Pakistani Americans

People from the areas that are now Pakistan have been coming to America since the 18th century to work in agriculture, logging, and mining. Between 1947 (when Pakistan was created) to the mid-1960s, only 2,500 Pakistanis, mostly students, entered the United States. This trickle changed to a steady stream after the per country immigration quotas were eliminated in 1965, and many Pakistanis started coming to the United States for higher educations.

The first wave of Pakistani immigrants were largely Punjabis and Sindhis, with fewer Pashtuns and Balochis. Most of them were Sunni Muslims. Since 2007, over 50,000 Pakistanis have immigrated to the United States. The majority of [Page 1669]Pakistani Americans today—about 65 percent— were not born in the United States. Despite their relatively brief history in their new country, they have made notable contributions to its culture and economy.

For several historical and political reasons, the United States has remained the country of choice for most Pakistanis. Pakistan's close political alliances with the United States and the absence of any colonial baggage in the United States-Pakistan relationship explain the attraction that Pakistanis have felt to America. Immigration of Pakistanis peaked in the 1980s. The 2010 U.S. Census figures put the number of Pakistani Americans at 363,699.

The areas with significant Pakistani American populations are New York (22.1 percent), California (13.1 percent), Texas (12.4 percent), Illinois (7.6 percent), and New Jersey (7.2 percent). Since most Pakistanis who come to the United States are educated, speak English, and have had prior exposure to Western cultures, they tend to assimilate into American society quickly. A study that was based on the 1990 census data gives an idea of the distribution of occupations among Pakistani Americans: managerial and professional (33.5 percent); technical, sales, or administrative (35.2 percent); services (10.2 percent); production, manufacture, and labor (20.5 percent); self-employed (7.9 percent).

The Asian American Center for Advancing Justice reported that the 2011 median household income of Pakistani American families was about $63,000, compared with $51,369 for the national average. About 55 percent of Pakistani Americans hold at least a bachelor's degree, compared with the national average of 28 percent. At the same time, 15 percent of Pakistani Americans (the same percentage as for the total population) fall below the poverty line. Their unemployment rate of 8 percent is the same as the national average, but only 55 percent own homes, compared to 66 percent of the total population. Their per capita income of about $24,700 is lower than the national average of $27,100. Blue-collar workers, particularly taxicab drivers, earn low wages. About 23 percent of Pakistani Americans have no health insurance—higher than any other Asian American group and much higher than the national figure of 15 percent.