Costa Rican Americans

Costa Rican Americans constitute one of the smallest Hispanic immigrant communities in the United States, with 126,418 people of Costa Rican descent living in the country, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Despite its small size, this group experienced a significant population increase in the past decade, growing 84 percent from the 68,588 people who identified themselves as Costa Rican in the 2000 census. The largest concentration of Costa Rican Americans is found in the New York-New Jersey region.

Migration of Costa Ricans to the United States has been documented since the 1930s. Most of the early immigrants came for business reasons or to attend school. According to census figures, the Costa Rican community grew slowly, accounting for only 5,400 individuals in 1960. Since then, the number of Costa Rican Americans grew at a faster pace, reaching 16,700 in 1970 and 29,600 in 1980, only to decrease to 22,300 in 1990.

Unlike immigration from Mexico and most of Central America, Costa Rican immigration is unique because it has occurred more as a constant trickle rather than through several distinct waves. Also, because of the relative political stability and economic prosperity attained by Costa Rica during most of the 20th century, Costa Ricans coming to the United States have not fled as refugees or as a result of political oppression or extreme economic circumstances. The relatively small population of Costa Rica (4.5 million in 2010) is another factor that helps explain the historically low number of people migrating from this nation to the United States. An additional distinction is that most Costa Ricans who stay illegally in the United States have entered the country legally with some form of nonimmigrant visa, which is not the case of most Mexican and other Central American immigrants.

Around the mid-1980s, conditions changed in Costa Rica that resulted in a different migration pattern to the United States. The decline of international coffee prices, paired with the adverse impact of structural adjustment policies on the agricultural sector, led to the impoverishment of rural communities whose economies heavily depended on farming. People from the Los Santos and Pérez Zeledón regions, in particular, began leaving the country to support their families and to try to secure a better economic future. Further deterioration of Costa Rica's welfare state and austerity measures imposed during the past 20 years have contributed to this migration drive. These new Costa Rican immigrants are typically employed in the food service, agriculture, landscaping, and construction industries. And since most of them are undocumented, census figures are widely considered an undercount of this population. Costa Rican consulates estimate that there are at least 220,000 undocumented Costa Ricans in the United States, which is far more than the official census count for all Costa Ricans in the country.

The majority of Costa Rican Americans live in large metropolitan cities. According to the 2010 census, the New York-northern New Jersey-Long Island area is home to the largest population of Costa Ricans. Other significant communities have been established in Miami; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Houston; Dallas; Chicago; and the Charlotte area. Since there are relatively fewer Costa Rican Americans than other Hispanic groups in the United States, they normally do not form traditional ethnic communities, or barrios, as is usually the case with Mexican Americans or Puerto Rican Americans. However, Costa Rican Americans have managed to create some culturally differentiated spaces in their communities, including grocery stores with favorite food fare from the homeland and restaurants serving traditional dishes (pork tamales wrapped in banana leaves, and the rice-and-beans breakfast known as gallo pinto among them). Civic committees in various Costa Rican American communities also help preserve a sense of “home away from home,” celebrating popular holidays such as Independence Day (September 15) or organizing soccer tournaments.

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