Stateside Virgin Islanders are Virgin Islanders who live in the U.S. states. Virgin Islanders are West Indian people born in (or from) the U.S Virgin Islands or the

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

. The U.S Virgin Islands are an unincorporated territory of the United States. Individuals born in the U.S. Virgin Islands on or after January 17, 1917 are U.S. citizens. As a result, U.S. Virgin Islanders and do not go through the legal immigration procedures that most other West Indian immigrants would. However, the British Virgin Islands are a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

. As a result, British Virgin Islanders are required to go through legal immigration procedures when entering the United States.

Demographics

Stateside Virgin Islanders include those with ancestry from both the U.S Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands. Many Stateside Virgin Islanders concentrate in areas with large West Indian communities, such as in New York, Florida, and Georgia.

Population by state

Relative to the population of each state

U.S. communities with Virgin Islands populations (2020 census)

# New York City, NY - 935 #

Orlando, FL Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

- 248 #

Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

- 132 # Houston, TX - 116 #

Boston, MA Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

- 93 # Tampa, FL - 86 #

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, At ...

- 82 # Miramar, FL - 78 #

Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

- 73 #

Charlotte, NC Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

- 73 # Baytown, TX - 68 # Poinciana, FL - 65 # Los Angeles, CA - 64 # Sunrise, FL - 59 # Miami Gardens, FL - 58 # Killeen, TX - 56 # Raleigh, NC - 56 # Virginia Beach, VA - 52 # Durham, NC - 52 # Port St. Lucie, FL - 48 # Pembroke Pines, FL - 47 # Baltimore, MD - 41 # Coral Springs, FL - 40 # Hollywood, FL - 40 # North Lauderdale, FL - 39 # Kissimmee, FL - 37 # South Fulton, GA - 38 #

Austin, TX Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

- 34 # Hartford, CT - 33 #

Apopka, FL Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 54,873 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Sem ...

- 33 # St. Cloud, FL - 33 # Worcester, MA - 32 # Miami, FL - 30 # Altamonte Springs, FL - 30 # Meadow Woods, FL - 29 # Norfolk, VA - 28 # San Diego, CA - 28 # Missouri City, TX - 27 # New Haven, CT - 27 # Pompano Beach, FL - 26 # Sandy Springs, GA - 26 # Buenaventura Lakes, FL - 26 # Daytona Beach, FL - 25 # Providence, RI - 24 # Union City, GA - 24 # Reading, PA - 23 # Homestead, FL - 23 # Marietta, GA - 22 # Atascocita, TX - 22 # Loganville, GA - 22 # Allentown, PA - 22

New York

File:Welcome Back Kotter Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs 1976.jpg, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs File:Sonny Rollins 2011.jpg,

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

File:Rep. Stacey E. Plaskett (VI).jpg, Stacey Plaskett File:Kenneth Ezra Mapp.png, Kenneth Mapp File:Stephen A. Smith February 2020.jpg, Stephen A. Smith During the 1920s, a large influx of Virgin Islanders migrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in search of jobs and economic opportunities. In 1925, the population of native islanders in the city was 8,000 alone. However, while living in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, Virgin Islanders encountered deeper racial tensions than what was felt on the islands. This led to the Harlem Renaissance, in which Casper Holstein, Hubert Harrison, Ashley Totten and Frank Crosswaith joined other Caribbean migrants to advocate for equal rights in their community. New York City is historically known to be the first stop city for Virgin Islanders, and remains so today. It is also the birthplace of recent elected officials in USVI, such as former Governor Kenneth Mapp and Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett, who are both descendants of Crucian parents. The 2020 census estimated that 1,281 Virgin Islanders resided in New York state.

Florida

According to the 2020 census, Florida has the highest population of Virgin Islanders in any state throughout the country. New York and Georgia rank second and third. Recent data have shown Orange County particularly Metro Orlando (248), Pine Hills (189), Oak Ridge (27), and Apopka (33) to be the most settled region for Virgin Islanders not only in Florida but the entire United States. Other regions with a large Virgin Islander population include Ft. Lauderdale and

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. Many high school students from the Virgin Islands have attended Bethune–Cookman University in Daytona Beach, and many carnival troupes take part in the Orlando Carnival activities each May.

