Ukrainian Americans (Ukrainian: Українські американці, romanized: Ukrainski amerykantsi) are Americans who are of Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent representing 0.3% of the American population.[1] The Ukrainian population of the United States is thus the second largest outside the former Eastern Bloc; only Canada has a larger Ukrainian community under this definition. According to the 2000 U.S. census, the metropolitan areas with the largest numbers of Ukrainian Americans are: New York City with 160,000; Philadelphia with 60,000; Chicago with 46,000; Detroit with 45,000; Los Angeles with 36,000; Cleveland with 26,000; Sacramento with 20,000;[4] and Indianapolis with 19,000.[5][6] In 2018, the number of Ukrainian Americans surpassed 1 million.[7]
Українські американці | |
---|---|
Total population | |
1,017,586 (0.31%)[1] 2021 estimate, self reported | |
Regions with significant populations | |
New York City Metropolitan Area,[2]Rochester Metropolitan Area, Rust Belt (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois), Midwest (Minnesota, North Dakota), Greater Los Angeles Area, Sacramento, Alaska, Washington state, and the Pacific Northwest in general, Maryland, Florida, Virginia, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia[3] | |
Languages | |
American English, Ukrainian, Russian, Yiddish | |
Religion | |
Predominantly Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Greek Catholic, with Protestant and Jewish minorities | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Ukrainians, Rusyn Americans, Belarusian Americans, Cossack Americans, Polish Americans, Russian Americans, and other Slavic peoples, especially East Slavs |
History
editLarge-scale Ukrainian immigration to America did not begin until the 1880s.[9] In 1870-1914 the majority of Ukrainian immigrants came from Austro-Hungary (Galicia and other regions). They were described as Ruthenians, Rusyns, or “Russniaks.” Many arrived in New York City and Pennsylvania. In 1899 estimates of the number of Ukrainians in the USA ranged from 200,000 to 500,000.[10] The Ukrainian National Association (Ukrainian: Український народний союз), known before 1914 as the Ruthenian National Union (Ukrainian: Руський Народний Союз) was founded in Shamokin, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1894.
Between 1920 and 1939 about 40,000 more Ukrainians arrived, mostly from Western Ukraine.[11] After World War II, about 85,000 Ukrainian displaced persons emigrated to the United States from Europe.[12]
From 1955 to 1965, St. Andrew Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, was constructed as a memorial honoring victims of the Holodomor of 1932–1933.
The largest wave of Ukrainians came in the early 1990s, after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. Some[quantify] of those emigrating from Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union were Jewish or Protestant. Many Ukrainians of the newest immigration wave settled in large cities and regional centers, forming ethnic enclaves. In addition, many Ukrainian Americans arrived by way of Canada, which has a larger Ukrainian presence.
On September 11, 2001, 11 Ukrainian Americans perished at the World Trade Center in New York City during the acts of mass terrorism committed on that day. All of their names were listed and commemorated by Ukrinform, the National News Agency of Ukraine, during the nineteenth anniversary of the attacks in 2020.[13]
Ukrainian Americans living in Northern New Jersey and the remainder of the Northeastern United States have long[quantify] been politically vocal about Ukrainian affairs, often traveling to Washington, D.C., to express their concerns.[14][15]
In Bloomingdale (near Chicago) on September 21, 2015, Filaret, the Ukrainian Orthodox Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus'-Ukraine, consecrated the first North American monument to the Revolution of Dignity's "Heavenly Hundred".[16]
In February 2022, the Pastor Right Reverend Mitred Archpriest Philip Weiner, the leader of St. Josaphat's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Rochester, New York, said that there were more than 40,000 Ukrainians in the Rochester Metropolitan Area, which would make it one of the largest Ukrainian American communities in the country.[17]
There are a large number of Ukrainian Protestants in the Sacramento metropolitan area who have organized support to those affected by the invasion of Ukraine through their local congregations.[18]
It is estimated that during 2022-2023, around 300,000 Ukrainians have sought asylum in the United States through various means, making the U.S. the fifth-largest destination for refugees of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and also making Ukrainians one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States that don't originate from the American continent.
