Russian American - Demographics

Demographics

The Russian American population is reported to be 3.13 million.

Many Russian Americans do not speak Russian, having been born in the USA and brought up in English-speaking homes. In 2007, however, Russian was the primary spoken language of 851,174 Americans at home, according to the U.S. Census. According to the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard, 750,000 Russian Americans were ethnic Russians in 1990.

The New York City metropolitan area continues to be by far the leading metropolitan gateway for Russian immigrants legally admitted into the United States.

Sometimes Carpatho-Rusyns and Ukrainians who emigrated from Carpathian Ruthenia in the 19th century and the beginning of 20th century identify as Russian Americans. More recent emigres would often refer to this group as the 'starozhili', which translates to mean "old residents". This group became the pillar of the Russian Orthodox Church in America. Today, most of this group has become assimilated into the local society, with ethnic traditions continuing to survive primarily around the church.