A Nicaraguan American ( es, nicaragüense-americano, ''nicaragüense-estadounidense'', or ) is an

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 ...

of Nicaraguan descent. They are also referred to as "nica" or "nicoya". The Nicaraguan American population at the 2010 Census was 348,202. Nicaraguans are the eleventh largest Hispanic group in the United States and the fourth largest

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

n population. More than two-thirds of the Nicaraguan population in the US resides in California or Florida. In

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 m ...

, Nicaraguans are more dominant in the

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino ...

and

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

. Large populations also reside in the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the citie ...

and the cities of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

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 States ...

, and San Jose. In

Florida Florida is a state located in the 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, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, 90% of Nicaraguans reside in the

Miami Metropolitan Area The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the List of largest cities, 34th largest metropolitan ar ...

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

is home to 30% of Nicaraguans residing in the US.

Immigrational history

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

ns have immigrated to the United States in small groups since the early 1900s, but their presence was especially felt over the last three decades of the 20th century. The Nicaraguan community is mainly concentrated in three major urban areas: Metropolitan Miami,

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Co ...

, and

. A more affluent group of Nicaraguan Americans reside in the

New York 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 ...

. According to Immigration and Naturalization Service figures, 23,261 Nicaraguans were admitted as permanent residents between 1976 and 1985; 75,264 were admitted between 1986 and 1993; and 94,582 between 1994 and 2002, with a total of 193,107 Nicaraguan immigrants being granted legal status since 1976. The earliest documents of immigration from

to the United States was combined in total with those of other

n countries. However, according to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

some 7,500 Nicaraguans legally

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from 1967 to 1976. An estimated 28,620 Nicaraguans were living in the U.S. in 1970, 90% of which self-reported as ''

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

'' on the 1970

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

. Most Nicaraguan immigrants during the late 1960s were women: there were only 60 male Nicaraguan immigrants for every 100 female immigrants during this period. Most Central Americans were denied refugee asylum status during the 1980s. While the U.S. Refugee Act of 1980 wanted to favor U.S. foreign policy to help political asylum seekers it mostly favored only

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 ...

or Communist nations or countries in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. "Asylum decisions with respect to Salvadorans and Guatemalans reflected U.S foreign policy, which supported their governments" such as US involvement in regime change in Latin America. Many Nicaraguans were rejected despite the

Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

’s stance on helping political refugees. “During the early 1980s, approximately 10 percent of Nicaraguan applicants, compared to 2 to 3 percent of those from El Salvador and Guatemala, received asylum.” Over 62 percent of the total documented immigration from 1979 to 1988 occurred after 1984. In 1998 more than two million Nicaraguans were left homeless due to

hurricane Mitch Hurricane Mitch is the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, causing over 11,000 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately 7,000 in Honduras and 3,800 in Nicaragua due to cataclysmic flooding from the slow motion ...

, as a result many Nicaraguans received permanent residence or temporary protected status (TPS) in the late 1990s. According to the 1990 U.S. Census 168,659 of the total 202,658 documented Nicaraguans in the U.S. were born in Nicaragua. In 1992 approximately 10–12% of the Nicaraguan population had emigrated. These emigrants tended to be disproportionately of working age, better educated, and more often white-collar workers than non-migrants. In addition, emigrants were more likely to come from larger premigration households and higher

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. Fo ...

households.

Motives for Immigration

The

Sandinista revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation F ...

that started in the mid-1970s and the

Contra war The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation F ...

that followed brought the first large waves of Nicaraguan

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 into the U.S. As a result of the de-privatization reforms under the

Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto ...

(FSLN)'s rule (from 1979 to 1990), the first wave of approximately 120,000 Nicaraguans left Nicaragua and entered the United States.Konczal, Lisa. ''Nicaraguan Immigrants''. In Multicultural America: An Encyclopedia of the Newest Americans edited by Ron Baylor. Greenwood Press, 2011, p. 1566. They consisted mainly of large landholders, industrialists, and managers of North American enterprises. Many Nicaraguan upper-class exiles had economic roots in the United States and in Miami before the upheaval. This phase of upper-class arrivals included exiled dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle and his family, who owned homes in Miami and were among the richest people in Florida (ibid). Another major wave of Nicaraguans to the United States, consisting primarily of blue collar workers, peaked in the dramatic exodus of early 1989. Again, their motivation for migration was to escape from both political and economic torment in their homeland. By the late 1980s, the war,

Hurricane Joan Hurricane Joan was a long lived and powerful tropical cyclone that caused death and destruction in over a dozen countries in the Caribbean and Central America. Moving on a due west course for nearly two weeks in October 1988, Hurricane Joan caus ...

