Where Do Dominicans Living Abroad Live?

The Dominican Republic has one of the largest and most geographically concentrated Caribbean diasporas. Millions of people born in the country, as well as younger generations of Dominican origin, now live across North America, Europe, the Caribbean and other parts of the world.

The latest edition of the Dominican government’s Registro Sociodemográfico de los Dominicanos en el Exterior, prepared by the Institute of Dominicans and Dominicans Abroad (INDEX), counted 3,030,647 Dominicans living in 129 countries and territories. The registry is an official statistical estimate based on demographic information collected in the countries and territories where Dominicans reside.

The figure should not be interpreted as an exact census of every person of Dominican descent worldwide. INDEX explains that its methodology combines national censuses, population surveys, migration records and international demographic sources, and that the increase in the latest edition partly reflects broader statistical coverage rather than only new migration.

How Many Dominicans Live Outside the Dominican Republic?

The latest official registry puts the Dominican population living abroad at 3,030,647 people. That is equivalent to roughly 28 percent of the population living in the Dominican Republic, according to reporting on the fifth edition of the registry.

The geographical concentration is striking. North America accounts for 84.9 percent of the Dominican population registered abroad, while Europe represents another 9.8 percent. This means that the vast majority of Dominicans living outside the country remain concentrated in a relatively small number of destinations.

The United States alone accounts for 2,539,893 Dominicans, or approximately 84 percent of the total diaspora. Spain is a distant second with 207,135. Together, the two countries account for about 91 percent of Dominicans living abroad.

Other significant destinations include France, Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Costa Rica. The registry also identifies smaller Dominican communities in countries across Asia, Africa and Oceania.

Where Are the Largest Dominican Communities in the United States?

The United States is by far the center of the Dominican diaspora. The community is especially concentrated along the Northeast corridor, although substantial populations also live in Florida and other states.

The latest INDEX figures identify New York, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts as the five U.S. states with the largest Dominican populations.

These figures demonstrate why the Dominican presence in the United States is often associated with the northeastern part of the country. New York and New Jersey alone contain more than 1.2 million people in the latest Dominican registry.

New York City

New York City is the most important urban center of the Dominican diaspora. The Dominican presence is particularly strong in Upper Manhattan, the Bronx and parts of Queens and Brooklyn.

Washington Heights has long been one of the most recognizable Dominican neighborhoods in the United States. The wider Dominican presence, however, extends far beyond a single neighborhood and forms part of a metropolitan community spread across New York City and neighboring parts of New Jersey.

A New York State Senate record citing the 2020 Census reported 842,307 Dominicans in New York City. Different census products can produce different totals because they may measure Hispanic origin, ancestry, place of birth or other demographic categories. For that reason, figures from different statistical sources should not be treated as directly interchangeable.

Paterson and Other New Jersey Communities

New Jersey has the second-largest Dominican population of any U.S. state. The community is particularly visible in Paterson, Passaic County and neighboring parts of the New York metropolitan area.

Other New Jersey cities with substantial Dominican populations include Newark, Jersey City, Elizabeth, Perth Amboy and Passaic. Their proximity to New York has helped create an interconnected Dominican population corridor rather than a series of completely separate communities.

Lawrence and Greater Boston

Massachusetts has one of the country’s most distinctive Dominican population centers. Greater Boston contains a large Dominican community, while Lawrence has developed an especially strong Dominican presence relative to its overall population.

Boston itself is another major center. Dominican communities are visible in several neighborhoods, while the broader metropolitan population extends into surrounding municipalities in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

Older U.S. Census-based metropolitan estimates place the New York metropolitan area far ahead of other U.S. metropolitan areas, followed by Greater Boston, Miami, Philadelphia and Providence. These metropolitan figures are useful because immigrant communities frequently cross municipal boundaries and cannot always be understood by looking at one city alone.

Providence

Providence, Rhode Island, is another important Dominican population center in the Northeast. The Dominican community extends beyond the city into Providence County and other parts of Rhode Island.