Notable people

Actors

* Wayne Brady (born 1972), actor; born in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

* Lisa Canning (born 1966), television actress; born on St. Thomas *

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...

(born 1955), actor; born on St. Thomas * Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (born 1953), actor; born in

* Jasmin St. Claire (born 1972), adult film actress; born in Christiansted, St. Croix * Karrine Steffans (born 1978), ''New York Times'' bestselling author, former

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

music video performer, actress; born on St. Thomas

Artists

* Fraser Kershaw, philanthropist, film artist

Athletes

* Raja Bell (born 1976), basketball player; born on St. Croix * Tombi Bell (born 1979), basketball player, who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA; born on St. Croix * Aliyah Boston (born 2001), basketball player currently with the Indiana Fever of the WNBA; born on St. Thomas * Joe Christopher (born 1935), the first Virgin Islander to play in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

; born in Frederiksted, St. Croix * Midre Cummings (born 1971), baseball player; born on St. Croix * Tim Duncan (born 1976),

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

basketball player who spent his entire NBA career with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

; born in Christiansted, St. Croix * Emile Griffith (1938–2013), boxer; born on St. Thomas * Elrod Hendricks (1940–2005), Major League Baseball player and coach; born in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas * Julian Jackson (born 1960), boxer; born on St. Thomas * Calvin Pickering (born 1976), baseball player; born on St. Thomas * Sugar Ray Seales (born 1952), 1972 Olympic gold medalist (139 lbs.) boxer; born on St. Croix

Musicians

* Alton Adams (1889–1987), musician, first black bandmaster in the United States Navy; born in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas * Bennie Benjamin (1907–1989), composer, songwriter, philanthropist; born in Christiansted, St. Croix * Jon Lucien, jazz musician; born on

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

, raised on St. Thomas * Rock City, a musical duo of composed brothers Timothy and Theron Thomas, born on St. Thomas *

, jazz musician; born in New York, of St. Thomas (mother) and St. Croix (father) descent

Political leaders

* Judah P. Benjamin (1811–1884), Secretary of the Treasury, Confederate States of America; born in Christiansted, St. Croix * Frank Rudolph Crosswaith (1892–1965), socialist and labor leader; born in Frederiksted, St. Croix *

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

(1755–1804), first

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

, an American "Founding Father", economist, and political philosopher; born in Nevis, raised on St. Croix * Hubert Henry Harrison (1883–1927), orator, political activist; born in St. Croix * Elizabeth Anna Hendrickson (1884–1946), civil rights leader; born in St. Croix * Casper Holstein (born 1888), humanitarian; born in St. Croix * Roy Innis (born 1934), African-American activist, civil rights leader; born in St. Croix * J. Raymond Jones (1899–1991), political leader, humanitarian; born in St. Thomas * John de Jongh (born 1957), past governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, former financial executive; born in St. Thomas * William Leidesdorff (1810–1848), entrepreneur; born in St. Croix * Ruby Margaret Rouss (1921–1988) first black woman to be elected to preside over a state legislature; born in St. Croix * Terence Todman (born 1926), ambassador; born in the U.S. Virgin Islands * Denmark Vesey (1767–1822), slave revolt leader; born on St. Thomas * David Levy Yulee (1810–1886), U.S. Senator; born on St. Thomas

Writers and intellectuals

* Barbara Christian (1943–2000), educator, feminist critic; born on St. Thomas * Cadwell Turnbull (born 1987), writer; grew up in St. Thomas, parents from St. Thomas

News media personalities

* Candace Owens (born 1989), conservative news commentator, Turning Point USA co-founder, YouTube personality; grandmother from St. Thomas

References

{{West Indian American Caribbean diaspora in the United States *Main *Main