in 1988, and a severe drought in 1989 left the country in economic ruins. Many of these Nicaraguan immigrants settled in poor and deteriorated sections of Miami, where struggling Cubans who came during the

Mariel boatlift The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between 15 April and 31 October 1980. The term "" (plural "Marielitos") is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and E ...

exodus of 1980 had previously lived. Many Nicaraguans who immigrated did so to escape poverty. In

Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

, the Nicaraguan public benefits recipients reported that in their families, 43% have one

self-employed Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Tax authorities will generally view a person as self-employed if the person chooses to be recognised as such or if the person is generating income for which a tax return n ...

person or business owner, and 14% of the families have two such persons. However, nearly all of the estimated 200,000 Nicaraguans who fled to the U.S. (and other nearby Central American countries) between 1978 and 1979 returned after the victory of the

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto C� ...

s in 1979. Similarly to their Cuban counterparts in Miami, two-thirds of Nicaraguan-Americans align themselves with conservatism and the republican party. The liberal party in Nicaragua is center-right and not left like in the developed world and hasn't been since the 1930s and the influence President Roosevelt had on Anastasio Somoza. The conservative wing of the Catholic church has had a particularly strong effect on the nation's anti-left population for half a century.

Cultural

Nicaraguan Americans are Spanish-speaking and predominately

Catholic 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 ...

. They celebrate the patron saints of the Roman Catholic Church with festivals and processions, which also provide a context for artistic and cultural expressions of the local identity. The most important patronal festivals for communities in

include ''Santa Ana, San Sebastian, La Purisima, San Jeronimo'' and ''La Griteria''.Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, And Society In The United States, Book 3 Nicaragua is one of the most traditionalist countries in the Americas and so the majority of Nicaraguans define themselves as socially conservatives regardless of party affiliations or place of residence within the United States.

Demographics

Outside of California and Florida, Nicaraguans can also be found in New York City,

New Orleans Metro The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (french: Grande Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Gran Nueva Orleans), is a me ...

, and the

Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

. Cities with noticeable Nicaraguan populations also include

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

and

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...

. The Amigos de las Americas program set in motion by John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s promoted the sisterhood between states of the US and third world countries. Wisconsin is the original sister State to Nicaragua. Employment and Student exchange programs in the past were the main reason for the first Nicaraguan to arrive and settle in that Midwest State.

States

The 10 states with the largest population of Nicaraguans (Source: 2010 Census): #

- 135,143 #

- 100,790 #

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

- 19,817 #

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

- 13,006 #

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

- 8,222 #

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 t ...

- 8,196 #

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

- 7,388 #

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

- 6,390 #

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

- 4,964 #

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

- 4,787

Areas

The largest population of Nicaraguans are situated in the following areas (Source: Census 2010): #

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL MSA The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...

- 118,768 #

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Co ...

- 40,607 #

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

- 30,807 # New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 17,987 #

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

- 14,187 #

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities ...

- 9,793 # Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 9,496 #

New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA MSA The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (french: Grande Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Gran Nueva Orleans), is a me ...

- 5,310 #

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gover ...

- 4,540 #

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA The Orlando metropolitan area, commonly referred to as Greater Orlando, Metro Orlando, Central Florida as well as for U.S. Census purposes as the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the ...

- 4,083 # Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 3,964 #

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

- 3,719 #

Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ...

- 3,587 #

Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA MSA The Greater Sacramento area refers to a metropolitan region in Northern California comprising either the U.S. Census Bureau defined Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade metropolitan statistical area or the larger Sacramento–Roseville combined ...

- 3,269 #

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 Val ...

- 3,163 #

Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and ...

- 2,928 # Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA - 2,589 #

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 metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States, centered on the cit ...

- 2,169 #

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the ...

- 2,025 #

Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA The Charlotte metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as Metrolina, is a metropolitan area of the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, within and surrounding the city of Charlotte. The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Gastoni ...

- 1,912 # Vallejo-Fairfield, CA MSA - 1,750 # Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX MSA - 1,714 #

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state— King, Snohomish, and Pier ...

- 1,635 # San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA - 1,547 #

Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...

- 1,438

US communities with largest population of people of Nicaraguan ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest populations of Nicaraguans (Source: Census 2010) #

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 ...

- 28,618 #

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 ...

- 15,572 #

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area ...

- 10,410 #

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 ...

- 7,604 #

Fontainebleau, Florida Fontainebleau (also spelled Fountainebleau) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 59,870 during the 2020 census. Geography Fontainebleau is located at (25.770144, -80.345917). According to the U. ...

