Demographics
The U.S. Census Bureau in 2010 estimated that there were 363,699 U.S. residents of Pakistani descent living in the United States. The Census Bureau, however, excluded those living in institutions, college dormitories, and other group quarters. Some studies estimate the size of the Pakistani community to be much higher and in 2005 research by the Pakistani embassy in the US found that the population numbered more than 700,000 people. The gap in numbers maybe a result of the U.S. census to count only Pakistani immigrants and exclude those born in the United States between Pakistani parents and those that are second/third generation Americans of Pakistani descent, another reason is that some surveys group Pakistanis with other Asians thereby distorting the true number. Pakistan is the 12th highest ranked source country for immigration into the United States.
The top 10 states of residence for the foreign-born of Pakistani origin, 2006 and top 10 metro areas of residence for the foreign-born of Pakistani origin, 2006. Out of a total population of 271,428:
| States and metro areas of residence | |||||||||||||
| State | % of US Pakistanis | Metropolitan area | % of US Pakistanis | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 22.1 | New York, NY-NJ | 25.1 | ||||||||||
| California | 13.1 | Houston-Brazoria, TX | 7.4 | ||||||||||
| Texas | 12.4 | Chicago-Gary-Lake, IL-IN | 7.4 | ||||||||||
| Illinois | 7.6 | Washington, DC-MD-VA | 6.3 | ||||||||||
| New Jersey | 7.2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Orange County, CA | 3.8 | ||||||||||
| Virginia | 5.3 | Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | 3.6 | ||||||||||
| Florida | 4.6 | Philadelphia, PA-NJ | 2.9 | ||||||||||
| Pennsylvania | 3.4 | San Francisco-Oakland-Vallejo, CA | 2.3 | ||||||||||
| Maryland | 2.8 | Detroit, MI | 2.1 | ||||||||||
| Michigan | 2.8 | Atlanta, GA | 1.8 | ||||||||||
| Other states | 18.8 | Other metropolitan areas | 37.3 | ||||||||||
| Total | 100 | Total | 100 | ||||||||||
50% of Pakistani Americans have origins in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. About 30% are Muhajirs and the rest are made up of other ethnic Groups from Pakistan, including Pashtuns, Balochis, Sindhis and Kashmiris. The most systematic study of the demography of Pakistanis in America is found in Prof. Adil Najam's book 'Portrait of a Giving Community', which estimates a total of around 500,000
Pakistanis in the United States hold the largest concentrations in the states of New York and New Jersey, each with around 100,000 Pakistani-Americans.
Read more about this topic: Pakistani-Americans