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Albanian Americans

Albanian Americans are Americans of full or partial Albanian ancestry and heritage in the United States. They trace their ancestry to the territories with a large Albanian population in the Balkans and southern Europe, including Albania, Italy, Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro. They are adherents of different religions and are predominantly Muslims and Christians, while some are irreligious.

History
is home to by far the largest Albanian population in the United States. , is home to the second largest Albanian American population, after New York City. and the West Side of Cleveland are home to a significant Albanian population. is home to the most Albanian Americans in the state of Florida. To avoid service in the Turkish War during the late 19th century, due to Albania being under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Albanians would arrive in the U.S., namely to Chicago, Boston, and New York. The first Albanian documented to have emigrated to the United States was Kolë Kristofori (), who landed in Boston in the early 1880s and is remembered as the pioneer of the Albanian ethnic group in the U.S. It was not until the 1900s that large numbers of Albanians reached the U.S. East Coast: most of them were young bachelors from southern Albania. A second wave of Albanians arrived after World War II, and many of them were refugees from the Communist regime of Enver Hoxha. These refugees came from all regions of Albania and settled mainly in New York. Albanians would also be instrumental in the pizzeria and restaurant industry in New York, Boston, Chicago, and other metropolises. In 1912, Albanians began arriving in the Detroit area. At the time there were groups in east Detroit, northwest Detroit, and Grosse Pointe. The majority of this first wave of emigrants, approximately 10,000, did not intend to permanently settle in the U.S., and went back to Albania after World War I. They managed to retain their traditions and language, (see Cham Albanians). Allowing for the families that had abandoned their mother tongue, it is estimated that around 70,000 US citizens with an Albanian background lived in the US in 1980. In the 1990s, many Albanians from Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, and the Republic of North Macedonia emigrated to the United States as refugees of war. Another Albanian American (Kosovan-Americans) community in the Riverside/San Bernardino area of California includes Kosovars who entered the United States at the March Joint Air Reserve Base in Riverside. A wave of mass immigration came in 1992 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and it continued in the 1990s. Some Catholic ethnic Albanians from Montenegro entered the United States from Mexico and settled in Detroit. Arbëreshë Americans Some of the first ethnic Albanians to arrive in the United States were immigrants from Italy who descended from a group of Albanians known as the Arbëreshë. The Arbëreshë were a group of Albanians who fled to the Kingdom of Naples and to the Kingdom of Sicily in the 15th century to avoid invasion by the Ottoman Empire. This group of Albanians is distinguishable from other Albanian Americans due to their Italianized names, as well as their Albanian Greek Catholic religion. Nevertheless, Arbëreshë have a strong sense of identity, and are unique in that they speak an archaic dialect of Tosk Albanian called Arbëresh, which does not have any Ottoman influence. Greater New Orleans has a history of an Arbëreshë community, mostly descended from 19th century Sicilian immigrants. Oftentimes, wherever there are Italians, there are a few Arbëreshë mixed with them. Arbëreshë Americans, therefore, are often indistinguishable from Italian Americans due to being assimilated into the greater Italian American community. ==Population==
Population
Demographics The top 10 cities in the United States that have the most Albanian Americans. Albanians tend to live in the Upper South, the Midwest, and the Northeast. The Albanian community is generally concentrated in the Northeast, with populations mostly in New York City, Yonkers area, Waterbury, Connecticut area, Philadelphia, Boston and nearby Quincy. There are some Albanian communities in Florida, mainly in the Jacksonville area. The main other Albanian communities are in the Midwest, such as in Metro Detroit, Michigan, and Chicagoland. There are few Albanian communities elsewhere, with a small population in California and a slightly higher proportion in Texas, especially Dallas. East Coast With over 60,000 Albanian-Americans, the largest community is in New York which serves as an important pillar of the Albanian community. 0.3% of New York State reports Albanian ancestry, and about 0.5% of NYC residents report Albanian ancestry. There is a concentrated Albanian community around the Bronx, especially around Belmont, Bedford Park, Morris Park, as well as also in Staten Island, which is nearly one percent Albanian. Parts of Westchester County such as Yonkers and White Plains are rife with Albanian people, both having over 2,000 and 1,000 Albanians each, respectively. The New Jersey cities of Garfield, Clifton, Elmwood Park, and Lodi all bear over 500 Albanians each. The Greater Philadelphia Area of Pennsylvania is rife with Albanian-descended persons. Philadelphia city proper, as well as the suburbs of Progress and Berwyn are over 2% Albanian ethnically, and Philadelphia has over 5,000 Albanians in residence; 0.3% of the city's population. The DMV area encompassing D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, has several thousand Albanians: many reside in Fairfax County, Virginia (1,000; 120 in Dulles Town Center; 100 Floris; 100 in Oakton, and several dozen in other various cities and communities within the county), Arlington County, Virginia, Loudoun County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. itself has an Albanian American proportion that is slightly higher than the American figure of 0.06% (D.C.'s is 0.08%). Massachusetts has a large Albanian