- 6,738 #

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

- 4,226 #

Kendale Lakes, Florida Kendale Lakes is a census-designated place (CDP) and a suburb of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 55,646 at the 2020 census. History Kendale Lakes (and all of West Kendall) once had a large Miami Jewish popu ...

- 3,560 # Tamiami, Florida - 3,476 # Sweetwater, Florida - 3,102 #

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

- 2,917 #

Kendall, Florida Kendall is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida. At the 2020 census, the area had a population of 80,241. While the US Census Bureau has set definite boundaries for Kendall as a CDP, the community has a highly ambiguous local ...

- 2,629 # The Hammocks, Florida - 2,391 #

Kendall West, Florida Kendall West is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Miami-Dade County, Florida, west of the Florida Turnpike. The population was 36,536 at the 2020 census. Geography Kendall West is located west-southwest of downtown Miam ...

- 2,265 #

Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its w ...

- 2,134 #

West Little River, Florida West Little River is a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 34,699 at the 2010 census. Most of West Little River was originally a neighborhood of the City of Miami when it was annexed in ...

- 2,112 #

Richmond West, Florida Richmond West is a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 35,884 at the 2020 census, up from 31,973 at the 2010 census. History Richmond West has its origins as an early 1900s settlement ...

- 2,039 #

Miami Lakes, Florida Miami Lakes is a suburb of Miami, an incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. US Census, 31,628 people live in Miami Lakes. History The development was constructed by Sengra (now the ...

- 1,772 #

Hayward, California Hayward () is a city located in Alameda County, California in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda Cou ...

- 1,745 #

Miramar, Florida Miramar is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,721. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to approximately six million people. History Miramar w ...

- 1,691 #

South San Francisco, California South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 cens ...

- 1,639 #

South Miami Heights, Florida South Miami Heights is a census-designated place (CDP), originally known as Eureka, in Miami-Dade County, within the U.S. state of Florida. The population was 35,696 as of the 2010 census. Geography South Miami Heights is located at (25.588784 ...

- 1,585 #

Metairie, Louisiana Metairie ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish and was (a ...

- 1,462 #

Pembroke Pines, Florida Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. The population of Pembroke Pines is 171,178 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous ...

- 1,423 #

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami s ...

- 1,354 #

Hialeah Gardens Hialeah Gardens is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,297 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 21,744, with a population density of 6690.1 per mi2, made u ...

and

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is no ...

- 1,321

US communities with high percentages of people of Nicaraguan ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest percentages of Nicaraguans as a percent of total population (Source: Census 2010) # Sweetwater, Florida - 22.98% #

- 11.27% #

Miami, Florida 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 ...

- 7.16% #

- 6.38% #

- 6.34% # Tamiami, Florida - 6.29% #

- 6.26% #

- 6.09% #

Hialeah Gardens, Florida Hialeah Gardens is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,297 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 21,744, with a population density of 6690.1 per mi2, made up ...

- 6.08% #

Brownsville, Florida Brownsville (also known as Brown Sub) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,583, up from 15,313 in 2010. After three decades o ...

- 5.66% # Stock Island, Florida - 5.66% #

Medley, Florida Medley is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The community was named after its founder, Sylvester Medley. The town was incorporated in 1949, but Sylvester settled the current town in 1905 and farmed there until his death in 1950 ...

- 4.89% #

Princeton, Florida Princeton is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 39,208 at the 2020 census, up from 22,038 at the 2010 census. History As a small town and depot along th ...

- 4.89% #

Gladeview, Florida Gladeview is a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 14,927 at the 2020 census, up from 11,535 in 2010. Gladeview was originally a neighborhood of the city of Miami when it was annexed in 1 ...

- 4.83% # The Hammocks, Florida - 4.69% #

- 4.63% #

- 4.44% #

University Park, Florida University Park is a former census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It was merged into Westchester CDP for the 2020 U.S. Census. In 2010, the population was 26,995. It encompassed the Modesto A. Maidique Camp ...

- 4.32% #

Rollingwood, California Rollingwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, Rollingwood's population was 2,969. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all ...

- 4.14% # Palmetto Estates, Florida - 4.13% #

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924. ...

- 4.02% #

and

Country Walk, Florida Country Walk is a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 16,951 at the 2020 census, up from 15,997 at the 2010 census. Geography Country Walk is located southwest of downtown Miami at (2 ...

