OCTOBER 2009 Italian Americans Every year the president of the United States signs an executive order designating the month of October as National Italian American Heritage Month, in recognition of the many achievements and contributions made to American culture by persons of Italian heritage. Help DiversityCentral.com celebrate this rapidly growing population by reading the statistics below! Population About 15.7 million people identified as Italian American in the 2000 Census. However, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 1 out of 10 Americans has some Italian heritage, bringing the total number of Americans of Italian descent to approximately 26 million. Italian Americans are the fifth largest ethnic group in the United States after German, Irish, English and African Americans. State Distribution Italian Americans either make up 15 percent of the population or number more than 1 million in the following states: California (1,500,000), Connecticut (650,000), Massachusetts (845,000), New Jersey (1,500,000), New York (2,900,000), Pennsylvania (1,400,000), and Rhode Island (200,000). Italian Americans are also found in significant numbers in 15 other states, including Florida (800,000); Illinois (730,000), Ohio (640,000); Michigan (412,000); Texas (314,000) and Maryland (253,000). Language Italian is the fifth most spoken language in the United States. It is also the fourth most commonly taught foreign language in colleges and iniversities in the United States behind Spanish, French and German. Education Approximately 48 percent of Italian Americans have either a high school or college diploma compared to 44 percent of the general population. Workforce About 66 percent of Italian Americans in the workforce are in white-collar positions. Italian-Americans in World War II During World War II, an estimated 1.2 million Americans of Italian descent served in the United States military, constituting one of the largest segments of the US combat forces of about 12 million. However, elderly Italian mothers and fathers were not allowed to visit sons in the United States armed forces, who were assigned military installations. The government classified more than 600,000 Italians living in the United States as "internal enemies" shortly after the United States declared war on Italy in 1941. The Army forced more than a hundred U.S. citizens of Italian birth to relocate from the east and west coasts and the Gulf of Mexico to "safe" inland zones. The Immigration and Naturalization Services held nearly 3,300 Italians in internment camps for varying lengths of time during the war. SOURCE: http://www.niaf.org/research/contribution.asp#demographic http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f18/italian-american-statistics-1501.html http://www.osia.org/public/newsroom/pr10_03_03.asp Disclaimer: Although we try to use the most credible sources, we are not responsible for any incorrect findings. Read more: September Statistics - Hispanic Americans August Statistics - Mixed-Race Americans July Statistics - Asian Indian Americans June Statistics - Caribbean Americans May Statistics - Asian/Pacific Americans in the U.S. "Census changes reflect diversity" By Elizabeth MacGillivray "Cultural insights: Everyone judges from experience" By Craig Storti Want more statistics on a variety of topics? Find more in the Cultural Diversity at Work Archive or the Diversity Statistics page

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