Bangladeshi Americans

Bangladeshi Americans are American citizens with Bangladeshi origin or descent. Bangladeshi Americans are predominantly Bengali-speaking Muslims. Since the early 1970s, Bangladeshi immigrants have arrived in significant numbers to become one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the U.S. New York City is home to two-thirds of the Bangladeshi American population. Meanwhile, Paterson, New Jersey; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey are also home to notable Bangladeshi communities.

History

Immigrants from present-day Bangladesh have been in the United States since at least the First World War, originating from East Bengal of British India.
Since the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, immigration to the United States grew slowly but steadily through the 1970s and 1980s. Over 10,000 Bangladeshis have immigrated to the United States annually. Many of the migrants settled in urban areas. New York City is home to two-thirds of the Bangladeshi population in the United States. Other cities including Paterson, Atlantic City, and Monroe Township, New Jersey; Buffalo, New York; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Boston; Chicago; and Detroit.
In New York, it was estimated that 15,000 Bangladeshis resided in the city in the early 1980s. During the late 1970s, some Bangladeshis moved from New York City to Detroit, and Atlantic City for jobs. Homes to prominent communities of other Muslim Americans, in search of better work opportunities and an affordable cost of living, but most have since returned from Detroit to New York and to New Jersey, in hope of starting a new community and a peaceful life. In Atlantic City, Bangladeshis established an association, and two smaller Melas are held in June/July and in August.
The Los Angeles Bangladesh Association was created in 1971, and there were 500 members of the Texas Bangladesh Association in 1997. The Bangladeshi population in Dallas was 5,000 people in 1997, which was large enough to hold the Baishakhi Mela event.
Baishakhi Mela events have been held in major American cities such as New York City; Paterson, New Jersey; Atlantic City; Washington, D.C.; and Los Angeles; as the Bangladeshi population continues to increase in these cities. The third and largest wave of arrivals came in the 1990s and 2000s. Because of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, professional and educational criteria were not used. Most Bangladeshi immigrants took blue-collar work such as taxi driving and restaurant help.

Demography

States, cities, and metro areas by population

There are 272,338 Bangladeshi in the country, whereas 256,681 of them are reported as Bangladeshi origin, and the rest are reported as mixed. Bangladeshi Americans are largely concentrated in metropolitan areas in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Great Lakes regions of the country, especially working-class neighborhoods and suburbs. There are smaller concentrations in states such as Texas, California, and Nevada.
The states with the highest percentages of Bangladeshi Americans are:

State	Bangladeshi population
New York	109,986

Some communities with the highest percentages of Bangladeshi Americans are:

Community	Bangladeshi percentage
Hamtramck, Michigan	57%
Warren, Michigan	15%
Atlantic City, New Jersey	10%
Center Line, Michigan	10%
Detroit, Michigan	4.4%
Hyattsville, Maryland	2.9%
Seven Corners, Virginia	2.7%
New York, New York	2.1%
Paterson, New Jersey	1.7%
Manchester, Connecticut	1.6%
Lincolnia, Virginia	1.37%
Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia	1.2%
Greenbelt, Maryland	1.05%
Elmont, New York	1%
Waterbury, Connecticut	0.8%
South Laurel, Maryland	0.69%
Arlington, Virginia	0.6%
Fayetteville, Arkansas	0.6%
Irving, Texas	0.5%
Reno, Nevada	0.32%

The metropolitan areas with the highest percentages of Bangladeshi Americans are:

Metropolitan area	Bangladeshi percentage	Notable communities
New York, NY/NJ/CT/PA	2%	Queens, NY; Paterson, NJ; Monroe Township, Middlesex County, NJ
Detroit, MI	0.92%	Hamtramck, MI; Warren, MI; Center Line, MI
Washington, DC/VA/MD/WV	0.55%	Fairfax Co., VA; Arlington, VA; Prince George's Co., MD
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	0.35%	Irving, TX
Buffalo, NY	0.27%	Broadway-Fillmore, Buffalo, NY
Atlanta, GA	0.18%	DeKalb Co., GA
Hartford, CT	0.17%	Manchester, CT
Philadelphia, PA	0.15%	Northeast Philadelphia, PA

