Armenian Immigration Statistics by State

Immigration is an essential part of international relations since it deepens ties between countries, directly contributes to economies, and enriches cultures. The United States has a long history of immigration, earning it a reputation as the country built by immigrants, a mosaic of the world’s many nations. Among these are also Armenians who made the United States their home. The first recorded ethnic Armenian to migrate to North America was Iranian-born tobacco grower Hovhannes Martikyan (Martin the Armenian), who settled in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1618. And even though there were many others in the following years, most of the Armenian migration to the United States happened in two major waves. 

The first major wave was from 1890 to 1914, where thousands of Armenians emigrated to the United States following the Hamidian massacres of the mid-1890s, the Adana Massacre of 1909, and the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire of 1915-1918. The post-1920 migration consisted of genocide survivors who fled to the United States until 1924, when the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act drastically reduced the annual quota to 150 for Armenians. 

The second major wave happened in the late 1940s, which included Soviet Armenian prisoners of war who made the United States their home after being freed from Nazi camps. The Displaced Persons Act of 1948 allowed those displaced during World War II to immigrate to the United States. From 1944 to 1952, more Armenians migrated to the United States, many with the help of George Mardikian's American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians (ANCHA). 

Since the 1950s, many Armenians from the Middle East (namely from Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey) made the United States their home due to political instability in the region. The increase in numbers was largely the result of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which abolished national origins quotas. Immigration accelerated in the late 1980s and continued after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 due to socio-economic and political reasons. Today, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates there to be 460,000 Armenians living in the United States across all 50 states. As one of many contributions to their new home, these Armenians formed communities by developing social, political, and religious networks and academic institutions. This map shows the population distribution by state and provides select data related to their establishment and development within the United States.

NOTE: Because Armenian-Americans are generally represented within the “White” or “Some Other Race” race categories in population-based research studies, the U.S. Census Bureau population estimates are reportedly lower than other estimates that range from 500,000 to 2,000,000 of Armenians currently living within the United States.

 1.Papazian, Dennis (2000). "Armenians in America." Journal of Eastern Christian Studies. University of Michigan-Dearborn. 52 (3–4): 311–347. doi:10.2143/JECS.52.3.565605. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
 2.https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act
 3.Powell, John (2005). Encyclopedia of North American immigration. New York: Facts on File. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-1-4381-1012-7. https://www.congress.gov/82/statute/STATUTE-65/STATUTE-65-Pg96.pdf
 4.Peroomian & Avakian 2003, p. 34.
 5.Peroomian & Avakian 2003, p. 34.
6.https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-79/pdf/STATUTE-79-Pg911.pdf
 7.U.S. Census Bureau population estimates are current as of January 2023.
 https://data.census.gov/table?g=010XX00US$0400000&d=ACS+5-Year+Estimates+Detailed+Tables&tid=ACSDT5Y2021.B04006