Ukrainian Americans ( uk, Українські американці, Ukrayins'ki amerykantsi) are
Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...
who are of
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent representing 0.3% of the American population.
The Ukrainian population of the United States is thus the second largest outside the former
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
; only
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
has a larger
Ukrainian community under this definition. According to the 2000 U.S. census, the
metropolitan areas
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
with the largest numbers of Ukrainian Americans are:
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 ...
with 160,000;
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
with 60,000;
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
with 46,000;
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
with 45,000;
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
with 36,000;
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
with 26,000; and
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
with 19,000. In 2018, the number of Ukrainian Americans surpassed 1 million.
History
![Top of Rock Cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Top_of_Rock_Cropped.jpg)
The first Ukrainian immigrant to America, Ivan Bohdan, sailed with
John Smith to the
Jamestown colony in 1607. Bohdan met Captain Smith during the
Long Turkish War
The Long Turkish War or Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the Principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia. It was waged from 1593 to 1606 but in Europ ...
of 1593–1606 when the latter had fought the
Turks, was captured, and escaped captivity by fleeing through Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, and other countries. Large-scale Ukrainian immigration to America did not begin, however, until the 1880s.
From 1955 to 1965,
St. Andrew Memorial Church in
South Bound Brook, New Jersey
South Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,563,[Holodomor
The Holodomor ( uk, Голодомо́р, Holodomor, ; derived from uk, морити голодом, lit=to kill by starvation, translit=moryty holodom, label=none), also known as the Terror-Famine or the Great Famine, was a man-made famin ...]
of 1932–1933.
The largest wave of Ukrainians came in the early 1990s, after the 1991
fall of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
. A large number of those emigrating from Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union were
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
or
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 ...
. Many Ukrainians of the newest immigration wave settled in large cities and regional centers, forming
ethnic enclave
In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
s. In addition, many Ukrainian Americans arrived by way of Canada, which has a larger
Ukrainian presence.
On September 11, 2001, 11 Ukrainian Americans perished at the
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
in
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 ...
during the
acts of mass terrorism committed on that day. All of their names were listed and commemorated by
Ukrinform
The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...
, the National News Agency of Ukraine, during the nineteenth anniversary of the attacks in 2020.
Ukrainian Americans living in
Northern New Jersey
North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...
and the remainder of the
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
have long been politically vocal about Ukrainian affairs, often traveling to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, to express their concerns.
In
Bloomingdale (
near Chicago) on September 21, 2015,
Filaret, the Ukrainian Orthodox
Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus'-Ukraine, consecrated the first North American monument to the
Revolution of Dignity
The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, 's "
Heavenly Hundred
Heavenly may refer to:
* Pertaining to Heaven
Music Bands
* Heavenly (British band), an English pop band
* Heavenly (French band), a French heavy metal band
Albums
* ''Heavenly'' (Johnny Mathis album), 1959
* ''Heavenly'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel a ...
".
In February 2022, the Pastor Right Reverend Mitred Archpriest Philip Weiner, the leader of St. Josaphat's
Ukrainian Catholic Church in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, said that there were more than 40,000 Ukrainians in the Rochester Metropolitan Area, which would make it one of the largest Ukrainian American communities in the country.
Demographics
![Orthodox Cathedral of St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Orthodox_Cathedral_of_St._Andrew_in_South_Bound_Brook.jpg)
As of the
2000 U.S. Census
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...
, there were 892,922 Americans of full or partial Ukrainian descent. The
New York City Metropolitan Area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
contains by far the largest Ukrainian community in the United States, due to historically receiving the highest number of Ukrainian immigrants.
The American states with the largest Ukrainian populations are as follows:
The total number of people born in Ukraine is more than 275,155 residents.
Ukrainian-born population
Ukrainian-born population in the US since 2010:
U.S. communities with high percentages of people of Ukrainian ancestry
The top 20 U.S. communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Ukrainian ancestry are:
#
Cass Township, Pennsylvania (
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Schuylkill County (, ; Pennsylvania Dutch: Schulkill Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the heart of Pennsylvania's Coal Region and is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the popula ...
) 14.30%
#
Belfield, North Dakota
Belfield is a city in Stark County, North Dakota, United States and only 15 minutes from Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Belfield's population was 996 at the 2020 census. Belfield was founded in 1883, and has seen many boom and busts in this o ...
13.60%
#
Gulich Township, Pennsylvania 12.70%
#
Gilberton, Pennsylvania
Gilberton is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States, four miles (7 km) west by south of Mahanoy City. Its population was 583 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 769 tabulated in 2010. Extensive deposits o ...
12.40%
#
Wilton, North Dakota
Wilton is a city in Burleigh and McLean counties in North Dakota, United States. It is part of the " Bismarck, ND Metropolitan Statistical Area" or " Bismarck-Mandan". The population was 718 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1899, Wilton was named ...
