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Guatemalan Americans ( es, guatemalteco-americanos, links=no, or ) are
Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Am ...
of full or partial Guatemalan descent. The Guatemalan American population at the 2010 Census was 1,044,209. Guatemalans are the sixth largest Hispanic group in the United States and the second largest Central American population after Salvadorans. Half of the Guatemalan population is situated in two parts of the country, the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...
and
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
. The states with the largest Guatemalan population are
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...
(29%),
Florida Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...
(8%) and
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
(7%).


History of Guatemalans in the United States

Guatemalans have migrated to the US since the 1930s and 1940s. Along with other Central Americans they first arrived by way of Mexico and settled in urban areas like
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
,
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean ...
, Washington, D.C. and
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
. The largest influx of Guatemalans into the United States, however, occurred starting in the 1970s and 1980s, peaking in the 1990s due to the
Guatemalan Civil War The Guatemalan Civil War was a civil war in Guatemala fought from 1960 to 1996 between the government of Guatemala and various leftist rebel groups. The government forces have been condemned for committing genocide against the Maya population ...
. Tens of thousands of Guatemalan
refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
s moved into the United States via Mexico; these refugees were both documented and undocumented. The Guatemalan Civil War ended in 1996. After September 11, 2001, new laws were enacted in Mexico limiting immigration visas and introduced other measures on the southern Mexican border through ''Plan Sur'', a binational treaty with the Guatemalan government. There were 430,000 undocumented Guatemalans by 2008. 71% of Guatemalan immigrants are undocumented.


Immigration

During the 1950s, there were 45,000 documented immigrants from Central America. In the 1960s, this number more than doubled to 100,000. In the decade after, it increased to 134,000. 26,000 of these immigrants were Guatemalan. Following the 1950s, Guatemala had been full of unrest with military wars, civil wars, and a thirty six year long guerrilla war. These wars have produced over 200,000 deaths as well as the displacement of nearly one million
refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
s. In 1996, the Guatemalan government signed a peace accord. Thus, ending the war; however, the war did not end for many Guatemalans who had to live alongside those who inflicted violence throughout their country. During the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
, many Guatemalans immigrated to the United States due to the lack of stability from US intervention. Consequently, many Guatemalans received Temporary Protected Status during that time period. These same Guatemalans lost that status following the war's completion. Migration from Central America had always been below 50,000. However, in 1970, the census had counted 113,913 Central American immigrants. 17,536 of those immigrants were of Guatemalan descent. This was a dramatic increase from the 5,381 count from the decade prior. The 1970s was when the United States experienced a high increase of Guatemalans. According to the 1970 census, there were 17,356 Guatemalans. This is a stark increase considering that there were only 5,381 Guatemalans when the 1960 census was taken. Immigration to the United States from Guatemala truly increased in 1977 with a total of 3,599. This was an 82% increase since the year prior. At large, this can be accounted for the lack of stability within Guatemala's agricultural economy. For many Guatemalans, the agricultural economy was the job market for those impoverished. This market was not enough to sustain Guatemalans at the time. The unemployment rate was 25% and the poverty rate was at 84% In the 1970s, Guatemala experienced a culmination of factors that decreased their ability to uplift themselves from poverty. The infant mortality rate of from 1970–1973 in Guatemala was around 82%. These circumstances included an increasing unemployment rate as well as decreasing wages and opportunities in the rural sector. In 1976, they experienced an earthquake that left many homeless. These factors combined with the general violence caused many Guatemalans to look toward internal, intraregional, and international migration throughout the 1970s and 1980s. When fleeing conflict, many Guatemalans sought refuge in
Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Gua ...
. For many, Mexico was just another check point within their journeys. In 1982, Mexico experienced economic crisis which had made it difficult for many Guatemalans to sustain themselves. This helps explain the increase of Guatemalans entering the United States throughout the 1980s. Many indigenous Guatemalan workers, in Mexico, were recruited to work with companies within the United States. Many of these workers were already workers at Central American assembly plants. Therefore, the skills were transferable to plants in the US. As a result, many moved to Los Angeles during the 1970s. Unemployment increased from 25% in the 1970s to over 40% in the 1980s. Rural poverty was at 84% and urban poverty was at 47%. This was difficult for many impoverished Guatemalans because many were reliant on the agricultural economy as their job market. During the 1980s were many revolutions led by the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG), the Guatemalan government responded with military action- which largely included
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lati ...
of 150,000 civilians during 1981 to 1983. Ultimately, this formed a ripple effect which called for displacement and migration to both Mexico and the United States for many Guatemalans and
Mayas The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical r ...
. Mass migration from Guatemala occurred during the 1980s; as a result, changing the relationship with the United States. This time period Guatemala was experiencing high levels of poverty along with social and political unrest. Guatemalans sought refuge during the 1980s due to civil war and economic devastation. However, at the time, they were not granted asylum. Despite, this female asylees have been able to receive asylum since then.
Femicide Femicide or feminicide is a hate crime which is broadly defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female," but definitions of it vary depending on cultural context. In 1976, the feminist author Diana E. H. Russel ...
has become more prevalent in Guatemala. In this manner, many United States courts have been granting asylum due to the increase in femicide in Guatemala. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was passed in the United States in the year of 1986. Following IRCA, most documented Guatemalan Americans were able to receive legal admission through the petitioning of family members already in the United States. Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) disadvantaged incoming Guatemalan immigrants because it allowed for documentation to those who entered prior to 1982; however, Guatemalan immigration largely took part following 1982. In 1997, immigration was further limited for Guatemalans through the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act. This act allowed Central American asylees to be documented in the United States but called for deportation for those undocumented. At the time, many of those people were Guatemalan Americans. Deportation of undocumented immigrants have consequences of socioeconomic mobility within Guatemala. Households in Guatemala that receive money from Guatemalans in the United States are able to pull themselves into a better economic standing. Whereas, households who lose that money receive downward mobility.