Rhode Island’s relatively small overall population means that the Dominican presence has a particularly visible effect on the state’s cultural and commercial landscape. Providence is therefore important not only because of its absolute population but also because of the concentration of Dominican residents within the local population.

Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley

Philadelphia has a significant Dominican population and forms part of a broader Dominican corridor in Pennsylvania and neighboring New Jersey.

The Lehigh Valley is also notable. Allentown has developed a substantial Dominican community alongside other Hispanic populations. The region illustrates an important feature of Dominican migration in the United States: communities are no longer concentrated exclusively in the traditional gateways of New York and Boston.

Miami and South Florida

Florida has the third-largest Dominican population among U.S. states in the latest INDEX registry. Miami and the wider South Florida metropolitan area are important centers, although the Dominican population there has historically been less concentrated than the Dominican population of New York.

South Florida’s importance has increased as Dominican families and businesses have established connections with other Caribbean and Latin American communities. The state’s geographic position also creates strong links with the Dominican Republic.

The Largest Dominican Communities in Spain

Spain is the second-largest destination for Dominicans worldwide. The country’s language, historical connections with the Dominican Republic, geographic accessibility and established migration networks have contributed to the development of a large Dominican population.

The latest registry records 207,135 Dominicans in Spain, with the largest concentrations in the Madrid and Barcelona areas.

Madrid

Madrid is the largest Dominican population center in Spain. The latest registry counts 69,747 Dominicans in the Madrid area.

The community is not limited to the central municipality. Like many immigrant populations in the Spanish capital, Dominicans live throughout the wider metropolitan area. This distinction matters when comparing Madrid with cities in other countries because administrative boundaries are not defined in the same way everywhere.

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second-largest Dominican center in Spain, with 41,966 Dominicans recorded in the latest INDEX data.

The wider Catalan region also has an established Dominican presence. Barcelona therefore represents another important European hub for Dominican families, businesses, cultural organizations and social networks.

Other Countries With Important Dominican Communities

Although the United States and Spain dominate the diaspora, Dominican migration is genuinely global. The largest communities outside those two countries are considerably smaller but remain important in regional terms.

Italy is the third-largest destination in the latest registry, with 30,200 Dominicans. Italy has longstanding Dominican communities in several urban areas, particularly in the north and in major metropolitan centers.

Chile follows with 22,836 Dominicans. It is the most important Dominican destination in South America according to the latest registry.

Canada has 22,125 Dominicans, while the Netherlands has 18,465. Other notable communities are found in Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Costa Rica.

In the Caribbean, Puerto Rico remains an important destination because of its geographic proximity and close economic and social links with the Dominican Republic. The latest registry records nearly 58,000 Dominicans there.

Which Cities Have the Largest Dominican Communities?

There is an important statistical distinction when discussing the “largest Dominican cities.” International migration data are usually collected by country, state, province, municipality or metropolitan area, and those geographic units are not directly comparable.

For the United States, metropolitan-area data provide a useful comparison because Dominican communities frequently cross city and state boundaries. Census-based 2020 five-year estimates identified the following U.S. metropolitan areas among the largest Dominican population centers:

These figures are based on a different statistical year and methodology from the latest INDEX registry, so they should not be added to or substituted for the 2026 national figures. Their main value is to show the relative scale of Dominican metropolitan communities.

On a city-proper basis, New York City stands clearly apart. Other important urban centers include Lawrence, Paterson, Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, Yonkers, Perth Amboy, Newark, Allentown, Reading, Jersey City, Passaic, Lynn, Hazleton and Miami. The exact ranking can change depending on whether the measurement is based on ancestry, Hispanic origin, birthplace, citizenship or another demographic definition.

Why Are Dominicans So Concentrated in New York?

The dominance of New York is the result of several decades of migration and the development of strong social networks. Once a sizable Dominican community was established, new migrants could rely on relatives, friends, community organizations, businesses and cultural institutions already operating in the area.

This process is sometimes described as chain migration, although family reunification is only one part of a much broader migration system. Employment opportunities, existing communities and the ability to maintain cultural and family connections all influence where migrants choose to settle.

New York also functions as the center of a much larger regional network. Dominicans living in New Jersey, Connecticut and parts of Pennsylvania may remain economically and socially connected to New York even when they do not live inside the five boroughs.

