Guatemalan Americans

Guatemalan Americans are people in the United States who have full or partial Guatemalan heritage. In the 2010 Census, about 1,044,209 people identified as Guatemalan American. They are the sixth largest Hispanic group in the United States and the second largest group from Central America, after Salvadorans.

Many Guatemalan Americans live in two main areas: the Northeast and Southern California. The states with the most Guatemalan Americans are California (29%), followed by Florida (8%) and Texas (7%). These communities add rich cultural traditions and history to the United States.

History of Guatemalans in the United States

Main article: History of Guatemalan migrants in the United States

Guatemalans began moving to the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. They traveled through Mexico and settled in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Houston, New York City, Oakland, San Francisco, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.

The number of Guatemalans in the United States grew much larger in the 1970s and 1980s, especially during the 1990s because of the Guatemalan Civil War. Many Guatemalan refugees came to the United States through Mexico, both with proper papers and without. The war ended in 1996. After September 11, 2001, new rules in Mexico made it harder for people to move across the border. By 2008, there were around 430,000 Guatemalans in the United States without official permission to stay.

Immigration

During the 1950s, about 45,000 people from Central America moved to the United States. By the 1960s, this number more than doubled to 100,000, and in the next ten years, it grew to 134,000, with 26,000 of them being from Guatemala. This increase happened because Guatemala faced many problems, including wars and unstable governments.

Many Guatemalans moved to the United States during the Cold War because their country was not stable. Some got special permission to stay temporarily, but lost it when the war ended. In the 1970s, the number of Guatemalans in the United States grew quickly due to poor economic conditions and natural disasters. By the 1980s, many more Guatemalans came to the U.S. because of ongoing conflicts and poverty in their homeland. Some were able to become legal residents through family members already here, but many faced challenges.

Norma Torres, member of the House of Representatives.

Literature in the U.S.

Central American literature in the United States often talks about themes like war, migration, and identity. Guatemalan writers, such as Maya Chinchilla, explore what it means to be Central American in America. Books like The Tattooed Soldier by Héctor Tobar show the importance of Central American culture in the United States.

Culture

Delia Ramirez, US representative from Illinois' 3rd congressional district, first Latino to represent Illinois in Congress

Guatemalan Americans come from many different backgrounds and cultures. Most are from the Maya group, while others are Ladino, which means they speak Spanish and follow Spanish customs. Because of these differences, Guatemalan Americans have many unique traditions and ways of living.

Some traditions, like celebrating special parties for girls called Quinceañeras, playing soccer, and having community festivals, are still kept alive in places like Los Angeles, Houston, and southern Florida. Even though many Guatemalan families live in the United States, their cultural practices sometimes change or fade away as they adapt to American life.

Maya Indian Organizations in the United States
Organization	Location
Corn Maya Organization	Jupiter, Florida
Guatemalan Maya Center	Lake Worth Beach, Florida
Maya Vision	Los Angeles, California

Socioeconomic mobility

Guatemalan Americans often have lower levels of education compared to the rest of the U.S. population. In 2013, only about 9% of Guatemalan Americans aged 25 or older had earned a bachelor's degree.

However, many Guatemalan Americans work hard and take part in jobs, especially in the service sector. About 31% of them have jobs in this area.

Demographics

Pili Tobar served as White House Deputy Communications Director in the Biden administration.

Guatemalan Americans are people in the United States who have full or partial Guatemalan heritage. According to the 2010 Census, there were 1,044,209 Guatemalan Americans. They are the sixth largest Hispanic group in the United States and the second largest Central American group after Salvadorans.

Guatemalan Center of New England at a parade in Providence, Rhode Island

Many Guatemalan Americans live in two main areas: the Northeast and Southern California. In Southern California, many live in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. In the Northeast, cities such as Langley Park, Trenton, Stamford, Providence, and Lynn have large Guatemalan communities.

The largest Guatemalan populations are found in these areas:

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX

Other significant communities exist in cities like Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, and Phoenix.

