Since the year 2000, a number of surveys and reports have been conducted to attempt to accurately define the Iranian American community. Yet, the 2000 U.S. Census remains by far the most scientific and comprehensive demographic data available to date on the Iranian American community. As a first step towards fully empowering the Iranian American community in the public arena, PAAIA has commissioned Zogby International to conduct a comprehensive, scientific and nationwide public opinion survey of Iranian Americans to gather up to date demographic and attitudinal information, and better understand who we are, what we believe and which issues matter to us most.

The 2005 American Community Survey puts the population of Iranian Americans at about 400,000, but many community leaders believe the true figure is closer to 1,000,000. Iranian Americans are highly concentrated in California followed by the New York and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas. Within California, the Los Angeles area and then the Bay Area have the largest Iranian American populations. Other areas with significant Iranian American populations include San Diego, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Boston and Seattle.

Iranians have been immigrating to the United States in significant numbers since the 1950s. The first major wave of such immigration included students who came to the U.S. for educational opportunities, most of whom decided to stay after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In addition, during or immediately following the Revolution, large numbers of religious and ethnic minorities left Iran. Many academics, entrepreneurs and professionals have also been among Iranian émigrés since 1979. More recent immigration to the U.S. has included university students, political refugees and people reuniting with their families.

Available data shows that the Iranian American community is quite diverse with in terms of ethnicity, religion and political affiliation. In addition, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, Iranian Americans are perhaps the most highly educated community in the country, with household incomes that considerably exceed that of the U.S. population at large.

Many Iranian Americans serve in senior leadership positions in top U.S. companies include many fortune 100 firms. These people include Pierre Omidyar (Ebay), Omid Kordestani (Google) and Golnar Motaharipour (GE), to name a few. Many others have tenured positions at the nation’s top universities, are renowned artists or have otherwise distinguished themselves in all walks of life in America. Through a video series called “Profiles of Iranian Americans,” PAAIA will tell the story of many such individuals and celebrate the remarkable successes of the Iranian American community.