Literature in the U.S.

According to Rodriguez, the main themes of Central American literature in the United States are: war, violence, criminality, solidarity, migration, ethnicity, and the construction of identity. Maya Chinchilla is a Guatemalan poet of mixed US, German and Guatemalan heritages. In her poem "Central Americanamerican" she "diffracts the construction of Central American identity beyond a geographic notion and along the multiple coordinates of migrations, generations, heritages, languages, ethnicities, races, sexualities, cultures, and discourses magnified in the Central American diasporas." Novels like ''The Tattooed Soldier'' by
Héctor Tobar Héctor Tobar (born 1963, Los Angeles) is a Los Angeles author and journalist, whose work examines the evolving and interdependent relationship between Latin America and the United States. Life Tobar is the son of Guatemalan immigrants. His long ...
display the cultural significance of Central American identity within US multiculturalism.


Culture


Guatemalan Mayas and Hispanics

Guatemalan Americans are a very culturally diverse group of people, included about 23 distinct ethnic groups, whose languages are different, although maintain unique cultural traditions. The groups are, in majority,
Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...
. The Ladino are a different group that speak
Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...
and have the Spanish culture. So, Guatemalan Americans are a multicultural community. This reason is why the assimilation processes, traditional beliefs, and customs vary differently between groups. Most Ladino Guatemalans living in the United States come from Jutiapa, Guatemala City, and Chiquimula. The majority of Ladinos from Jutiapa and Chiquimula live in the northeast, in states such as New Jersey and Massachusetts. Immigrant Maya American communities have preserved their ethnic customs. The Guatemalans of European descent (most of Spanish ancestries) often mixed with other US Hispanic groups. However, it is unknown the transmission of cultural traditions Guatemalans of immigrants to their descendants by lack of studies, not knowing anything about their descendants. Some traditions have remained in most neighborhoods of Guatemalan immigrants, especially in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
and southern
Florida Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...
, sections in that the Guatemalan traditions are being transformed, and lost due to American acculturation. Some Guatemalan traditions are the celebration of Quinceañeras, the formation of soccer leagues, and the Organization de las Fiestas de la Patronal (Organization of Patronal Parties). There are over one million Maya Natives in the United States- largely from both Mexico and Guatemala. Despite this, the United States fails to recognize Maya Natives as refugees from Guatemala despite the political and social conditions that produce the need for immigration. Mayas are at the bottom of the social stratum in Guatemala. This can be accounted by racism within Guatemalan along with the vulnerability that is produced during migration to the United States through Mexico.


Religion

Due largely to influences such as Spanish colonization and U.S. business involvement in Central America, the indigenous religions of Guatemala have mixed to create a hybrid spirituality and emergent "spiritual forms, practices, and communities as these intersect with other aspects of Hispanic/a identity, such as ethnicity, race, gender and sexuality." The difference with Guatemalans in the US from other Hispanics is that a large percentage of Guatemalans are
Evangelical Protestant Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual exper ...
s. Guatemala had seen a rise of
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual exper ...
churches in the late 20th century, although the majority of Guatemalans are
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. According to the national census in 2006, Protestants constituted about 30% of the population in
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, the majority are from rural indigenous communities. Guatemalan-Americans are a contributor to the rise of Hispanic Protestants in the USA during the 2000s.


