Venezuelan Americans

Venezuelan Americans (Spanish: venezolano-estadounidenses, venezolano-americanos, or estadounidenses de origen venezolano) are Americans who trace their heritage, or part of their heritage, to the nation of Venezuela. The word may refer to someone born in the U.S. of Venezuelan descent or to someone who has immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela.

Venezuelan Americans are one of 20 Latin American groups in the United States. Venezuela's diverse culture includes influences from Spanish, Portuguese, Italians, Germans, and the French, along with influences from African and Indigenous elements.

Venezuelan Spanish is the group's spoken form of the Spanish language.

In the United States, Venezuelans are on top of the list of nationalities requesting asylum.

History

Until the 20th century, the number of Venezuelans that immigrated to the United States is unknown because they were included in the "Other" category. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, there were many European migrants who went originally to Venezuela, but later moved to the United States with their children and grandchildren who were born and/or grew up in Venezuela speaking Spanish. From 1910 to 1930, it is estimated that over 4,000 South Americans each year migrated to the United States. However, there are not many specific figures that indicate the number of Venezuelans among the 4,000.

Many Venezuelans settled in the United States with hopes of receiving a better education, only to remain there following graduation. Many Venezuelans who have relatives living in the United States also immigrated to this country. However, since the 1980s, the reasons for Venezuelan immigration have changed to include hopes of earning a better salary. In the 1990s and continuing up to the present, many Venezuelans opposing the regime of presidents Hugo Chavez and Nicolás Maduro have migrated to the United States (mostly to Florida, but Texas and Utah are other destinations).

Due to economic turmoil and crime in Venezuela, there is an ongoing migration wave to the United States and its neighboring countries. and currently as of the early 2020s, Venezuelans make up the majority of undocumented immigrants coming into the country, many going to cities such as New York and Chicago.

Demographics

The largest concentration of Venezuelans in the United States is in South Florida, especially the Miami suburbs of Doral and Weston. Other main states with Venezuelan American populations are, according to the 2010 census, followed by Texas second, New York, California, New Jersey, Georgia and Virginia. Urban areas with a large Venezuelan community include Miami, Houston, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.

U.S. States with large Venezuelan American populations

States

U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest Venezuelan populations

The largest populations of Venezuelans are situated in the following metropolitan areas (Source: 2021 estimate):

1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL MSA - 177,730 - 2.92%
2. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA – 77,541 - 2.88%
3. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA – 60,308 - 0.84%
4. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA-CT MSA – 41,915 - 0.21%
5. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA – 24,211 - 0.39%
6. Dallas–Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 19,124 - 0.23%
7. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA – 18,508 - 0.58%
8. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA – 14,480 - 0.23%
9. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - 13,621 - 0.14%
10. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA – 11,867 - 0.09%
11. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, MSA - 9,941 - 0.42%
12. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area - 7,789 - 0.16%
13. Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA - 6,649 - 0.25%
14. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA - 6,186 - 0.21%
15. Jacksonville, FL-GA MSA - 5,097 - 0.20%
16. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 4,971 - 0.11%
17. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - 4,339 - 0.07%
18. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL MSA - 3,949 - 0.50%
19. Salt Lake City, UT MSA - 3,845 - 0.3%
20. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT MSA - 3,528 - 0.37%
21. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX MSA - 2,381 - 0.11%

States with highest Venezuelan population

The 10 states with the largest Venezuelan population were (Source: Census 2020):

1. Florida – 380,972 (1.7% of state population)
2. Texas – 122,038 (0.4% of state population)
3. Georgia – 33,227 (0.3% of state population)
4. California – 29,345 (0.1% of state population)
5. New York – 28,590 (0.2% of state population)
6. North Carolina – 18,389 (0.2% of state population)
7. Utah – 18,326 (0.5% of state population)
8. Illinois - 16,730 (0.1% of state population)
9. New Jersey – 15,566 (0.2% of state population)
10. Pennsylvania – 12,931 (0.1% of state population)

Population distribution by Venezuelan ancestry

Among U.S. communities in 2000 wherein one thousand or more people indicated their ancestry, those where at least 1% of people claimed Venezuelan ancestry were:

