Dominicans are immigrants originally from the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola.

Communities established by the first wave of immigrants to North America in the 1960s created a network that assisted subsequent arrivals. In the early 1980s, unemployment, inflation, and the rise in value of the dollar all contributed to a large wave of emigration from the island nation, this time mostly from the lower-class.

Today, emigration from the Dominican Republic remains high, facilitated by the social networks of now-established Dominican communities in North America. Dominican Americans are now among the top ten largest Hispanic or Latino American groups in North America.

A significant number of Dominicans are young, first-generation immigrants without a higher education, since many came from the country's rural areas.

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Second-generation Dominicans tend to be more educated than their first generation counterparts, a condition reflected in their higher incomes and employment in professional or skilled occupations and more pursuing undergraduate education and graduate degrees. Over one fifth of all second-generation Dominicans have college degrees, slightly below the average for all Americans at one fourth. In New York City, Dominican entrepreneurs have carved out roles in several industries, especially the bodega and supermarket and taxi industries.

The largest concentration of Dominicans live in New York City. The borough of Manhattan (New York County) is home to the largest Dominican ancestral group, and its Washington Heights neighborhood has long been considered the center of the Dominican community. Rhode Island is the only state where Dominicans are the largest Hispanic group.

Dominicans are known for their vibrant culture, including Merengue music, their cuisine which is a combination of Spanish and African influences, and their passion for baseball. Their primary language is Dominican Spanish. The primary religion practiced by the Dominicans is cultural Roman Catholicism.