Socioeconomic mobility

Compared to the U.S.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...
population and U.S. population in total, Guatemalans are found to have significantly lower levels of
educational attainment Educational attainment is a term commonly used by statisticians to refer to the highest degree of education an individual has completed as defined by the US Census Bureau Glossary. See also *Academic achievement *Academic degree *Bachelor's degree ...
across the population. They are less likely than U.S. born citizens to earn a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
, with only 9% of Guatemalans age 25 or older having received one in 2013. Despite this, studies demonstrate that Guatemalan Americans have one of the highest levels of participation within the work force. 31% of those Guatemalan Americans work within the
service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the secon ...
.


Demographics

Half of the Guatemalan population is situated in two parts of the country, the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...
and
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
. A combined population of 267,335 resides in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, Orange, Riverside,
San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...
, and
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
counties. There is also a Guatemalan community in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
. The
Northeast megalopolis The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, or BosWash, is the world's largest megalopolis in terms of economic output and the second most populous megalopolis in the United Sta ...
, extending from
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
to north of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- m ...
, is home to a population of 257,729 Guatemalans. Cities such as Langley Park, Trenton, Stamford, Providence and Lynn have significant concentrations of Guatemalans along the corridor.


Distribution by state


Cities (metro areas) with the largest Guatemalan populations

The largest population of Guatemalans are situated in the following areas (Source: Census 2010): # Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA - 231,304 # New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 101,257 # Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA - 52,421 # Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA - 47,699 # Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 38,147 # San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 37,700 # Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - 33,573 # Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA - 28,726 # Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - 27,571 # Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA - 22,241 # Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA MSA - 21,540 # Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 14,978 # Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT MSA - 12,754 # Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA - 12,548 #
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ MSA The Phoenix Metropolitan Area – also the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, or Metro Phoenix (known by most locals simply as “the Valley”) – is the largest United States metropolitan area, metropolitan area in the Southwestern Uni ...
- 11,702 # Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA - 10,460 #
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Va ...
- 8,114 # San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA - 7,305 # Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA - 6,512 # Port St. Lucie, FL MSA - 6,269


US communities with largest population of people of Guatemalan ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest populations of Guatemalans (Source: Census 2010) #
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
– 138,139 #
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
– 30,420 #
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
– 25,205 #
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
– 17,973 #
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
– 11,930 # Trenton, New Jersey – 8,691 #
Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...
– 7,707 #
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the onl ...
– 6,722 #
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
– 6,154 #
San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population ...
– 5,895 # Lynn, Massachusetts – 5,715 #
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the B ...
– 5,223 #
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...
– 5,134 # Langley Park, Maryland – 5,029 #
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- m ...
– 4,851 #
Lake Worth Beach, Florida Lake Worth Beach, previously named Lake Worth, is a city in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located about north of Miami. The city's name is derived from the body of water along its eastern border known as the Lake Worth ...
– 4,632 #
Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."
– 4,302 #
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...
– 4,256 #
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
– 4,238 #
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...
– 4,135 #
West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
– 3,897 #
Hawthorne, California Hawthorne is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city region commonly called the South Bay. As of the 2020 US census, Hawthorne had a population of 88,0 ...
– 3,669 #
Palmdale, California Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Au ...
– 3,618 #
Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...
– 3,593 #
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
– 3,592


US communities with high percentages of people of Guatemalan ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest percentages of Guatemalans as a percentage: # Marydel, Maryland - 42.55% #
Brewster, New York Brewster is a village and the principal settlement within the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York. Its population was 2,390 at the time of the 2010 census. The village, which is the most densely populated portion of the county, was nam ...
- 38.16% # Indiantown, Florida – 37.15% # Templeville, Maryland – 31.88% #
Georgetown, Delaware Georgetown is a town and the county seat of Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade. Georgetown is part of the Salisbury, Marylan ...
– 31.86% #
Chamblee, Georgia Chamblee ( ) is a city in northern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, northeast of Atlanta. The population was 30,164 as of the 2020 census. History The area that would later become Chamblee was originally dairy farms. During the late nine ...
– 30.89% # Henderson, Maryland – 29.45% # Langley Park, Maryland – 26.81% # Ellijay, Georgia – 19.39% #
Lake Worth Beach, Florida Lake Worth Beach, previously named Lake Worth, is a city in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located about north of Miami. The city's name is derived from the body of water along its eastern border known as the Lake Worth ...
– 18.66% # Collinsville, Alabama – 18.51% # East Ellijay, Georgia – 18.31% #
Mount Kisco, New York Mount Kisco is a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous with the village. The population was 10,959 at the 2020 United States census over 10,877 at the 2010 census. It serves as a ...
– 16.38% # Fairview, New Jersey – 15.84% # Schuyler, Nebraska – 13.99% #
Saluda, South Carolina Saluda is a town in Saluda County, South Carolina, United States, along the Little Saluda River. The population was 3,565 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Saluda County. Geography Saluda is located at (34.003131, -81.771691). Acco ...
– 13.74% #
Central Falls, Rhode Island Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,583 at the 2020 census. With an area of only , it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the 27th most densely ...
– 13.28% # Greenport, New York – 13.06% #
Carthage, Missouri Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jasper County and is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City." History Jasper County was formed in 1841. ...
– 12.80% #
Tice, Florida Tice is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 4,853. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ge ...
– 12.70% #
Stuart, Florida Stuart is a city in and the seat of Martin County, Florida, United States. Located on Florida's Treasure Coast, Stuart is the largest of four incorporated municipalities in Martin County. The population is 17,425 according to the 2020 United Sta ...
– 12.62% # Stacy Street, Florida – 12.59% # Modest Town, Virginia – 11.41% #
Trion, Georgia Trion is a town in Chattooga County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,960 at the 2020 census, down from 1,827 at the 2010 census. Trion is the second-largest incorporated community in Chattooga County, which has a population of appro ...
– 10.84% #
Monterey, Tennessee Monterey is a town in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,850 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cookeville, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Monterey is rooted in a settlement that developed around ...
– 10.77%


