Iranian Americans
Iranian Americans are citizens or nationals of the United States who are of Iranian ancestry. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in business, academia, science, the arts, and entertainment. Many have become doctors, engineers, lawyers, and tech entrepreneurs.
Iranian American population by state | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 470,341 (ACS, 2011) 500,000–1,500,000+ (other estimates) See also Iranian diaspora | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| California (largest populations in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties), New York, New Jersey, Texas, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Michigan, Northeast Ohio, Florida, Georgia | |
| Languages | |
| American English, As well native (Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, and other languages of Iran). | |
| Religion | |
| Islam 31%, Atheism/Realism/Humanism 11%, Agnosticism 8%, Baháʼí 7%, Judaism 5%, Protestanism 5%, Roman Catholicism 2%, Zoroastrianism 2%, Other 15% including Mandaeanism, and No Response 15%.[a] | |
^a A 2012 national telephone survey of a sample of 400 Iranian-Americans in the Los Angeles area, commissioned by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans and conducted by Zogby Research Services, asked the respondents what their religions were. The survey had a cooperation rate of 31.2%. |
Most Iranian Americans arrived in the United States after 1979, as a result of the Iranian Revolution and the fall of the Persian monarchy, with over 40% settling in California, specifically Los Angeles. Unable to return to Iran, they have created many distinct ethnic enclaves, such as the Los Angeles Tehrangeles community in Westwood, Los Angeles.
Based on a 2012 announcement by the National Organization for Civil Registration, an organization of the Ministry of Interior of Iran, the United States has the greatest number of Iranians outside the country.
Research by the Iranian Studies Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004 estimated the number of Iranian Americans at 691,000, about half of which live in the US state of California.