Major communities

New York City

New York City is home to the largest Bangladeshi community in the United States, receiving by far the highest legal permanent resident Bangladeshi immigrant population. The Bangladeshi-born immigrant population has become one of the fastest growing in New York City, counting over 93,000 by 2011 alone. The city's Bangladeshi community is prominent in Jackson Heights, Queens. 74th Street has most of the Bangladeshi grocery stores and clothing stores in Jackson Heights. The Bangladesh Plaza hosts numerous Bangladeshi businesses and cultural events. Recently, one part of Jackson Heights has become an open platform for all sorts of protests and activism. The adjacent neighborhoods of Woodside and Elmhurst in Queens have also drawn Bangladeshi Americans.
In the 1960s, Bangladeshi Americans developed the Manhattan restaurant area called Curry Row. Since the 1970s, thousands of Bangladeshis were able to legally migrate to the U.S. through the Diversity Visa Program lottery. Centered on 169th Street and Hillside Avenue, Jamaica, has become a popular draw due to the large number of Bangladeshi restaurants and grocery stores. Sagar Restaurant, Gharoa, Deshi Shaad, Kabir's Bakery, and other stores in Queens are attractions for the Bangladeshi community from throughout New York City. The largest numbers of Bangladeshi Americans now live in the Queens neighborhoods of Jamaica, Jackson Heights, Hollis, and Briarwood. Bangladeshi enclaves have also emerged in Parkchester, Bronx; Ozone Park, Queens; Kensington, Brooklyn and City Line, Brooklyn. More affluent Bangladeshis have relocated to Long Island, largely due to many Bangladeshi-owned pharmaceutical companies that also employ many Bangladeshis there. However, a relatively small number of Bangladeshis have moved from New York City to cities such as Buffalo, New York, and Hamtramck, Michigan, mainly due to low costs of living there.

New York statistics

1990 census:
* Total population: 10,000.
* Highest concentrations: Queens—2,567 people, and Brooklyn—1,313.
* In Manhattan, Bangladeshis formed a small enclave on 6th Street. Larger numbers lived in the Astoria area of Queens.
2000 census:
* Total population: 28,269
* Highest concentrations: Queens—18,310 people, Brooklyn—6,243, Bronx—2,442, Manhattan—1,204, Staten Island—70
* Population growth rate from 1970 to 2000: 471%
* Foreign-born population: 83,967
* Limited English proficiency: 14,840
* Median Household Income: $45,537
* People Living in Poverty: 10,500
* Percentage of people in poverty: 40%
2010 census:
* Total population: 100,000
* Highest concentrations: Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island
* Population growth rate from 2000 to 2010:
* Foreign-born population: 80%
* Limited English proficiency: 78%
* Median Household Income: $36,741
* Percentage of people in poverty: 32%

Bangladeshi neighborhoods in New York City include Jamaica, Jamaica Hills, Briarwood, Jackson Heights, Woodside, Elmhurst, Hollis, Queens Village, Hunters Point, Long Island City, East Harlem, Bayside, Hillcrest, West Maspeth and Astoria in Queens; Kensington and City Line in Brooklyn; and Parkchester and Castle Hill in The Bronx. Smaller Little Bangladesh communities can be found in Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; and Los Angeles.

Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson, New Jersey, in the New York City area, is home to a significant and growing Bangladeshi American community. Many Bangladeshi grocery stores and clothing stores operate in the emerging Little Bangladesh on Union Avenue and on nearby streets in Paterson, as well as a branch of a subsidiary of Sonali Bank, the largest state-owned financial institution in Bangladesh. The Masjid Al-Ferdous mosque is also located on Union Avenue. Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman was ultimately certified as the winner of the 2012 City Council election in the Second Ward, making him northern New Jersey's first Bangladeshi-American elected official. The current Second Ward Councilman is Bangladeshi Shahin Khalique, who defeated Akhtaruzzaman in 2016 as well as in 2020. Khalique has largely stimulated growth and advancement of the Bengali community in Paterson.
On October 11, 2014, a groundbreaking ceremony was conducted for the Shohid Minar Monument in West Side Park in Paterson. The monument pays tribute to those killed in Pakistan in 1952 while protesting the country's ban on the use of Bangladeshis' native language Bangla. The monument is modeled after similar monuments in Bangladesh, according to the World Glam Organization, the Bangladeshi cultural group working on the Paterson project. The Shohid Minar Monument was completed and unveiled in 2015. This project reflected the increasing influence of Paterson's growing Bangladeshi community as reported in The Record.