Costa Rican American - Demography and Assimilation

Demography and Assimilation

The most of Costa Ricans that live in United States live in California, Florida, Texas, and the New York City / New Jersey area. The areas with the largest Costa Rican populations, in according to the latter reports, are: Los Angeles and its surrounding areas (23,625), New York City area (including parts of Connecticut, New Jersey, and Long Island (12,985)), Miami and surrounding areas (in the Hialeah) and in Fort Lauderdale) (9,987) and in the Houston and Galveston area of Texas (2,534). There is also a significant Costa Rican American population in the Chicago, Illinois, and Gary, Indiana, areas (1,845). The geographical preferences of Costa Ricans become evident in the statistics from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as consistent with the findings of the 1990 census.

Costa Ricans tend to either blend in the English-speaking population or form working and friendly relationships with other Hispanics, celebrating with them when the occasion arises. Most of Costa Rican Americans maintain their heritage, but they also tend to integrate and adjust to their environment quickly, especially if they want to join a church or if they have children in the public school system. If both parents speak Spanish, chances are that the children will be raised bilingually. However, if only one parent speaks Spanish, the children will usually grow up speaking only English. Since Costa Ricans did not suffer ethnic persecution during the colonial period, nor did they have a violent war of independence, they are not as self-conscious about their ethnicity as other Hispanic groups. Therefore, they usually acculturate and assimilate rather rapidly.