Russian American population is estimated at approximately 2.9 million people. The second largest ethnic market representing 10.3% (2.9 Million people) of the total foreign-born population of 28.4 million. The leading ethnic group is Mexicans that represent 28% or 7.8 million of all US foreign-born population.

Russian speaking population in USA and Canada is estimated to be about 6 million.

Leading States

New York, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts.

Leading Cities

New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Detroit.

Percentage Distribution

NY Tri-State Area – 24%
California – 16%
Illinois – 16%
Pennsylvania – 10%
Massachusetts – 8%
Florida – 7%
DC and Maryland – 3%

New York Population

New York leads the nation in the number of Russian Americans. About 1.6 Million reside in New York Tri-State area. About 600,000 reside in the City of New York representing 8% of the population.

Numbers exceed those of other leading ethnic groups like Chinese (760,000) and Dominican (620,000).

California Population

There are an estimated 600,000 Russian-speaking people in Southern California.Major resident areas are: Hidden Hills, Calabasas, Los Angeles, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills and Simi Valley, in declining order of affluence. Median household incomes range from $80,000 for Simi Valley to $200,000 for Hidden Hills. Bachelor Degree holders range from 40% for Simi Valley to 75% for Calabasas.

Language

There are an estimated 5.5 million Russian-speaking people in the Unites States. Most Russian- speakers are bilingual but generally prefer to speak their native language at home, and turn to Russian-language media for the latest news and information.

Household

64% are married with an average of 1.6 children per family. Higher home ownerships rates (57% vs. 41%) and smaller family size (1.60 vs. 2.44) compared to overall US foreign-born population – translated to more wealth per household.

Incomes

Median Annual Household Income of $50,500. For New York, the median income of Russian-Americans was 47,000 compared to $38,866 for the general population, $42,199 for the Chinese and $19,800 for the Dominican community. 27.4% have an income of $50,000 or more. 23.2% have an income of $25,000 or less.

Education

53% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. 80.3% have completed a HS Diploma compared to 67% for the foreign born population. Inclination towards higher education, high-paying employment and general readership.

Media

Higher readership of in-language print media among older and first generations. Higher usage of Internet and online media among the more acculturated and tech savvy younger generations.

Employment

Being an educated community, Russian Americans focus more on post-collegiate work participation and are involved in higher-paying employment. 67.5% are in managerial, professional, technical and sales occupations (compared to 45.6% for all foreign-born). 21.4% are involved in service occupations (compared to 31.2% for all foreign-born).11.9% work as operators, fabricators, and laborers (compared to 18.7% for all foreign born). 0.06% hold farming, forestry, and fishing jobs (compared to 4.6% for all foreign-born). Labor force participation for the community was 23 years and older (compared to 16 years and older for all foreign-born)

Age

Median age of 32.5 years compared to 38.1 years for all foreign-born people. Higher population in the age group of 55 years and over (44.1% compared to 17.3% for all foreign-born people). Lower population in the age group of 0-24 years (8.6% compared to 21% of all foreign-born people) and 25-54 years (47.6% compared to 58.7% of all foreign-born people)

Russians as Asian Americans

Russian Americans are not usually clubbed with the Asian American market as their characteristics resemble more with Europeans. Though technically, the region is largely in Asia. Despite this fact, they constitute a uniform ethnic market with common language, culture and lifestyle preferences much like some individual Asian groups.

Russians as Asian American Market?

Their higher population, higher incomes, higher wealth, higher education levels, higher age demographics and higher lifestyle preferences make Russian Americans an attractive ethnic market segment for all organizations.
Information courtesy of Ameredia Multicultural Marketing