS ------------------------ 1,800
From the same source for 2017-2021, there was a total of 150,900 Kenyan immigrants nationally, the top counties of settlement being:
1) King County, WA. .................................. 6,800 - (Up 1)
2) Hennepin, MN ........................................ 6,800 - (Down 1)
3) Tarrant County, TX ................................. 5,100 - (Same)
4) Dallas County, TX ................................... 3,700 - (Same)
5) Middlesex County, MA ........................... 3,100 - (Up 4)
6) Franklin County, OH ............................... 3,000 - (Up 2)
7) Pierce County, WA ................................. 2,900 - (Up 4)
8) Los Angeles County, CA ......................... 2,800 - (Down 1)
9) Harris County, TX .................................... 2,800 - (Down 3)
10) Baltimore County, MD ........................... 2,700 - (Down 5)
11) ) Ramsey County, MN ............................ 2,200 - (Up 3)
12) Wake County, NC ................................... 2,100 - (New)
13) Maricopa County, AZ .............................. 2,100 - (Up 3)
14) Johnson County, KS ............................... 2,100 - (Up 3)
15) Collin County, TX ..................................... 2,100 - (Down 5)
16) Saint Louis County, MO .......................... 1,900 - (New)
17) Montgomery County, MD ....................... 1,900 - (Down 5)
18) Orange County, CA ................................. 1,800
19) New Castle County, DE .......................... 1,800 - (Down 4)
20) Worcester County, MA ............................ 1,500
21) Fort Bend County, TX .............................. 1,500
22) Fairfax County, VA ................................... 1,500
23) Dakota County, MN .................................. 1,500
24) Hudson County, NJ .................................. 1,400
25) Gwinnett County, GA ................................ 1,400
26) Essex County, NJ ..................................... 1,400
27) Denton County, TX ................................... 1,400
28) Cobb County, GA ...................................... 1,400 - (Down 15)
29) Middlesex County, NJ .............................. 1,200
- Santa Clara County, CA and Cass County, ND each had 1,100 while Lehigh County, PA had 1,000.
Like other immigrant groups living in the US, Kenyan Americans have created many organizations. These include the Kenya Diaspora Advisory Council, the Kenya American Association, the Kenyan-Cincinnati Association ("kcaweb", whose goal is to facilitate Kenyan integration in social and cultural scopes in the tri-state area and promoting awareness of the culture of Kenya in the United States), [5] the Minnesota Kenyan International Development Association ("MKIDA", formed in 2003, to improve education and the economy of the Kenyan Americans) and KACA (Kenyan Americans Community Association).
The American Kenyan Educational Corporation focuses on funding secondary school students and building schools in Kenya. [3]
Lists of Americans |
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By US state |
By ethnicity or nationality |
The Kipsigis or Kipsigiis are a Nilotic people contingent of the Kalenjin ethnic group and speak a dialect of Kalenjin language identified by their community eponym, Kipsigis. It is observed that the Kipsigis and an aboriginal people native to Kenya known as Ogiek have a merged identity. The Kipsigis are the most numerous of the Kalenjin. The latest census population in Kenya put the Kipsigis at 1.972 Million speakers, accounting for 45% of all Kalenjin speaking people. They occupy the highlands of Kericho stretching from Timboroa to Mara River in the south, the west of Mau Escarpment in the east to Kebeneti in the west. They also occupy parts of Laikipia, Kitale, Nakuru, Narok, Trans Mara District, Eldoret and Nandi Hills.
The Kikuyu are a Bantu ethnic group native to East Africa Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them Kenya's largest ethnic group.
The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp is an American twin-row, 18-cylinder, air-cooled radial aircraft engine with a displacement of 2,800 cu in (46 L), and is part of the long-lived Wasp family of engines.
The Kamba or Akamba people are a Bantu ethnic group who predominantly live in the area of Kenya stretching from Nairobi to Tsavo and north to Embu, in the southern part of the former Eastern Province. This land is called Ukambani and constitutes Makueni County, Kitui County and Machakos County. They also form the second largest ethnic group in 8 counties including Nairobi and Mombasa counties.
