Immediately before and continuing into the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union , waves of Armenians from the Republic of Armenia and other former Soviet republics arrived for political reasons and economic opportunities , settling in older established Armenian communities across the country . The 1988 Armenian earthquake and the energy crisis in Armenia during the Nagorno-Karabakh War caused an estimated number of 700,000 Armenians to leave the country , most of whom ended up in Russia , still others in the US , and some in Europe . Annually , on average 2,000 people from Armenia migrated to the US since 1994 , not including ethnic Armenians from Middle Eastern countries . According to the 2000 US Census , there were 65,280 Armenian-born people in the US : 57,482 in California , 1,981 in New York and 1,155 in Massachusetts . According to the 2011 American Community Survey , there were 85,150 Armenian-born people in the US , about 20,000 more than in 2000 . According to the US embassy in Yerevan , about 21,000 citizens of the Republic of Armenia have moved to the US for permanent residency in the period from 1995 to 2012 . Meanwhile , Armenian immigration from the Middle East continues , contributing to California 's distinction of having , by far , the highest Armenian American population of any state
1988 Armenian earthquake
1988 Armenian earthquake
Armenian Americans