Cuban 1,241,685 Americans 0.4% of the US population(2000)
Cuban American is a United States citizen whose trace their ancestry to Cuba. Many communities throughout the United States have significant Cuban American populations. However, Miami, Florida stands out as the most prominent Cuban American community, in part because of its proximity to Cuba. It is followed by North Jersey, particularly Union City and West New York, an attractive place for Cuban Americans to settle because of its proximity to New York City. And recently, there are substantial growth of new Cuban-American communities in places like Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Palm Desert, California indicates not only more socioeconomic mobility, but assimilation of older-generation Cuban Americans in American society to move anywhere to create lives anew.

Immigration
Political upheaval in Cuba created new waves of Cuban immigrants to the U.S. In 1959, after the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro, a large Cuban exodus began. From 1960 to 1979, hundreds of thousands of Cubans left Cuba and began a new life in America, often forming the backbone of the anti-Castro movement. Most Cuban Americans that arrived in the United States came from Cuba's educated, upper and middle classes. Like many immigrants, the Cuban Americans often had little money, which was further exacerbated by Cuban government measures taken to prevent removal of wealth from Cuba.
In order to provide aid to recently arrived Cuban immigrants, the United States Congress passed the Cuban American Adjustment Act in 1966. The Cuban Refugee Program provided more than $1.2 billion of direct financial assistance. They also were eligible for public assistance, Medicare, free English courses, scholarships, and low interest college loans. Some banks even pioneered loans for exiles who did not have collateral or credit but received help in getting a business loan simply because they were of Cuban descent. These loans enabled many Cuban Americans to secure funds and create their own businesses.
With their Cuban-owned businesses and low cost of living, Miami, Florida and Union City, New Jersey (dubbed with the nickname Havanna-on-the Hudson) were the preferred destinations for many immigrants, and soon became the main centers for Cuban American culture. Miami was particularly attractivve due to its similar climate, geography, and architecture; Union City for the opportunities offered by the embroidery industry. However, Hialeah, Florida within Miami-Dade County, stands as the city most populated by Cubans and Cuban Americans in the United States. Along with Miami and Union City, many early Cubans migrated to New York City, St. Augustine, Florida, Key West, and Tampa, Florida.

1960 - 1980
Another large wave (an estimated 120,000 people) of Cuban immigration occurred in the early 1980s with the Mariel boatlifts. Many Cuban Americans already living in the United States had a negative opinion of the "Marielitos" (the name given to refugees who entered the country during the Mariel boatlift), because they believed the Marielitos caused damage to the Cuban American community's reputation. This belief was rooted in concerns regarding Fidel Castro opening the jails in order to allow convicted felons and committed mental patients to intermingle with the crowds of otherwise innocent emigrants. However, many of the "Marielitos" became prosperous, through their own efforts, with government assistance and assistance from earlier immigrants, relatives and charitable organizations.

1980s
The culture of Cuban Americans varies from community, and from person to person. However, there are distinct features that characterize most Cuban Americans.
Cuban Americans represent a total of only 4% of the Hispanic population in the United States. Compared with the rest of the Hispanic population in the United States, Cuban Americans are older, have a higher level of education, higher median household income and higher rate of home ownership.

Cuban American culture

Cuban Ancestry
The ancestry of Cuban Americans comes from one primary European source:
Other Europeans that have contributed slightly include:
In the most recent census in 2000 there were 1,241,685 Cuban Americans, both native and foreign born and represented 3.5% of all Hispanics in the US. About 86% of Cuban Americans identify themselves as being Caucasian or White Hispanic, mostly Spanish. Others are Afro-Cuban, Chinese Cuban, Jewish Cuban, and Arab Cuban .
The demographics for Cuban Americans are significantly different than the Hispanic-American population as a whole (the majority of which identify as Mestizo, Mulatto or non-White).

Spanish
French Demographics
The median household income for Cuban Americans is $36,671, a figure higher than other Hispanic groups, but lower than for non-Hispanic whites.
In contrast, native-born Cuban Americans have a higher median income than even non-Hispanic whites, $50,000 as compared to $48,000 for non-Hispanic whites.

Economics
25% of Cuban Americans have a college education, about twice the average of all other Hispanic groups, and lower than that of non-Hispanic whites, of which 30% are college graduates.
However, 39% of native-born Cuban Americans have a college degree or higher, as compared to only 30% of non-Hispanic whites, and 12% for all other Hispanic groups.

Education
Due to Spanish influence, most Cuban Americans belong to the Roman Catholic Church. However, there are many Protestant (primarily Pentecostal), spiritualist (involved in Santeria), nonreligious, and Jewish Cuban Americans.

Religion
Cuban food is varied, though rice is a staple and commonly served at lunch and dinner. Other common dishes are arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), pan con bistec (steak sandwich), platanos maduros (sweet plantains), lechon asado (pork), yuca (Cassava root), flan, batido de mamey (mamey milkshake), papayas, and guava paste. A common soft drink is Materva, a Cuban soda made of yerba mate.
Food
Many Cuban Americans have assimilated themselves into the mainstream American culture, but in the city of Miami and its surroundings, there is a uniquely molded Cuban American community.
Since the 1980s, Cuban Americans have moved out of "Little Havana" to the suburbs of Miami, such as Hialeah and Kendall as well as the more affluent Coral Gables and Miami Lakes.
Many new South and Central Americans, along with new Cuban refugees, have replaced the Cuban Americans who have relocated elsewhere in Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa Bay and West Palm Beach) and dispersed throughout the nation.
Cuban Americans live in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, which received thousands of anti-Castro refugees as well in the 1960s, and Cuban American population growth is found in California, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Virginia and Indiana.
Cuban Americans have been very successful in establishing businesses and developing political clout by transforming Miami from a beach retirement community into a modern city with a distinct Hispanic flavor.

Immigration policy

Cubans
Spanish American
Cuban exile
U.S. embargo against Cuba
Cuba-United States relations
Cuban American actors (category)
Cuban sportspeople (category)
List of Cuban Americans
Diaspora politics in the United States
Afro Latin American
Si, Somos Lesbianas banned Cuban novel by Cuban Maria Fuentes-Perez
List of Cuban American Attorneys