Tongan American
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| Total population | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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41,219 alone, 0.01% of US population 57,183 including partial ancestry, 0.02% (2010 Census) |
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| Regions with significant populations | ||||||||||
| California (San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Los Angeles Area) • Utah (Salt Lake County) • Hawaii • Nevada (Reno) • Texas (Euless) | ||||||||||
| Languages | ||||||||||
| American English, Tongan | ||||||||||
| Religion | ||||||||||
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Predominantly: Methodists and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
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| Related ethnic groups | ||||||||||
| Pacific Islanders, Tongan people, Tongan Australians | ||||||||||
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Tongan Americans are Americans who can trace their ancestry to the Oceanian country of the Kingdom of Tonga. There are approximately 57,000 Tongans and Tongan Americans living in the United States, as of 2012. Tongans are considered to be Pacific Islanders in the United States Census, and are the fourth largest Pacific Islander American group in terms of population, after Native Hawaiians, Samoan Americans, and Guamanian/Chamorro Americans.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has assisted Tongans in immigration to the United States by providing student and work visas, employment, and the opportunity for Tongans of marriageable age to meet spouses.
The San Francisco Bay Area has the largest concentration of ethnic Tongans outside of Tonga, with an estimated population of 13,000 in San Mateo County alone, concentrated especially in the city of East Palo Alto. Within San Mateo County, the city of San Mateo, San Bruno, and South San Francisco have sizable Tongan populations. Other Bay Area cities with significant Tongan populations include the East Bay cities of Oakland, San Leandro, Concord, and Pittsburg. Smaller communities can be found in Santa Clara County, mainly in Mountain View. There are 500 people of Tongan descent living in Portland, Oregon (0.1% of the city's population).
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