Samoan American

Samoan American

Samoan Americans are American citizens of Samoan origin, including those who migrated from the Independent State of Samoa and America Samoa to the United States. Samoan Americans are considered Pacific Islanders in the United States Census, and are the second largest Pacific Islander group in the U.S., after Native Hawaiians.

America Samoa has been an unincorporated territory of the United States since 1900, and Samoa, officially known as the Independent State of Samoa, is an independent nation that gained its independence from New Zealand in 1962. America Samoa and Samoa are both what make up the Samoan Islands, an archipelago that covers 1,170 sq mi (3,030 km2). Like Hawaiian Americans, the Samoans arrived in the mainland in the 20th century as agricultural laborers and factory workers.

There are more than 180,000 people of Samoan descent living stateside, which is roughly the population of the Independent State of Samoa, which had an estimated population of 179,000 in 2009. Honolulu, Hawaii has the largest Samoan population, while Long Beach, California has the largest Samoan population in the mainland United States, where people of Samoan ancestry make up one percent of the city's population, or 4,513 people, as of 2010. There are also significant Samoan communities throughout the state of California, and in Washington, Utah, and Alaska.