1. Doral, Florida 8.22%
2. Weston, Florida 4.1%
3. Fontainebleau, Florida 3.14%
4. The Hammocks, Florida 3.14%
5. Key Biscayne, Florida 2.36%
6. North Bay Village, Florida 2.15%
7. Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 1.96%
8. Miami Beach, Florida 1.79%
9. Virginia Gardens, Florida 1.58%
10. Kendale Lakes, Florida 1.54%
11. Kendall, Florida 1.47%
12. Surfside, Florida 1.41%
13. Richmond West, Florida 1.36%
14. West Sand Lake, New York 1.34%
15. Aventura, Florida 1.31%
16. Country Club, Florida 1.26%
17. Bal Harbour, Florida 1.21%
18. Coral Gables, Florida 1.17%
19. Bay Harbor Islands, Florida 1.15%
20. Miami Lakes, Florida 1.06%
21. Tamiami, Florida 1.06%
22. Miami Springs, Florida 1.01%
23. Sand Lake, New York 1.01%

By Venezuelan birth

The top 25 U.S. communities with the most residents born in Venezuela are:

1. Doral, Florida 17.3%
2. Medley, Florida 16.1%
3. Weston, Florida 10.2%
4. Maurice, Louisiana 9.8%
5. Hunters Creek, Florida 7.1%
6. Three Lakes, Florida 5.1%
7. North Westside, Florida 5.0%
8. Northlake, Texas 4.8%
9. Key Biscayne, Florida 4.3%
10. Aventura, Florida 4.2%
11. Dade City North, Florida 4.0%
12. Southchase, Florida 3.7%
13. Lake Belvedere Estates, Florida 3.7%
14. Fontainebleau, Florida 3.5%
15. Wahneta, Florida 3.5%
16. Derwood, Maryland 3.3%
17. North Bay Village, Florida 3.3%
18. Princeton, Florida 3.1%
19. The Hammocks, Florida 3.0%
20. Chambers Estates, Florida 2.8%
21. Snellville, Georgia 2.8%
22. Tequesta, Florida 2.8%
23. Horizon West, Florida 2.7%
24. Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 2.4%
25. Surfside, Florida 2.4%

Ethnic variety

The Venezuelan American population represents Venezuela's ethnic variety. Some 40 percent of Venezuelan immigrants are a mixture of European, Indigenous, and African ancestry. The rest are 56 percent white, 2 percent black and 2 percent is Indigenous. Most Venezuelan Americans are descendants of Spanish (mainly), Italians, Portuguese, Germans, Jews, Syrians and Chinese.

Socioeconomics

The Venezuelan American population are highly educated. The people obtain bachelor's, graduate, and professional degrees at nearly double (48.5%) the total U.S. national percentage (27%), while only 6% of the group's adults did not complete high school, compared to 15.9% of the total U.S. national population. Venezuelan Americans are not only highly adapted to the English language and achieve great accomplishments in American education, but also tend to consider the teaching and preservation of the Spanish language a priority for the most part. Thus, they teach the language to their children. And emphasize the extreme importance of obtaining a level of academic achievement and/or technical acumen for their own children.

Relations with Venezuela

Venezuelan Americans still maintain strong relations with their country of origin, which can easily be seen in business, family, and community life. Venezuelan Americans often report on the social and current events in Venezuela and first-generation immigrants visit there frequently. It is also quite common for Venezuelans to visit their relatives in the United States.

Notable people

See also

• Venezuelan diaspora
• United States–Venezuela relations
• Venezuelan refugee crisis

References

Further reading

• O’Neil, Shannon K. "A Venezuelan Refugee Crisis." (2018). online
• Walker, Drew. "Venezuelan Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2014), pp. 485–497. online

External links

• The Venezuelan American Endowment for the Arts (VAEA)

1. List of Venezuelan Americans
2. Anglo-Americans
3. Venezuelans
4. White Americans
5. United States–Venezuela relations
6. Korean Americans
7. Arab Americans
8. Thai Americans
9. Palestinian Americans
10. Mexican Americans
11. Lebanese Americans
12. Cuban Americans
13. Vietnamese Americans
14. Hispanic and Latino Americans
15. Venezuela
16. Americans
17. Lists of Americans
18. Salvadoran Americans
19. European Americans
20. Colombian Americans