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Immigrant Demographics of Guilford County

Regions of that Contribute to our Local Population

Overview

Many countries of origin are represented in the Guilford County area. There are over one hundred twenty first languages and one hundred forty countries of origin represented in the Guilford County Schools. The first five languages in descending order are: Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, Jarai (Montagnard language from Vietnam), and Urdu (related to Hindi and spoken in Pakistan and India.  New emerging languages in the Guilford County Schools come from new refugee groups and include Burmese and other tribal languages from Burma/Myanmar and the Nepali language from the new groups of ethnic Nepali refugees coming from Bhutan. All of us except for Native American Indians can look back to our immigrant heritage within the last few centuries. This report specifically focuses on refugee and immigrant communities that have settled in Guilford County within the last fifty years. These new North Carolinians represent first, second, and third generation residents.

Newcomers with refugee status, usually war victims, are eligible for certain public services and assistance that aids them in the initial resettlement process. Other immigrants are eligible for very limited services. Undocumented immigrants are eligible for almost no services except public schools, health, and emergency services. This report particularly focuses on new and low income immigrant and refugee communities of more than a few families.

Within these parameters is a population of over 60,000 new North Carolinians including immigrants and their children. This data was collected primarily through interviews with representatives from the various immigrant communities. Recent census data contributes to the Hispanic/Latino population which also includes Puerto Ricans and natives of the Southwestern US who are native born American citizens.

 Refugee Arrivals by Country of Origin FY 2014