User:Cyanidethistles/Samoans

Samoan American are American citizens of Samoan origin, including those who migrated from the Independent State of Samoa and America Samoa to the United States. Samoan Americans are considered Pacific Islanders in the United States Census, and are the second largest Pacific Islander group in the U.S., after Native Hawaiians.

America Samoa has been an unincorporated territory of the United States since 1900, and Samoa, officially known as the Independent State of Samoa, is an independent nation that gained its independence from New Zealand in 1962. America Samoa and Samoa are both what make up the Samoan Islands, an archipelago that covers 1,170 sq mi (3,030 km2). Like Hawaiian Americans, the Samoans arrived in the mainland in the 20th century as agricultural laborers and factory workers.

There are more than 180,000 people of Samoan descent living stateside, which is roughly the population of the Independent State of Samoa, which had an estimated population of 179,000 in 2009. Honolulu, Hawaii has the largest Samoan population, while Long Beach, California has the largest Samoan population in the mainland United States, where people of Samoan ancestry make up one percent of the city's population, or 4,513 people, as of 2010. There are also significant Samoan communities throughout the state of California, and in Washington, Utah, and Alaska.

History
Since the end of World War II, persons born in American Samoa are United States nationals, but not United States citizens. For this reason, Samoans can move to Hawaii or the mainland United States and obtain citizenship comparatively easily.

Demographics
There are 184,440 Samoan people in the United States stateside population, including those with partial Samoan ancestry. 60,876 people of Samoan origin reside in California, meaning one-third of the Samoan population lives in California. Carson, Long Beach, Compton, Inglewood, and Oceanside have the highest concentration of Samoans in Southern California. The Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero Hill neighborhoods in the southeastern section of San Francisco are home to sizeable Samoan communities, as well as Daly City, East Palo Alto, and Hayward.