10.30%
#
Lumberland, New York
Lumberland is a town in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 2,468 at the 2010 census.
The Town of Lumberland is a rural community in the southwestern part of the county.
History
The town was formed in 1798 from the T ...
9.90%
#
Saint Clair, Pennsylvania
St. Clair is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north of Pottsville in the southern Coal Region. Extensive deposits of hard coal are present.
St. Clair is noted for manufacturing squibs, fuses and c ...
8.80%
#
Soap Lake, Washington
Soap Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, on the shores of Soap Lake. The population was 1,691 at the 2020 census.
History
Soap Lake was officially incorporated on June 9, 1919.
This came to a halt during the Depression when drought ...
8.10%
#
Frackville, Pennsylvania
Frackville is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States, incorporated in 1876. Today, the intersection of Interstate 81 and Pennsylvania State Route 61 is located near the borough, which is approximately northwest of Philadel ...
7.60%
#
Olyphant, Pennsylvania
Olyphant is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is northeast of downtown Scranton, on the Lackawanna River in the heart of the anthracite region of the state. Its main source of employment was the mining and shipping o ...
and
Norwegian Township, Pennsylvania
Norwegian Township is a township in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,167 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15.4 ...
7.00%
#
Houtzdale, Pennsylvania
Houtzdale is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 768 at the 2020 census.
History
Houtzdale is named after Dr. Daniel Houtz, the original owner of the town site. The town was built quickly in the late 1 ...
6.90%
#
Harmony Township, Pennsylvania (
Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Beaver County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,215. Its county seat is Beaver. The county was created on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny and Washington counties. It took ...
) and
Kerhonkson, New York
Kerhonkson is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 1,684 at the 2010 census.
The Kerhonkson CDP is an urban concentration that straddles the border of the town of Rochester and ...
6.70%
#
Baden, Pennsylvania
Baden is a borough in southeastern Beaver County, Pennsylvania, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,912 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Baden is the former site of Logstown, a significant Native America ...
and
McAdoo, Pennsylvania
McAdoo is a borough and coal town in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States, south of Hazleton and seven miles north of Tamaqua. McAdoo contains the picturesque Silver Brook Meadow. In the past, anthracite coal mining and a shirt factory, ...
5.90%
#
Branch Township, Pennsylvania and
Postville, Iowa
Postville is a village in Allamakee and Clayton counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It lies near the junction of four counties and at the intersection of U.S. Routes 18 and 52 and Iowa Highway 51, with airport facilities in the neighboring co ...
5.70%
#
Woodward Township, Pennsylvania (
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
Clearfield County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,562. The county seat is Clearfield, and the largest city is DuBois. The county was created in 1804 and later organized in 1822.
...
) and
Northampton, Pennsylvania
Northampton is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Its population was 10,395 as of the 2020 census. Northampton is located north of Allentown, northwest of Philadelphia, and west of New York City.
The borough is part of the Lehigh ...
5.60%
#
Warren, New York and
Independence, Ohio
Independence is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. It is a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,133.
Independence was originally called Center and was renamed in 1830.
Geography
Independence is located at .
Ac ...
5.50%
#
West Leechburg, Pennsylvania
West Leechburg is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Kiskiminetas River. The population was 1,294 at the 2010 census.
Geography
West Leechburg is located at (40.632129, -79.617137).
According to the United ...
5.40%
#
Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Incorporated in 1905 as a company town by the American Bridge Company, Ambridge is located 16 miles (25 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River. The population wa ...
,
Mount Carmel Township, Pennsylvania
Mount Carmel Township is a township located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erected in 1854, it was named after Mount Carmel in Israel and was formed from part of Coal Township. It contains the boroughs of Mount Carmel ...
, and
Parma, Ohio
Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern edge of Cleveland.
As of the 2020 census, its population was 81,146. Parma is the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio, the largest suburb in the state, and ...
5.30%
#
Ford City, Pennsylvania
Ford City is a borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States, northeast of Pittsburgh along the east bank of the Allegheny River and south of Kittanning, the county seat. The population of Ford City at the 2010 census was 2,991. An ...
5.20%
#
Bigler Township, Pennsylvania
Bigler Township is a township in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,242 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all land.
Communities
*Ames ...
and
Kline Township, Pennsylvania
Kline Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,473 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau, the ...
5.10%
#
Mayfield Heights, Ohio
Mayfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is an east-side suburb of Cleveland. The population was 18,827 at the 2010 census.
History
Mayfield Heights was initially built up as a streetcar suburb of Cleveland. It was ...
