Chilean American

A Chilean American is an American of Chilean descent.

The Chilean population at the 2010 US Census was 126,810. In the United States, Chileans are the fourth smallest Hispanic group from South America and the fifth smallest overall amongst all Hispanic groups. Chilean Americans live mainly in South Florida, Los Angeles County, and in the New York Metropolitan Area, with populations found mainly in Queens, Nassau County, NY, and Northern New Jersey. A smaller population of Chilean Americans can also be found in the Washington Metropolitan Area, mostly in Montgomery County, MD.

Most Chileans who come to the United States settle in or around cities. They come from a highly urbanized country and find it compatible to settle in a metropolitan area. Cities provide the jobs they need and the opportunity to interact with other Chileans. They especially gravitate toward California, New York, and Florida because of the large Spanish-speaking population in these areas. Other states with larger number of Chileans include New Jersey and Texas. Many Chileans have also settled in North American neighbor Canada, especially in the cosmopolitan centers of Toronto and French speaking Montreal. During the Pinochet regime the Canadian government allowed them special entry visas for humanitarian reasons. In recent history, it is for economic or academic rather than political reasons that Chileans emigrate.