The culture of Kenya consists of multiple traditions and trends. Kenya has no single prominent culture that identifies it. Its cultural heritage and modern expressions of culture instead consist of various cultures, shaped and practiced by the country's different communities.
The Agumba people were an ethnic group who inhabited the forests of Mount Kenya, but are now either extinct or assimilated.
Indonesian Americans are migrants from the multiethnic country of Indonesia to the United States, and their U.S.-born descendants. In both the 2000 and 2010 United States census, they were the 15th largest group of Asian Americans recorded in the United States as well as one of the fastest growing.
Czech Americans, known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority of the traditional lands of the Bohemian Crown, namely Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. These lands over time have been governed by a variety of states, including the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Austrian Empire, Czechoslovakia, and the Czech Republic also known by its short-form name, Czechia. Germans from the Czech lands who emigrated to the United States are usually identified as German Americans, or, more specifically, as Americans of German Bohemian descent. According to the 2000 U.S. census, there are 1,262,527 Americans of full or partial Czech descent, in addition to 441,403 persons who list their ancestry as Czechoslovak. Historical information about Czechs in America is available thanks to people such as Mila Rechcigl.
African immigration to the United States refers to immigrants to the United States who are or were nationals of modern African countries. The term African in the scope of this article refers to geographical or national origins rather than racial affiliation. From the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to 2017, Sub-Saharan African-born population in the United States grew to 2.1 million people.
Ecuadorian Americans are Americans of full or partial Ecuadorian ancestry. Ecuadorian Americans are the 9th largest Latin American group in the United States. Ecuadorian Americans are usually of Mestizo, Amerindian or Afro-Ecuadorian background.
Bolivian Americans or Bolivia-Americans are Americans of at least partial Bolivian descent. In Bolivia they are sometimes referred to colloquially as "gringo bolivianos" or "yanqui llocallas".
Guatemalan Americans are Americans of full or partial Guatemalan descent. The Guatemalan American population at the 2010 Census was 1,044,209. Guatemalans are the sixth largest Hispanic group in the United States and the second largest Central American population after Salvadorans. Half of the Guatemalan population is situated in two parts of the country, the Northeast and Southern California.
Costa Rican Americans are Americans of at least partial Costa Rican descent.
Panamanian Americans are Americans of Panamanian descent.
Paraguayan Americans are Americans of Paraguayan descent.
Liberian Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of full or partial Liberian ancestry. This can include Liberians who are descendants of Americo-Liberian people in America. The first wave of Liberians to the United States, after the slavery period, was after of the First Liberian Civil War in the 1990s and, then, after the Second Liberian Civil War in the early 2000s.
Nepalese Americans are Americans of Nepalese ancestry. Immigration from Nepal to the United States began in the 20th century, and many have been able to establish themselves as American nationals. The history of immigration from Nepal to America is more recent in comparison to other South Asian ethnic groups. Major community groups of Nepali Americans consists of Khas, followed by minority Newars, Tharus, Tamangs, Gurungs, Limbus, Rais, Magar, Madhesis, Lhotshampas, Sherpas, and others, as of American Nepalese Convention Survey of 2018.
Ugandan Americans are Americans of Ugandan descent and ancestry. The survey of 2014 counted 20,248 Ugandan Americans in the United States.
The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya (TJRC) was established in 2008. Kenya’s modern history has been marked not only by liberation struggles but also by ethnic conflicts, semi-despotic regimes, marginalization and political violence, including the coup d'état of 1982, the Shifta War, and the 2007 Post-election violence.
Cameroonian American are an ethnic group of Americans of Cameroonian descent. According to the census of 2010, in the United States there were 16,894 Americans of Cameroonian origin. According to the 2007–2011 American Community Survey there are 33,181 Cameroonian-born people living in the United States.