Notable people

* Luis E. Arreaga – American diplomat and United States Ambassador in Guatemala and
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
. *
Luis von Ahn Luis von Ahn (; born 19 August 1978) is a German-Guatemalan entrepreneur and a consulting professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is known as one of the pioneers of crowdsourc ...
– Entrepreneur and an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at
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* Aston Matthews – American hip hop artist from Los Angeles, California. * Luis Beza – American trumpet player for third-wave ska band
Suburban Legends Suburban Legends are an American ska punk band that formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1998 and later based themselves in nearby Santa Ana. After building a fanbase in the Orange County ska scene through their numerous regular perform ...
. * David Campos – Guatemalan-American attorney and member of the
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representing
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. * René Corado – Guatemalan-American ornithologist and writer. * David Estrada – of Guatemalan descent. * Francisco Goldman – American novelist, journalist, and Allen K. Smith Professor of Literature and Creative Writing. He is son of a
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
n Catholic mother and
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father. *
Ted Hendricks Theodore Paul Hendricks (born November 1, 1947), nicknamed "the Mad Stork", is a former professional football player who played as an outside linebacker for 15 seasons with the Baltimore Colts, Green Bay Packers, and the Oakland/Los Angeles R ...
– Guatemalan born, former
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who logged 15 seasons for the
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(1969–73), the
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(1974) and the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders (1975–83) in the
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. *
Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor. Known for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his gen ...
– Guatemalan born American raised actor and singer. * Ed Lopez – American Republican Party activist and National Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus. He is of Guatemalan descent. *
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– Grammy winning mixing engineer. Guatemalan born, his family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine due to the
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. * Benito Martinez – American actor most known for his role as police captain (later city councilman) David Aceveda in the television series ''
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'' * Rubio Rubin – American soccer player of Guatemalan and Mexican descent. *
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– American hip hop record producer of Dominican and Guatemalan descent. *
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– American record producer, songwriter, musician and singer * Bridget Powers – American hardcore pornographic actress. * Tony Revolori –Guatemalan American actor ( Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home) * Pam Rodriguez – American glamour model of Guatemalan and Puerto Rican descent. * Devorah Rose – Guatemalan/
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n American socialite * Juana Samayoa – Guatemalan-American actress and television presenter. * Gadi Schwartz – NBC News Correspondent * Willie Sims – Guatemalan born, American raised footballer * Ryan Spilborghs – American professional
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in the Texas Rangers organization. *
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– Los Angeles author and journalist. * Norma Torres – Politician. She is Guatemalan born but American raised. * David Unger – Guatemalan-American author and translator. *
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– American actress (''
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'', '' One Tree Hill'' and ''
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''). Her father was originally from
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
. * Anthony Gonzalez – American actor. * Ricky Duran – Guatemalan-American recording artist. Runner-up of season 17 of the American talent competition The Voice.


See also

* Guatemala–United States relations * History of Central Americans in Los Angeles


References


Sources

*


Further reading

* Ashabranner, Brent. ''Children of the Maya: A Guatemalan Indian Odyssey'' (1986). * Burns, Allan. ''Maya in Exile: Guatemalans in Florida'' (Temple UP, 1993). * Calvert, Peter. ''Guatemala: A Nation in Turmoil'' (1985). * Chinchilla, Norma S., and Nora Hamilton, eds. ''Seeking Community in a Global City: Guatemalans and Salvadorans in Los Angeles'' (Temple UP, 2001). * Hagan, Jacqueline Maria. ''Deciding to Be Legal: A Maya Community in Houston'' (Temple UP, 1994). * * Loucky, James, and Marilyn Moors, eds. ''Maya Diaspora: Guatemalan Roots, New American Lives'' (Temple UP 2000). * * {{Hispanics/Latinos Hispanic and Latino American