Polish Americans – American Polonia

Polish Americans are a large, vital, and well organized community in the United States, especially in Chicago, which has become a traditional Polish center in the U.S. This is where most important Polish and Polish American companies are located. It is the center of business and culture of the Polish American community.
There are many branches and industries, in which Poles have become incredibly successful and influential. A widely defined area of real estate is one of the most important domains of the Polish community. From developers, investors, and real estate agents to architects, engineers, and building contractors and subcontractors, Polish or Polish American companies have dominated the market. This is why every third building constructed in Chicago is built by or with the help of Polish specialists. Similarly, in the case of the real estate ownership, the residential ownership reaches 67.3%.

However, it is not just in the area of real estate where the newcomers from Europe have dominated the market. Transportation services, shipping, financial services, loans, insurance, tens of well-known restaurants, pubs, and grocery stores with delicious products are yet another example of the strong presence of the Polish American community.

820 584 Poles or Polish Americans live in Chicago, and over half of them are of the working age (462 789). Annual net income of just the self-employed is $1 523 735 665! Close to 38 billion dollars is the value added to the Gross Regional Product.

According to the census 2000, American states with the largest numbers of Poles and Americans of Polish ancestry are:
New York (958,893),
Illinois (946,241),
Michigan (900,335),
Pennsylvania (855,526),
New Jersey (591,347),
California (496,588),
Wisconsin (481,779),
Florida (430,138),
Ohio (404,557),
Massachusetts (349,998),
Connecticut (278,010),
Texas (234,861),
Minnesota (222,997),
Maryland (186,312),
Indiana (164,587),
Arizona (140,541),
Virginia (112,658),
Missouri (104,460),
Colorado (97,420)