Americans of Sri Lankan birth or descent
Ethnic group
Sri Lankan Americans Total population 84,526 (2023)[ 1] Regions with significant populations New York City Metropolitan Area (includingNew York City ,Central New Jersey , andLong Island )[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] Greater Boston ,Los Angeles metropolitan area ,Washington, D.C. metropolitan area ,Atlanta metropolitan area ,Dallas metropolitan area ,Houston area ,[ 5] metropolitan areas Languages English ,Sinhala andTamil Religion Theravada Buddhism ,Hinduism ,Islam ,Roman Catholicism
Sri Lankan Americans (Sinhala :Sri Lankika Amerikanu ,Tamil :Ilangkaī Amerikan ) are Americans of full or partialSri Lankan ancestry. Sri Lankan Americans are persons of Sri Lankan origin from various Sri Lankan ethnic backgrounds. The people are classified asSouth Asian in origin.
Thesa, a Sinhalese representative at the 1893World's Columbian Exposition Sri Lankans started arriving in the U.S. in larger numbers around the mid 1950s, but there is evidence from U.S. census records which proves that Sri Lankans first emigrated fromCeylon and arrived in the United States in earlier years, mostly between the 1880s and the 1890s.
In 1975, Sri Lankan immigrants were classified as belonging to a category which was separate from "otherAsian " for the first time. In that year, 432 Sri Lankans entered the United States.
According to theU.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service 's records, in 1996, 1,277 Sri Lankans were naturalized. This included 615 who had arrived in 1995 and 254 who had arrived in 1994, compared with only 68 arrivals in 1993 and 17 before 1985.
The number increased to 14,448 in the 1990s in conjunction with theSri Lankan Civil War . An estimated 40% of Sri Lankan Americans areSri Lankan Tamils .[ 6] [ 7]
TheNew York City Metropolitan Area , includingNew York City ,Long Island , andCentral New Jersey , contains the largest Sri Lankan community in the United States, receiving the highest legal permanent resident Sri Lankan immigrant population,[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] Los Angeles metropolitan area .California has the highest number of Sri Lankans of any U.S. state at 14,008.[ 10] Maryland has the highest share of Sri Lankans at 0.07%.[ 11]
Little Sri Lanka , in theTompkinsville neighborhood ofStaten Island , New York, is one of the largest Sri Lankan communities outside of the country of Sri Lanka itself.[ 12] [ 13] [ 14] [ 15] [ 16] Queens, New York ;Garden City Park, New York ;Sewaren, New Jersey ;Gaithersburg, Maryland ;Kensington, Maryland ; andFishers, Indiana . In Los Angeles there is a large presence in the WestSan Fernando Valley , in particular inReseda andTarzana .[ 17] [ 18]
Around 40% of Sri Lankan Americans were born in the United States, while only a half are U.S. citizens.[ 19]
The Top 10 cities with the most residents reporting Sri Lankan ancestry or origin are as follows:[ 20]
City Sri LankanPopulation
City'sPopulation
Sri LankanPercentage
New York, New York 5,763 8,736,047 0.066% Los Angeles, California 2,330 3,902,440 0.060% Houston, Texas 841 2,293,288 0.037% Fishers, Indiana 553 97154 0.569% Oakland, California 531 437,548 0.121% Chicago, Illinois 461 2,742,119 0.017% Austin, Texas 453 944,658 0.048% Gaithersburg, Maryland 451 68,827 0.655% Dallas, Texas 446 1,300,239 0.034% San Francisco, California 445 865,933 0.051%
Sri Lankan Americans are generally educated and affluent. With a median income of $74,000, Sri Lankan Americans are the third most successful Asian American group (tied withJapanese Americans ) in regards to income. Additionally, 57% of Sri Lankan Americans over the age of 25 have a bachelor's degree or more.[ 21]
Association of Sri Lankans in America (AHRCL) Friends of Sri Lanka in the United States Sri Lanka America Association of Southern California (SLAASC) Sri Lanka Association of New England (SLANE)[ 22] Sri Lanka Foundation[ 23] Sri Lankan American Association of Houston[ 24] Sri Lankan American Cultural Association (SLACA)[ 25] Sri Lankan Youth Organization (SLYO)[ 26] The Association of Sri Lankan Muslims in North America (TASMiNA)[ 27] Notes and references [ edit ] ^ "US Census Data" . U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved2024-09-21 .^a b "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012 Supplemental Table 2" . U.S. Department of Homeland Security.Archived from the original on 2013-04-03. Retrieved2013-03-31 .^a b "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2011 Supplemental Table 2" . U.S. Department of Homeland Security.Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved2013-03-31 .^a b "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010 Supplemental Table 2" . U.S. Department of Homeland Security.Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved2013-03-31 .^ "Sri Lankans in the U.S. Fact Sheet" .Archived from the original on 2023-09-04. Retrieved2022-03-25 .^ "United States of America" (PDF) . January 2014.^ Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia .^ Population Division (PDF) . U.S. Census Bureau. 2006.Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-07-23. Retrieved2017-12-10 .^ "PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES: Foreign-born population excluding population born at sea - 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates" . US Census Bureau. Archived fromthe original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved24 December 2018 .^ "Top 10 States | Largest Sri Lankan Community | 2023 | Zip Atlas" .zipatlas.com .Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved2023-05-24 .^ "Top 10 States | Percentage of Sri Lankan Population | 2023 | Zip Atlas" .zipatlas.com .Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved2023-05-24 .^ "Why Staten Island?" . Little Sri Lanka.Archived from the original on 2015-07-26. Retrieved2015-07-25 .^ Harrison Peck."NYC The Official Guide - Must-See Little Sri Lanka: 7 Great Things to See and Do" . NYC & Company, Inc. Archived fromthe original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved2013-03-31 . ^ Amy Zavatto (August 5, 2010)."Frommer's - New York City: Exploring Staten Island's Little Sri Lanka" . John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Archived fromthe original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved2013-03-31 . ^ "Little Sri Lanka: An Island Nation Unites on Staten Island" .Charter Communications . October 8, 2019.Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. RetrievedOctober 12, 2019 .^ Kirk Semple (2013-06-08)."Sri Lankans have gathered on Staten Island,..." The New York Times .Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved2013-06-09 . ^ Brightwell, ~ Eric (2016-05-05)."No Enclave — Exploring Sri Lankan Los Angeles" .Eric Brightwell . Retrieved2024-08-24 . ^ "The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas" .statisticalatlas.com . Retrieved2025-06-14 .^ "American FactFinder - Results" .factfinder.census.gov . United States Census Bureau. Archived fromthe original on 2014-12-29. Retrieved2017-08-02 .^ "Largest Sri Lankan Community in the United States by City | 2023 | Zip Atlas" .zipatlas.com .Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved2023-05-25 .^ "Key facts about Asian Americans, a diverse and growing population" .Pew Research Center . 8 September 2017.Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved16 November 2017 .^ "SLANE" . Slaneusa.com.Archived from the original on 2012-08-28. Retrieved2012-08-15 .^ "Home" . Sri Lanka Foundation.Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved2012-08-15 .^ "Sri Lankan American Association of Houston" . SLAAH.Archived from the original on 2011-02-02. Retrieved2012-08-15 .^ "Slaca.org" . Slaca.org.Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved2012-08-15 .^ "Non-profit - United - S.L.Y.O - Sri Lankan Youth Organization" .Non-profit - United - S.L.Y.O - Sri Lankan Youth Organization .Archived from the original on 2016-11-06. Retrieved2016-11-06 .^ "Home" .tasmina.org .Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. RetrievedJune 29, 2022 .
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