3.4%
U.S. communities with the highest percentage of residents born in Ukraine
Top 20 U.S. communities with the highest percentage of residents born in Ukraine are:
#
Delta Junction, AK 16.4%
#
Deltana, AK 8.4%
#
Hamtramck, MI
Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...
8.0%
#
West Hollywood, CA
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...
7.8%
#
Lumberland, NY 6.3%
#
Moses Lake North, WA 6.0%
#
Soap Lake, WA 6.0%
#
Postville, IA 5.9%
#
Warren, MI
Warren is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2020 Census places the city's population at 139,387, making Warren the largest city in Macomb County, the third largest city in Michigan, and Metro Detroit's largest suburb.
T ...
4.0%
#
Chicago, IL
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
4.0%
#
Webster, NY 4.8%
#
Peaceful Valley, WA 4.8%
#
Pikesville, MD 4.5%
#
Kerhonkson, NY 3.9%
#
North Highlands, CA 3.6%
#
Rancho Cordova, CA
Rancho Cordova is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States which was incorporated in 2003. It is part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area. The population was 64,776 at the 2010 census. In 2010 and 2019, Rancho Cordova was named ...
3.3%
#
Oak Park, MI 3.0%
#
Flying Hills, PA 3.2%
#
Waverly, NE 3.2%
#
Fair Lawn, NJ 3.1%
#
Buffalo Grove, IL
Buffalo Grove, officially the Village of Buffalo Grove, is a village in Lake and Cook County, Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of Downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 Census, Buffalo Grove has a population of 43,212. It tota ...
2.8%
#
Feasterville-Trevose, PA 2.6%
#
Smallwood, NY 2.5%
#
Solvay, NY 2.5%
#
North Port, FL 2.4%
#
Detroit, MI
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the ...
2.0%
Notable people
See also
*
European Americans
European Americans (also referred to as Euro-Americans) are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes people who are descended from the first European settlers in the United States as well as people who are descended from more recent Eu ...
*
Hyphenated American
In the United States, the term hyphenated American refers to the use of a hyphen (in some styles of writing) between the name of an ethnicity and the word "American" in compound nouns, e.g., as in "Irish-American". Calling a person a "hyphenated ...
*
The Ukrainian Museum
The Ukrainian Museum in New York City is the largest museum of its kind outside of Ukraine and is dedicated to the enjoyment, understanding, and preservation of the artistic and cultural heritage of Ukraine. For centuries Ukraine has been an ep ...
(
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 ...
)
*
Ukrainian American Veterans
*
Ukrainian Americans in New York City
Ukrainian Americans have been present in New York City as early as the 17th century when the city was called New Amsterdam. However, the first Ukrainian mass immigration wave to New York City occurred during 1870–1899, coinciding with other mass ...
*
Ukrainian Americans in Los Angeles
The Ukrainian Diaspora in Los Angeles is the population of Ukrainians, Ukrainian immigrants and Ukrainian Americans that resides in Los Angeles. The Ukrainian population of Los Angeles is the fourth largest Ukrainian population in a United States m ...
*
Ukrainian Australians
*
Ukrainian Canadians
Ukrainian Canadians ( uk, Українські канадці, Україноканадці, translit=Ukrayins'ki kanadtsi, Ukrayinokanadtsi; french: Canadiens d'origine ukrainienne) are Canadian citizens of Ukrainian descent or Ukrainian-born ...
*
Ukrainians in the United Kingdom
Ukrainians in the United Kingdom consist mainly of British citizens of Ukrainian descent.
History
In Manchester, the first documented evidence of Ukrainians was an entry in the Aliens Register in Salford of J. Koyetsky from Brody (then in th ...
*
Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or archeparchy of the Catholic Church in the Eastern United States. Its episcopal see is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Archep ...
*
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America ( uk, Український Конґресовий Комітет Америки) or UCCA ( uk, УККА) is a non-partisan non-profit national umbrella organization uniting over 20 national Ukrainian A ...
*
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (UOC of USA; uk, Українська православна церква у США) is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United States. It consists of two eparchies (dioceses), ruled ...
*
Ukraine–United States relations
The United States officially recognized the independence of Ukraine on December 25, 1991. The United States upgraded its consulate in the capital, Kyiv, to embassy status on January 21, 1992. In 2002, relations between the United States and Ukrain ...
References
Sources
*
*
Further reading
*
* Fedunkiw, Marianne P. "Ukrainian Americans." in ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America'', edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2014), pp. 459–474
online* Lushnycky, Alex. ''Ukrainians of Greater Philadelphia'' (2007),
* Kuropas, Myron B.''Ukrainians of Chicagoland'' (2006),
* Wichar, Nancy Karen. ''Ukrainians of Metropolitan Detroit'' (2010),
External links
Ukrainian ChicagoUkrainian American Heritage Days festival
{{Ukraine topics
European-American society
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...