Why Are Dominican Communities Also Growing in Other U.S. Cities?

The Dominican population in the United States is no longer limited to traditional settlement areas. Housing costs, employment opportunities, family movements and domestic migration have contributed to the expansion of Dominican communities in Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia and other states.

This creates two different patterns. Some communities are extremely concentrated in a small geographic area, as in parts of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Others are more dispersed across metropolitan areas, making the population less visible when measured only at the municipal level.

The result is a Dominican diaspora that has both strong traditional centers and a growing network of secondary communities.

How Large Is the Dominican Community Compared With the Population of the Dominican Republic?

The scale of the diaspora is significant when compared with the population remaining in the Dominican Republic. The latest registry’s 3.03 million people abroad correspond to roughly 28 percent of the population living in the country, according to the reporting accompanying the fifth INDEX edition.

That comparison should be interpreted carefully. The diaspora figure includes people of Dominican nationality or origin identified through the registry’s methodology, including younger people born abroad in Dominican families. It is therefore not equivalent to a count of Dominican-born emigrants.

This distinction is particularly important in the United States, where a large share of the Dominican-origin population was born in the country. A community can therefore continue growing even when the rate of new migration changes.

What Is the Most Important Dominican City Outside the Dominican Republic?

New York City is the clearest answer. No other urban center has a Dominican community of comparable scale. The broader New York metropolitan area contains more than one million people of Dominican origin in Census-based estimates, while New York State alone had 873,294 Dominicans in the latest INDEX registry.

After New York, the picture becomes more regional. Paterson and other New Jersey cities form part of the same metropolitan network, while Boston, Lawrence, Providence, Philadelphia, Allentown and Miami represent other major U.S. centers. In Europe, Madrid and Barcelona are the leading Dominican urban centers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Dominicans live outside the Dominican Republic?

The latest Dominican government registry counts 3,030,647 Dominicans living in 129 countries and territories. The figure is an official statistical estimate rather than a literal worldwide census of every person of Dominican descent.

Which country has the most Dominicans outside the Dominican Republic?

The United States has by far the largest Dominican population, with 2,539,893 people recorded in the latest INDEX registry. Spain is second with 207,135.

Which U.S. state has the most Dominicans?

New York has the largest Dominican population, with 873,294 people in the latest INDEX figures. New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts follow.

Which U.S. city has the largest Dominican population?

New York City is the largest Dominican urban center in the United States and the world outside the Dominican Republic. Census-based sources produce different totals depending on the demographic definition used.

Where do most Dominicans live in Spain?

The largest concentrations are in Madrid and Barcelona. The latest INDEX registry records 69,747 Dominicans in Madrid and 41,966 in Barcelona.

Is Puerto Rico one of the main destinations for Dominicans?

Yes. Puerto Rico has one of the largest Dominican communities in the Caribbean. The latest INDEX registry records approximately 58,000 Dominicans there.

Are Dominican communities found outside the Americas and Europe?

Yes. The fifth edition of the registry expanded its coverage to Asia, Africa and Oceania for the first time. It identified Dominican nationals in countries including Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Botswana, Guinea, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Serbia and Vietnam.

The Global Geography of the Dominican Diaspora

The Dominican diaspora is global, but it is not evenly distributed. More than eight out of every ten Dominicans registered abroad live in North America, and the United States alone accounts for the overwhelming majority. Spain provides the principal European center, while Italy, Chile, Canada, the Netherlands and several other countries maintain smaller but established communities.

At the city level, New York is the dominant global center of Dominican life outside the island. Its importance is reinforced by neighboring communities in New Jersey and other parts of the Northeast. Boston, Lawrence, Providence, Philadelphia and Miami form additional major U.S. centers, while Madrid and Barcelona anchor the Dominican presence in Spain.

The geography of Dominican migration therefore combines one exceptionally large metropolitan hub with a network of regional communities. That structure helps explain why Dominican culture, businesses, family networks and institutions have become such a visible part of urban life across the United States, Spain and other destinations around the world.