One of every four Tongans living in the United States resides in Utah, according to a Salt Lake Tribune analysis of 2010 U.S. census data. Utah ranks second among the states for total population of Tongans, behind only California — but ahead of even Hawaii. Utah’s Tongan population is an eighth as large as the population of the Kingdom of Tonga meaning it’s as if one of every nine Tongans left home to live here. Salt Lake City itself even has more Tongans than all but the three largest cities on those islands.
Utah also has nearly as many Samoans as Tongans — 13,086 compared with 13,235. But only one of every 14 Samoans in America lives in Utah. And Utah ranks fourth among the states for its population of Samoans. Salt Lake Tribune