- 3.90% #

The Crossings, Florida The Crossings is a census-designated place (CDP) and suburb of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 23,276 at the 2020 census. The CDP includes the neighborhoods of The Crossings, Devon Aire and Calusa. Geograp ...

- 3.89% #

Country Club, Florida Country Club is a census-designated place and a suburban unincorporated community located in northwest Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is named after the Country Club of Miami, which was established in 1961 in what was then an unpop ...

- 3.76% #

Westwood Lakes, Florida Westwood Lakes is a neighborhood in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,838 at the 2010. Geography Westwood Lakes is located at (25.723829, -80.368891). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a to ...

- 3.72%

Notable people

* Alex Blandino, MLB player * Marvin Benard, MLB player * Maurice Benard, actor on American soap operas

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

and

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...

Bella Blue Bella Blue (born January 25, 1982) is an American burlesque dancer and producer. She is the founder and headmistress of the New Orleans School of Burlesque. Early life Bella Blue was born on January 25, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Barba ...

, burlesque dancer *

Nastassja Bolívar Nastassja Isabella Bolívar Cifuentes (born October 24, 1988, in Miami) is a Nicaraguan-American actress, TV host and beauty queen who won '' Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011'' and was crowned Miss Nicaragua 2013 and represented Nicaragua at Miss ...

, winner of Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011 and Miss Nicaragua 2013, and Top 16 finalist at Miss Universe 2013 *

Randy Caballero Randy Michaels Caballero (born September 27, 1990) is a Nicaraguan American professional boxer in the Bantamweight division. Caballero is a former IBF Bantamweight world champion. He lost his title on the scales after being 5 pounds overweight ...

, professional boxer *

Barbara Carrera Barbara Carrera (born Barbara Kingsbury) is an American actress, model and artist. She starred in the films ''The Master Gunfighter'' (1975), '' Embryo'' (1976), '' The Island of Dr. Moreau'' (1977), ''Condorman'' (1981), ''I, the Jury'' (1982) ...

, actress, best known for her roles as

Bond girl A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest or female companion of James Bond in a novel, film or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, o ...

Fatima Blush Fiona Volpe is a character in the James Bond film '' Thunderball'', played by actress Luciana Paluzzi. Paluzzi originally auditioned for the role of Domino Vitali in the film, but was given the role of Volpe. The character does not appear in the n ...

in ''

Never Say Never Again ''Never Say Never Again'' is a 1983 spy film directed by Irvin Kershner. The film is based on the 1961 James Bond novel '' Thunderball'' by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Fle ...

'' and as Angelica Nero on the soap opera ''

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 ...

'' * Oswaldo Castillo, actor * Michael Cordúa restaurateur, entrepreneur, businessman, and award winning self-taught chef *

DJ Craze DJ Craze (born Arist Delgado; November 19, 1977), is a Nicaraguan American DJ and record producer who plays hip hop, Miami bass, trap, breaks, dubstep, drum and bass, and practices turntablism. He was, until 2020, the only solo DJ in history ...

, only DJ in history to win 3 consecutive World DMC Champion titles *

Salomón de la Selva Salomón de la Selva (March 20, 1893 – February 5, 1959) was a Nicaraguan poet and honorary member of the Mexican Academy of Language. Biography Salomón de la Selva was born on March 20, 1893, in León, Nicaragua, son of Salomón Selva Glen ...

, poet, author of ''Tropical Town and Other Poems'' * Franck de Las Mercedes, painter *

Miguel D'Escoto Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann (February 5, 1933 – June 8, 2017) was an American-born Nicaraguan diplomat, politician and Catholic priest of the Maryknoll Missionary Society. As the President of the United Nations General Assembly from September 2 ...

, Roman Catholic priest and former foreign minister * Omar D'León, painter and poet *

Edward'O Edward O better known as Edward'O (born in Managua, Nicaragua) is an American astrologer and former co-host of Telemundo's dating show, 12 Corazones. Early life Edward'O (born May 7, 1946 in Managua, Nicaragua) moved to Los Angeles, Califor ...

, astrologer and co-host of

12 Corazones ''12 Corazones'' (, ''12 Hearts'') was a Spanish-language dating game show produced in the United States for the television network Telemundo from 2005 to 2017, based on its namesake Argentine TV show format. The show was filmed in Los Angeles a ...

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playing in several different positions, but usually played as ...

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

singer * Bill Guerin, NHL hockey player for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

Bianca Jagger Bianca Jagger (born Blanca Pérez-Mora Macías; 2 May 1945)

, human rights advocate and ex-wife of

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

* Diana López, Olympic bronze medalist in the sport of taekwondo *

Mark López Mark López Mendieta is an American taekwondo practitioner. Mark represented the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. He advanced to the men's -68 kg Gold Medal Match where he lost to Korea's Tae ...

