Population and Voting Statistics on Dominican-Americans
The Dominican population in the United States has grown exponentially and now represents over 2 million individuals in the United States according to the latest 2017 estimates from the US Census Bureau, compared to 1.5 million after the 2010 US Census. This exponential growth is thanks to continued migration from the Dominican Republic and a rapidly increasing share of U.S. born Dominicans. We have gathered the best data available to provide a full picture of the Dominican-American community.
As the U.S. Dominican begins to settle in more geographically diverse places, this has led to a tremendous increase in the Dominican voting eligible population, US citizens ages 18 and up, in states where Dominican political participation was until recently unheard of. This increase in eligible voters must be combined with voter registration activity within the Dominican-American community to realize this potential new political influence.
U.S. States with the Largest Dominican Populations
Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Compiled and visualized by DUSA.
Dominican-Americans and the 2020 Census
According to 2017 estimates from the Census Bureau, there are 2,081,419 Dominicans or people of Dominican descent living in the United States, with 1,162,568 or 56% of them being foreign-born. In New York State and New York City, the population estimates are 872,504 and 720,020 respectively, with the foreign-born populations at 514,999 (59%) and 441,182 (61%). The 720,020 Dominicans in New York City account for more than one of every nine City residents (12%) and they also account for 29% of Latinos in the City. The 355,494 Dominicans in the Bronx account for nearly one of every four (24%) and almost half (43%) of the Latino Borough residents, making the Bronx the US county with by far the largest Dominican population. Below are the latest estimates for Dominican populations by US County:
1990-2014 Increase in Dominican Eligible Voter in Selected Northeastern States
Source: CLACLS Demographic change and voting patterns among Latinos in the northeast corridor states: NY, NJ, PA, & CT
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New York
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New Jersey
Penssylvania
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Immigration Flows and Citizenship Status of Dominicans in the U.S.
Since 2010, immigration flows from the Dominican Republic has fluctuated between 40,000 and 50,000 per year. According to 2014 estimates from U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) there are an estimated 480,000 Dominican LPRs in the US. Of those, 300,000 are estimated to be eligible to naturalize as US Citizens, with tens of thousands joining them in becoming eligible every year.
The number of Dominicans naturalizing as US citizens have fluctuated much more greatly but has typically been between 20,000 and 40,000 per year. Nationally, 7 in 10 US Dominicans are US Citizens, according to estimates from Pew Research. In addition, 45% are citizens by birth in the US, and 27% have been naturalized as citizens.