Demographics
editAs of the 2000 U.S. Census, there were 892,922 Americans of full or partial Ukrainian descent. The New York City Metropolitan Area contains by far the largest Ukrainian community in the United States, due to historically receiving the highest number of Ukrainian immigrants.[2]
The U.S. states with the largest Ukrainian populations are as follows:
New York | 148,700 |
Pennsylvania | 122,291 |
California | 83,125 |
New Jersey | 73,809 |
Ohio | 48,908[19] |
Illinois | 47,623 |
The total number of people born in Ukraine is more than 275,155 residents.[20]
Ukrainian-born population
editUkrainian-born population in the U.S. since 2010:[21]
Year | Number |
---|---|
2010 | 326,493 |
2011 | 340,468 |
2012 | 342,971 |
2013 | 345,187 |
2014 | 332,145 |
2015 | 345,620 |
2016 | 347,759 |
2017 | 354,494 |
2018 | 325,885 |
2019 | 354,832 |
2020 | 358,823 |
2021 | 398,040 |
U.S. communities with high percentages of people of Ukrainian ancestry
editThe top 20 U.S. communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Ukrainian ancestry are:[22]
- Cass Township, Pennsylvania (Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania) 14.30%
- Belfield, North Dakota 13.60%
- Gulich Township, Pennsylvania 12.70%
- Gilberton, Pennsylvania 12.40%
- Wilton, North Dakota 10.30%
- Lumberland, New York 9.90%
- Saint Clair, Pennsylvania 8.80%
- Soap Lake, Washington 8.10%
- Frackville, Pennsylvania 7.60%
- Olyphant, Pennsylvania and Norwegian Township, Pennsylvania 7.00%
- Houtzdale, Pennsylvania 6.90%
- Harmony Township, Pennsylvania (Beaver County, Pennsylvania) and Kerhonkson, New York 6.70%
- Baden, Pennsylvania and McAdoo, Pennsylvania 5.90%
- Branch Township, Pennsylvania and Postville, Iowa 5.70%
- Woodward Township, Pennsylvania (Clearfield County, Pennsylvania) and Northampton, Pennsylvania 5.60%
- Warren, New York and Independence, Ohio 5.50%
- West Leechburg, Pennsylvania 5.40%
- Ambridge, Pennsylvania, Mount Carmel Township, Pennsylvania, and Parma, Ohio 5.30%
- Ford City, Pennsylvania 5.20%
- Bigler Township, Pennsylvania and Kline Township, Pennsylvania 5.10%
- Mayfield Heights, Ohio 3.4%
U.S. communities with the highest percentage of residents born in Ukraine
editTop 20 U.S. communities with the highest percentage of residents born in Ukraine are:[23]
- Delta Junction, AK 16.4%
- Deltana, AK 8.4%
- Hamtramck, MI 8.0%
- West Hollywood, CA 7.8%
- Lumberland, NY 6.3%
- Moses Lake North, WA 6.0%
- Soap Lake, WA 6.0%
- Postville, IA 5.9%
- Warren, MI 4.0%
- Chicago, IL 4.0%
- Webster, NY 4.8%
- Peaceful Valley, WA 4.8%
- Pikesville, MD 4.5%
- Kerhonkson, NY 3.9%
- North Highlands, CA 3.6%
- Rancho Cordova, CA 3.3%
- Oak Park, MI 3.0%
- Flying Hills, PA 3.2%
- Waverly, NE 3.2%
- Fair Lawn, NJ 3.1%
- Buffalo Grove, IL 2.8%
- Feasterville-Trevose, PA 2.6%
- Smallwood, NY 2.5%
- Solvay, NY 2.5%
- North Port, FL 2.4%
- Detroit, MI 1.0%
Notable people
editSee also
edit- European Americans
- Hyphenated American
- The Ukrainian Museum (New York City)
- Ukrainian American Veterans
- Ukrainian Americans in New York City
- Ukrainian Americans in Los Angeles
- Ukrainian Australians
- Ukrainian Canadians
- Ukrainians in the United Kingdom
- Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia
- Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
- Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
- Ukraine–United States relations
References
edit- ^ a b "Census 2021 ACS 5-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau.
- ^ a b "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010 Supplemental Table 2". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
- ^ "Ameredia: Ukrainian American Demographics". www.ameredia.com. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
- ^ "Ukrainian Immigrants in California". Public Policy Institute of California. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
- ^ "Selected social characteristics in the United States: 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". U.S. State Census Bureau. 2010. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ^ "Persons of Ukrainian Ancestry: States ordered by total number of Ukrainians". Informed Decisions, Inc. 2001. Archived from the original (XLS) on February 28, 2009.
- ^ Wolowyna, Oleh (May 11, 2018). "Ukrainians in the United States have reached 1 million". The Ukrainian Weekly. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
- ^ "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2011 Supplemental Table 2". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- ^ Paul Robert Magocsi. (1996). A History of Ukraine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Ukrainians in the United States
- ^ Ukrainians in the United States
- ^ Ukrainians in the United States
- ^ "З нагоди роковин теракту в США 11 вересня згадали загиблих українського походження" [Victims of Ukrainian descent were commemorated on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States] (in Ukrainian). Ukrinform. September 11, 2020. Archived from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
- ^ Minjae Park (September 18, 2014). "Ukrainian president greets North Jersey residents at D.C. rally". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
- ^ Mary Diduch (August 24, 2015). "North Jersey Ukrainians pitch in for wounded countrymen". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ^ "Monument to Heavenly Hundred unveiled in Chicago". UAWire.org. September 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
- ^ Wright, Wendy (March 23, 2022). "Rochester's Ukrainian community on 'pins and needles'". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- ^ "Sacramento's dense population of Ukrainian immigrants are sending help back home". NPR.org. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
- ^ "Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported: 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". U.S. State Census Bureau. 2009. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ^ "Table FBP-1. Profile of Selected Demographic and Social Characteristics: 2000" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. 2000. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
- ^ Bureau, U.S. Census. "American FactFinder - Results". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Ancestry Map of Ukrainian Communities". Epodunk.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
- ^ "Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Ukraine (population 500 )". city-data.com. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
Sources
edit- Kuropas, Myron B.; Shust, Maria; Pevna, Chrystyna (1984). To Preserve A Heritage: The Story of the Ukrainian Immigration in the United States. New York: The Ukrainian Museum. 84-050811.
- Magocsi, Paul R., ed. (1979), The Ukrainian Experience in the United States: A Symposium, Sources and Documents, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, ISBN 0-916458-04-0
Further reading
edit- Bohachevsky-Chomiak, Martha (2018). Ukrainian Bishop, American Church: Constantine Bohachevsky and the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Washington: Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 9780813231863.
- Fedunkiw, Marianne P. "Ukrainian Americans." in Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2014), pp. 459–474. online
- Lushnycky, Alex. Ukrainians of Greater Philadelphia (2007), ISBN 978-0-7385-5040-4
- Kuropas, Myron B.Ukrainians of Chicagoland (2006), ISBN 0-7385-4099-4
- Wichar, Nancy Karen. Ukrainians of Metropolitan Detroit (2010), ISBN 978-0-7385-7716-6