, Olympic silver medalist in the sport of taekwondo *

Steven López Steven López (born November 9, 1978) is an American taekwondo competitor, a 2000 and 2004 Olympic gold medalist (in the -68 and -80 kg divisions, respectively) and a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist (again in the -80 kg division) and 4 ...

, two-time Olympic gold medalist in the sport of taekwondo *

Dennis Martínez José Dennis Martínez Ortiz (born May 14, 1955), nicknamed "El Presidente" (The President), is a Nicaraguan professional baseball pitcher. Martínez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland India ...

, MLB player (1976–1998) *

Camilo Mejía Camilo Ernesto Mejía (born August 28, 1975) is a Nicaraguan who left the United States Army during the Iraq War on conscientious objector grounds, was convicted of desertion and went on to become an anti-war activist. He is also the son of Carlos ...

, former Staff Sergeant of the Florida National Guard and

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to p ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

* Tony Meléndez, singer, composer, writer and musician who was born with no arms *

Christianne Meneses Jacobs Christianne Meneses Jacobs (born March 28, 1971) is a Nicaraguan American writer, editor, and teacher. She is the publisher of ''Iguana;'' a Spanish language magazine for children. Nicaragua (1971–1988) Christianne Meneses Jacobs was born in ...

, publisher of ''Iguana'', the United States' only Spanish-language magazine for children *

Ana Navarro Ana Violeta Navarro-Cárdenas (née Navarro Flores;Stated on ''Finding Your Roots'', November 14, 2017 born December 28, 1971) is a Nicaraguan-American political strategist and commentator. She appears on various television programs and news ou ...

, Republican strategist and political commentator * David Obregón, professional boxer * Horacio Peña, professor, writer, and poet * Eddy Piñeiro, NFL placekicker * Claudia Poll, Nicaraguan-born swimmer *

Silvia Poll Sylvia Úrsula Poll Ahrens (born September 24, 1970 in Managua, Nicaragua) is an Olympic and National Record holding swimmer from Costa Rica. At the 1988 Olympics, she won Costa Rica's first Olympic medal, when she garnered the silver in the ...

, Nicaraguan-born swimmer * Hope Portocarrero, former First Lady of Nicaragua (1967–1978) * James Quesada, anthropologist and professor * Mari Ramos, weather anchor for CNN *

Tammy Rivera Tammy Rivera is an American television personality, singer, fashion designer, and businesswoman. She is a former cast member of the VH1 reality show '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''. Early life Rivera met her father Oscar for the first time when sh ...

, singer and television personality * J Smooth, bilingual hip hop and reggaeton singer *

Hilda Solis Hilda Lucia Solis (; born October 20, 1957) is an American politician and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 1st district. Solis previously served as the 25th United States Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013, as par ...

, U.S. congresswoman and the 25th

United States Secretary of Labor The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...

Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero (born 1 February 1951) is a Nicaraguan American colonel and businessman. Biography Early life Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero was born on December 18, 1951, in Miami, Florida, United States. A member of the Somoza fa ...

, son of former Nicaraguan president

Anastasio Somoza Debayle Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle (; 5 December 1925 – 17 September 1980) was the President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was ''de facto'' ruler of t ...

and Hope Portocarrero *

T-Bone The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each side ...

, rapper * Torombolo,

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

singer * Eve Torres,

WWE Diva Throughout its history, women have served in various onscreen roles in the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. In the 1990s, WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Federation) introduced the term Diva to refer to its female performer ...

, professional wrestler * Gabriel Traversari, actor, director, writer, singer, songwriter and painter *

Donald Vega Donald Vega is a Nicaraguan-born American jazz pianist and music composer. Early life Vega was born in Masaya, Nicaragua, a town well known for its handicrafts. He was born with a severe cleft palate, for which he has had many surgeries to corr ...

, jazz musician and composer * Claudio Villanueva, University of Utah professor * Eddy Pineiro, placekicker in the NFL for the Chicago Bears * Jason Gonzalez UFC, mixed martial arts *

Shakira Barrera Shakira Barrera (born 1990) is an American dancer and actress. She joined the cast of the Netflix series '' GLOW'' in its second season. Early life and education Barrera was born in Englewood, New Jersey, to Nicaraguan-American parents and att ...

, actress

References

External links

Folklife of Miami's Nicaraguan Communities {{portal bar, Nicaragua, United States, Hispanic and Latino Americans Hispanic and Latino American *