| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 21,596 (2020 census estimate).[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Pacific American Islands (Guam,Northern Mariana Islands andHawaii), West Coast (SouthernCalifornia andPortland, Oregon),Texas,Kansas City (Missouri) and CentralFlorida (in an area that extends fromOrlando toTampa andClearwater) | |
| Languages | |
| English · Chuukese · Pohnpeian · Yapese · Kosraean · Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Protestantism (majority) andCatholicism (minority) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| English people · other American groups of Micronesian origin (Chamorro,Palauan,Marshallese) |
Micronesian Americans areAmericans who are descended from people of theFederated States of Micronesia, although the term may also include people descended from theUS unincorporated territory of theNorthern Mariana Islands. According to the 2020 US census, a total of 21,596 residents self-identified as having origins in the country, which consists of four states. More than half of these residents identified their origin asChuuk State (12,464) with the rest as follows: 4,918 people fromPohnpei, 2,066 fromYap, and 2,148 people fromKosrae.[1]
Beginning in the early 1970s when thePell Grant was extended, several hundred people from Micronesia (including both the Federated States of Micronesia and the other Micronesian island groups) emigrated yearly to the United States to attend college.[2] By the late 1970s, many Micronesians were emigrating toGuam and the rest of the U.S. with the intention of establishing a permanent residence there.[2] By 1980, several hundred people from the FSM were already residing in the U.S., with most of them being Outer Island Yapese.[2] They did not want to return to their country and did not want to settle inYap, where they lacked social status and where land was scarce.[2]
In 1986, Micronesians obtained the right to live and work in the U.S. permanently, thanks to theCompact of Free Association covering the FSM, theRepublic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and theRepublic of Palau.[2] At first, the Micronesian emigrants to the U.S. under the compact were heavily Chuukese, with most of them settling in Guam andSaipan.[2] When both of these islands experienced recession in the early 1990s, Micronesians increasingly headed forHawaii.[2] Micronesian migration to the U.S. increased significantly in the mid-1990s when compact funding for the FSM and the RMI decreased.[2]
In 2006, an article in theMicronesian Counselor estimated that over 30,000 Micronesian citizens were living in the United States, and that one in four Micronesians were living in the U.S. or its territories.[2] However, in the 2010 U.S. census, only 8,185 U.S. residents said they were descended from the FSM.[3] This number increased to 21,596 in the 2020 census.[1]
About 1,200 people migrate yearly from the FSM to the U.S. to seek work and give their children a better education.[4]
Most US Micronesians live in the Pacific American Islands (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii). But many also live in southernCalifornia (such asSan Diego orPasadena),Portland, Oregon,Texas (Corsicana, mostly from Chuuk State), and CentralFlorida (where Micronesians, mostly Pohnpeians, are scattered across an area that extends fromOrlando toTampa andClearwater). The Micronesian population is also increasing rapidly in other places in the United States, such as inKansas City, Missouri,Marshall, Missouri where the majority of the Micronesians are of Pohnpeian origin.[2]
Another large concentration of Micronesians exists in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas. The Pohnpeian population (including outer islands which are part of the state of Pohnpei) in these areas has been estimated between 5,000 and 7,000. Evidence of the vast Pohnpeian population in this area can be seen at the yearly softball tournament held inNeosho, Missouri, which is also a sister city of Kolonia, Pohnpei. A few Marshallese also live in northwest Arkansas (numbered in the thousands). Small Micronesian communities also live in places such asMiami, Oklahoma, where there are Chuukese in the hundreds, andMorristown, Tennessee, with a rapidly growing population of over 1,000 as of 2020.
The Micronesians living in the United States have created networks to unite all Micronesian families living in the areas in which they live and give him their support. This occurs in many parts of the country. Being mostlyProtestant, networks generally rely on churches, that often profess the Protestant religion. However, these facilitates place heavy emphasize on the sports and recreation of its members rather than religious teachings. The relationship between the Micronesians in these networks makes life easier in the United States.[2] In addition to Protestants there is a minority ofCatholic Micronesians in the U.S. So, according to the Chuuk Reform Movement website (a Chuuk chain, whose aimed at improving the life of this ethnic group in the United States), in May 2009 was ordained a priest of permanent way the Father Bruce Roby, in the Diocese ofBridgeport, Connecticut, being the first Catholic priest from the FSM on permanent assignment in the United States.[5]
Many Micronesians live in southern California, where they have, at least, an association: The Micronesian Association of Southern California (Mascal), located inSan Diego, to foster the relationship between the Micronesians residing in the United States. Furthermore, the association promotes educational opportunities, "career development" and establish some programs designed for promote the social awareness and services for its members.[6]