State/Territory	Guatemalan Population 2020 census	Percent 2020	2010 census	Percent 2010
Alabama	26,614	0.5%	15,282	0.3%
Alaska	724	0.1%	508	0.0%
Arizona	22,713	0.3%	13,426	0.2%
Arkansas	9,428	0.3%	4,533	0.2%
California	454,917	1.1%	332,737	0.9%
Colorado	14,362	0.2%	7,488	0.1%
Connecticut	26,660	0.7%	16,715	0.5%
Delaware	10,449	1.0%	5,202	0.6%
District of Columbia	3,743	0.5%	2,635	0.4%
Florida	138,818	0.6%	83,882	0.4%
Georgia	59,625	0.5%	36,874	0.4%
Hawaii	1,191	0.0%	565	0.0%
Idaho	2,529	0.2%	1,168	0.1%
Illinois	48,681	0.4%	35,321	0.3%
Indiana	14,937	0.2%	5,933	0.1%
Iowa	10,708	0.3%	4,917	0.2%
Kansas	11,496	0.3%	5,538	0.2%
Kentucky	12,514	0.2%	5,231	0.1%
Louisiana	12,270	0.2%	6,660	0.1%
Maine	783	0.0%	457	0.0%
Maryland	63,972	1.0%	34,491	0.6%
Massachusetts	53,437	0.7%	32,812	0.5%
Michigan	12,994	0.1%	8,428	0.1%
Minnesota	13,058	0.2%	6,754	0.1%
Mississippi	5,807	0.2%	2,978	0.1%
Missouri	11,079	0.1%	6,610	0.1%
Montana	401	0.0%	200	0.0%
Nebraska	18,548	0.9%	8,616	0.5%
Nevada	19,787	0.5%	13,407	0.5%
New Hampshire	1,242	0.1%	743	0.1%
New Jersey	79,638	0.8%	48,869	0.6%
New Mexico	3,859	0.2%	2,386	0.1%
New York	109,766	0.5%	73,806	0.4%
North Carolina	35,349	0.3%	20,206	0.2%
North Dakota	460	0.0%	134	0.0%
Ohio	20,084	0.1%	8,680	0.1%
Oklahoma	15,660	0.3%	7,960	0.2%
Oregon	14,809	0.3%	7,703	0.2%
Pennsylvania	23,280	0.2%	11,462	0.1%
Rhode Island	28,062	2.5%	18,852	1.8%
South Carolina	14,999	0.2%	8,883	0.2%
South Dakota	3,737	0.3%	1,620	0.2%
Tennessee	36,767	0.5%	14,323	0.2%
Texas	108,548	0.3%	66,244	0.3%
Utah	11,651	0.3%	6,877	0.2%
Vermont	309	0.0%	215	0.0%
Virginia	56,076	0.6%	33,556	0.4%
Washington	20,340	0.2%	9,520	0.1%
West Virginia	842	0.0%	347	0.0%
Wisconsin	5,015	0.1%	3,037	0.1%
Wyoming	683	0.1%	418	0.1%
Total U.S. Guatemalan Population	1,669,557	0.4%	1,044,209	0.3%

Notable people

Oscar Isaac performing at Universidad Francisco Marroquín, February 2015.

Here are some well-known people in the United States who have Guatemalan roots:

Adria Arjona – A Puerto Rican actress with Guatemalan heritage.
Luis E. Arreaga – A diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador in Guatemala and Iceland.
Luis von Ahn – A computer science professor and entrepreneur at Carnegie Mellon University.
Joseph Baena – An actor, bodybuilder, and real estate agent, and the son of famous actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has Guatemalan heritage from his mother.
Aston Matthews – A hip hop artist from Los Angeles, California.
Luis Beza – A trumpet player for the third-wave ska band Suburban Legends.
David Campos – A lawyer and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for District 9.
René Corado – A writer and expert on birds from Guatemala.
Colman Domingo – An actor with Guatemalan roots.
Ricky Duran – A singer who was a runner-up on the talent show The Voice.
Francisco Goldman – A writer and professor, with a Guatemalan mother and a Jewish-American father.
Anthony Gonzalez – An actor.
Ted Hendricks – A former professional American football player who played for many teams in the National Football League.
Oscar Isaac – An actor and singer born in Guatemala but raised in the United States.
Manny Marroquin – A music engineer who won a Grammy award. He was born in Guatemala and moved to Los Angeles as a child because of the Guatemalan Civil War.
Benito Martinez – An actor known for his role in the TV series The Shield.
Delia Ramirez – A politician whose parents came from Guatemala.
Rubio Rubin – A soccer player with Guatemalan and Mexican heritage.
AraabMuzik – A music producer with Dominican and Guatemalan roots.
Tony Revolori – An actor known for movies like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Juana Samayoa – An actress and TV host.
Gadi Schwartz – A news reporter for NBC.
Willie Sims – A soccer player born in Guatemala but raised in the United States.
Héctor Tobar – A writer and journalist from Los Angeles.
Norma Torres – A politician born in Guatemala but raised in the United States.
Lily Wu – The Mayor of Wichita, Kansas.
Daphne Zuniga – An actress known for TV shows like Melrose Place and One Tree Hill. Her father was from Guatemala.