The exodus of Salvadorans was a result of both economic and political problems. The largest immigration wave occurred as a result of the Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s, in which 20–30% of El Salvador's population emigrated. About 50%, or up to 500,000 of those who escaped headed to the United States, which was already home to over 10,000 Salvadorans, making Salvadorans Americans the fourth-largest Hispanic and Latino American group, after the Mexican-American majority, stateside Puerto Ricans, and Cubans.

Why did Salvadorans come to America?