population, especially in the communities of Worcester, which has 3,000 Albanians, and Quincy with over a thousand. Connecticut you can find them in Waterbury, CT Southington, CT Midwest Some 30,000 live in Michigan, about 20,000 live in Massachusetts, approximately 4,000 live in Ohio (in Greater Cleveland, especially Lakewood and the West Side of Cleveland), 14,500 live in Illinois and about 13,000 live in Connecticut. The three largest communities (New York, Michigan and Massachusetts) account for 58% of the total Albanian-American population. Michigan has an Albanian American percentage for the state recorded at 0.4%, higher than New York's at 0.3%; thus having Michigan having the highest percentage of Albanian Americans of any state. Hamtramck, Michigan is 3% ethnically Albanian. There are 5,000 Albanians in Macomb County, and several thousand in Wayne County. While few live in the Detroit city proper, many live also in the suburbs such as St. Clair Shores and Farmington Hills. (See History of the Albanian Americans in Metro Detroit). Chicago has a large population of Albanians; the state of Illinois has over 15,000 Albanians, and 3,000 reside in Chicago proper. Exurban communities like Minooka have abundant Albanian populations. Milwaukee also has a sizeable Albanian community, while Wisconsin's total Albanian population is estimated at 5,000 strong. There is a sizable Albanian population in Missouri, especially in Greater St. Louis; the town of Bella Villa, which also has a large population of another Southern European ethnic group (Bosnian Americans), is 4% Albanian. There are 1,200 Albanians in St. Louis County. South Jacksonville has the most Albanian Americans in Florida with 3,812 Albanians, having almost 1/4 of all Albanian Americans in Florida and 1.76% of all Albanian Americans. Jacksonville's population is 0.4% Albanian by ancestry. Clearwater, in the Tampa area, has 900 Albanian residents, almost one percent of its population, as well as an Albanian Islamic mosque. There is also another Tampa-area Albanian mosque located in Dunedin, which has served as a place of worship for the Pinellas County Albanian Muslim community since 1996. Nearby St. Petersburg has 500 Albanians, Spring Hill has 400, Gainesville has 400, Egypt Lake-Leto has 350, and Palm Harbor has 300. There is a Balkan/Albanian restaurant, cultural center in Lewisville, and one to two thousand Albanians reside in the Dallas area. There is an Albanian presence in the Nashville area. While much smaller in other parts of Tennessee, such as Memphis and Knoxville where both cities have less than 50 Albanians live in said cities proper, over 1,000 Albanians live in Nashville. There is an Albanian-language Christian monastery that is adjoined with a community center there. Also, there is a small, yet thriving and historically important Albanian community in Louisiana, particularly around New Orleans. Most of them are Arbëresh (Albanians from Italy). Western U.S. In addition to New York, Connecticut, Florida and Michigan having most of the Albanian population, pockets of sizable Albanians are found in San Diego County, which has roughly up towards 1,000 Albanians, many residing in Santee, or in the East San Diego County area. There are also several hundred Albanian Americans in the Sacramento Valley, especially in and around Carmichael. Pasadena, in Los Angeles, also has several hundred Albanians. Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as the Greater Phoenix area, has about 2-3,000 ethnic Albanians, and an Albanian cafe in Phoenix. A small yet sizable Albanian community can be found in Washington state, including Mercer Island and within the Seattle area. Age demographics Albanian-Americans are on average younger than non-Albanian Americans, having an average age of 33.5 in comparison to the American national average of 37.7. Albanian-Americans also have a higher percentage of males than non-Albanian Americans with 52.1% of the community being male versus the American national average of 49.2%. Albanian-born population Albanian-born population in the U.S. since 2010 (excludes Albanians born in Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro): ==Schools and language preservation==
Schools and language preservation
New York City Public Schools started teaching Albanian language in the late 2010s; the language was offered to PS 105 in Morris Park, Bronx. Starting in 2024, Albanian language is taught at an Albanian and Montenegrin American cultural center to roughly 60 children in Ridgewood, Queens, NYC, entitled the "Fol Shqip School," and Mercy College is the only college known to be teaching Albanian courses in New York City. ==Culture==
Culture
Common ingredients found in typical Albanian American homes consist of cabbage, onions, root vegetables, peppers, and olives. Feta cheese is widely favored by Albanian Americans, while other protein sources encompass beef, lamb, chicken, and fish. Traditional Albanian cuisine features salads, stuffed dishes, savory pies, soups, and an assortment of sweets. The Albanian culture is renowned for its hospitality, particularly in the form of food, which is evident in the extensive selection of cold and hot mezze, or appetizers. These are generally served alongside rakia. == Notable people ==
Notable people
Selected people: File:Danny_DeVito_in_2018.png|Danny DeVito File:Joseph DioGuardi.jpg|Joe DioGuardi File:Ferid Murad.jpg|Ferid Murad File:WilliamGGregory.jpg|William G. Gregory File:John_Belushi_at_the_32nd_Annual_Radio_and_Television_Correspondents_Association_Dinner_-_NARA_-_30805929.jpg|John Belushi File:JamesBelushi.jpg|Jim Belushi File:Regis Philbin at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.jpg|Regis Philbin File:Eliza Dushku 2, 2012.jpg|Eliza Dushku File:Mike Bongiorno skying in Cervinia.jpg|Mike Bongiorno File:Action Bronson Gov Ball 2016 (cropped).jpg|Action Bronson File:Martin Shkreli 2016.jpg|Martin Shkreli File:Bebe Rexha 2016 cropped.jpg|Bebe Rexha File:Ava Max meeting fans (cropped).jpg|Ava Max File:Cowok.png|Mira Murati == See also ==
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