Panamanian Americans

Panamanian Americans (Spanish: panameño-americano, norteamericano de origen panameño or estadounidense de origen panameño) are Americans of Panamanian descent.

Panamanian Americans
Total population
206,219 (2018)[1]
0.06% of the U.S. population (2018)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
English, Spanish
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic
Minority Protestantism
Related ethnic groups
fellow Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic and
Latino Americans

The Panamanian population at the 2010 Census was 165,456. Panamanians are the sixth-smallest Hispanic group in the United States and the second smallest Central American population.

The largest population of Panamanians reside in Brooklyn and South Florida.

History

Since 1820, more than one million immigrants from Central and South America migrated to the United States. Until 1960, the U.S. Census Bureau did not produce statistics that separated the Panamanian immigrants, the South Americans and Central Americans. The Panamanian Americans increased slowly in the United States. Since the 1830s, only 44 arrivals were recorded in this country, by the early twentieth century more than 1,000 came annually.[2]

After World War II the flow of immigrants from Panama remained small even though there were no immigration restrictions on the people from the Western Hemisphere. However, the Panamanian immigration increased dramatically after the 1965 Immigration Act, which imposed a ceiling of 120,000 admissions from the hemisphere. Its increase immigration was such that by 1970, Panamanians were able to be one of the largest of the Central American groups in the United States. Most Panamanians that came were nonwhites and most were women.[2]

The number of immigrant males per 100 females was very low in the 1960s, falling to 51 for Panama. Many of the female immigrants worked of in service, domestic, or low-paid, white-collar workers who immigrated to earn money to, in return, send home. Since 1962 the percentage of employed newcomers who are domestic servants has remained high, ranging from 15 to 28 percent. The entry of homemakers and children after 1968 was eased by the immigration preference system favoring family reunions. They had already approximated 86,000 people of Panamanian ancestry living in the United States.[2]

Socioeconomics

Although many of the first Panamanian immigrants managed to get or to hold jobs, the second generation of Panamanian Americans placed more emphasis on vocational training and college education. Most newcomers are domestic, very few are agricultural or industrial laborers. In the last two decades many Panamanians have embraced professional careers, and become white collar workers. Subsequent generations have progressed even further in their educational and professional pursuits.[2]

Demographics

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Panamanians congregated mainly in urban areas, especially in very large metropolitan cities. Most Panamanian immigrants are set in New England or on the Gulf Coast or Pacific Coast or in middle Atlantic or Great Lakes areas. While, New York City contains the largest urban population of Panamanians. Also there an important number of Panamanians settled in Florida and California.

In contrast to other Hispanic nationalities, Panamanians are heavily concentrated in Army base cities. These cities include Fayetteville, NC - Fort Bragg, Killeen, TX - Fort Hood, Columbus, GA - Fort Stewart, Colorado Springs, CO - Fort Carson, Clarksville, TN - Fort Campbell, El Paso, TX - Fort Bliss and in the vicinity of Fort Dix in New Jersey. Cities home to Navy and Air Force bases also lay claim to a concentration of Panamanians. These include San Antonio, Hampton Roads, Jacksonville, San Diego and Tampa.

Race and ethnicity

More than other Hispanic groups, a significant percentage of Panamanian Americans are black, with the remaining being of mixed race.[2] Although most Panamanian Americans speak Spanish, the group tends to identify itself more with English-speaking West Indian groups rather than with other Hispanic groups.

This tendency is most prevalent among black Panamanian Americans, which may be due to large Trinidadian, Jamaican and Barbadian immigration, which occurred during the early 1900s, many of them retained their West Indian culture. Most Panamanians, along with Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Colombians and Venezuelans have higher percentages of African descent than other Hispanic groups.

States

The 10 states with the largest population of Panamanians (Source: 2010 Census):

  1. Florida - 28,741
  2. New York - 28,200
  3. California - 17,768
  4. Texas - 13,994
  5. Georgia - 8,678
  6. Virginia - 7,180
  7. North Carolina - 5,708
  8. New Jersey - 5,431
  9. Maryland - 5,341
  10. Pennsylvania - 3,234

Areas

The largest population of Panamanians are situated in the following areas (Source: Census 2010):

  1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 29,619
  2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL MSA - 13,529
  3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA - 7,322
  4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA - 6,353
  5. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA - 5,599
  6. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA - 4,234
  7. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA - 3,772
  8. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 3,350
  9. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 3,162
  10. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - 2,841
  11. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA - 2,663
  12. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA - 2,658
  13. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA - 2,556
  14. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 2,384
  15. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - 2,300
  16. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA - 2,144
  17. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA - 2,002
  18. Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA - 1,877
  19. Fayetteville, NC MSA - 1,788
  20. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - 1,749

US communities with largest population of people of Panamanians ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest populations of Panamanian (Source: Census 2010)

  1. New York City - 22,353
  2. Los Angeles - 2,131
  3. San Antonio, TX - 1,602
  4. Jacksonville, FL - 1,165
  5. Fayetteville, NC - 1,154
  6. Miami, FL - 1,113
  7. Houston, TX - 1,076
  8. San Diego, CA - 1,018
  9. Killeen, TX - 998
  10. Chicago, IL - 883
  11. Washington, DC - 742
  12. Boston, MA # Hillcrest Heights, FL - 1.57%
  13. Pemberton Heights, NJ - 1.40%
  14. Indian Creek, FL - 4.65%
  15. Lisbon, FL - 1.92%

Panamanians are more than 1% of the entire population in only four communities in the US, none of which has a significant population. As a result, Panamanians are one of the least visible Hispanic nationalities in the US.

US communities with high percentages of people of Panamanian ancestry

US communities with the highest percentages of Panamanians as a percent of total population (Source: Census 2010)

  1. Virginia Beach, VA - 702
  2. Miramar, FL - 700
  3. Columbus, GA - 696
  4. Pembroke Pines, FL - 676
  5. Tampa, FL - 656
  6. Colorado Springs, CO - 642
  7. Newport News, VA - 615
  8. Charlotte, NC - 608
  9. Austin, TX - 607
  10. Orlando, FL - 596
  11. Clarksville, TN - 588
  12. El Paso, TX - 551
  13. Dallas, TX - 458
  14. Philadelphia, PA - 737

Notable people
Jordana Brewster, actress
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References
  1. "B03001 HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY SPECIFIC ORIGIN - United States - 2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. July 1, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  2. http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Panamanian-Americans.html#ixzz1Sjls52oF Panamanian American. A Countries and Their Cultures: Panamanian American, by Rosetta Sharp Dean . Retrieved July 24, 2011, to 22:40 pm.
  3. Kane, Rebecca (1998-07-19). "What is Jeff's Ethnic Background?". jeffbuckley.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  4. allmusic Billy Cobham Biography
  5. Hollywood Hulk Hogan By Hulk Hogan
  6. Dominguez F., Jose Miguel (2010-06-02). "Entrenamiento. Demitrius Omphroy quiere entrar en la sub-21". PA-Digital.com (in Spanish). Panama America. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  7. "Raising the Bar: J. August Richards". TNT. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-18.

Further reading
  • Dean, Rosetta Sharp. "Panamanian Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 3, Gale, 2014), pp. 449-457. online
  • Dolan, Edward F. Panama and the United States: Their Canal, Their Stormy Years (1990).
  • Mejía, Germán. The United States Discovers Panama: The Writings of Soldiers, Scholars, Scientists, and Scoundrels, 1850-1905 (2004).
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