The United States is home to a very large number of people from Central America. Because of this, the air market is very large.
The United States is home to the largest number of people from Central America outside the region. However, unlike Mexican immigrants, Central Americans tend to congregate in fewer places. This creates a different picture than the US-Mexico Travel market.
In this article, we will break down US-Central America travel trends by specifically focusing on non-leisure-oriented routes. We will break down markets in Central America by their biggest O&D points in the US to determine trends.
The Current State of the US-Central America Air Market
Between May 2024 and May 2025, it averaged 18,369 daily passengers in each direction. The travel patterns between the US and Central America concentrate in fewer places than the US-Mexico Market.
The 15 largest US cities with demand for Central America are below. Airports within the same metropolitan area are included:
- Miami (MIA/FLL/PBI): 2,779
- New York City (JGK/LGA/EWR): 2,067
- Los Angeles (LAX/SNA/LGB/BUR): 2,014
- Houston (IAH/HOU): 1,429
- Washington, DC (DCA/IAD): 1,322
- Orlando (MCO): 846
- San Francisco (SFO/OAK): 638
- Atlanta (ATL): 553
- Dallas (DFW/DAL): 503
- Chicago (ORD/MDW): 418
- Boston (BOS): 402
- Denver (DEN): 307
- Minneapolis (MSP): 202
- Charlotte (CLT): 192
- Seattle (SEA/PAE): 185
The Central American Communities in the United States
The demand for air travel between the US and Central America should mirror its immigrant population in the US. In the metropolitan areas where there are a large number of Central American immigrants, we will see demand for air travel. As of 2023, there were 4,322,386 Central American immigrants in the United States. By metropolitan area, the largest populations were:
- Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim, CA: 579,416
- New York/Newark/Jersey City, NY/NJ: 424,271
- Washington, DC/MD/VA: 339,731
- Houston/Pasadena/The Woodlands, TX: 312,754
- Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach, FL: 287,104
- Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington, TX: 156,694
- San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont, CA: 144,605
- Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Roswell, GA: 95,731
- Boston/Cambridge/Newton, MA: 80,601
- Chicago/Naperville/Elgin, IL: 69,616
Largest Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Honduran, and Nicaraguan immigrant populations by Metro Area as of 2023.
Salvadoran, total US population: 1,494,869
- Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim: 287,047
- Washington, DC/Arlington/Alexandria: 202,378
- New York City/Newark/Jersey City: 168,328
- Houston/Pasadena/The Woodlands: 129,500
- Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington: 63,360
Guatemalan, total US population: 1,250,053
- Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim: 191,904
- New York City/Newark/Jersey City: 113,041
- Washington, DC/Arlington/Alexandria: 66,356
- Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach: 56,600
- Houston/Pasadena/The Woodlands: 51,057
Honduran, total US population: 934,617
- Houston/Pasadena/The Woodlands: 111,736
- New York City/Newark/Jersey City: 79,673
- Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach: 67,844
- Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington: 50,466
- Washington, DC/Arlington/Alexandria: 49,436
Nicaraguan, total US population: 377,152
- Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach: 109,197
- Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim: 30,964
- San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont: 23,130
- New York City/Newark/Jersey City: 17,027
- Houston/Pasadena/The Woodlands: 15,290
There are approximately 100,000 Costa Ricans, Panamanians, and Belizeans in the United States.
Largest US-Central America City Pairs
Below are the O&D market sizes from US Cities to Central American cities. Market sizes are non-directionally averaged between May 2024 and May 2025. The goal is not only to gain visibility in the US-Central America market, but to learn about the Central American communities in the United States.
Below are the 10 largest O&D markets between the US and San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL). SAL is the largest market in Central America for US travel.
- Los Angeles (LAX): 735
- Washington, DC (IAD): 715
- Houston (IAH): 470
- New York City (JFK): 408
- Miami (MIA): 210
- San Francisco (SFO): 198
- Dallas (DFW): 167
- Oakland (OAK): 84
- Atlanta (ATL): 83
- Newark (EWR): 72
Below are the top 10 city pairs between the US and San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO). SJO is a mix of leisure, VFR, and business.
- Orlando (MCO): 386
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL): 316
- Los Angeles (LAX): 241
- Newark (EWR): 225
- Miami (MIA): 199
- New York City (JFK): 178
- Atlanta (ATL): 112
- Houston (IAH): 108
- Washington, DC (IAD): 95
- San Francisco (SFO): 79
Below are the top 10 city pairs between the US and Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA).
- Los Angeles (LAX): 482
- New York City (JFK): 239
- Miami (MIA): 219
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL): 177
- Washington, DC (IAD): 150
- Houston (IAH): 141
- Orlando (MCO): 98
- Newark (EWR): 98
- Chicago (ORD): 93
- Atlanta (ATL): 92
Below are the top 10 city pairs between the US and Panama City, Panama (PTY).
- Miami (MIA): 499
- Orlando (MCO): 210
- New York City (JFK): 168
- Washington, DC (IAD): 121
- Los Angeles (LAX): 114
- Atlanta (ATL): 91
- Houston (IAH): 74
- Chicago (ORD): 60
- Boston (BOS): 55
- Newark (EWR): 54
Below are the top 5 destinations, to some smaller destinations in Central America.
Belize City, Belize (BZE)
- Los Angeles (LAX): 87
- Houston (IAH): 75
- Houston (HOU): 64
- Miami (MIA): 57
- New York City (JFK): 49
San Pedro Sula, Honduras (SAP).
- Houston (IAH): 132
- Miami (MIA): 120
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL): 106
- New Orleans (MSY): 84
- Orlando (MCO): 60
Managua, Nicaragua (MGA)
- Miami (MIA): 379
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL): 59
- Los Angeles (LAX): 42
- San Francisco (SFO): 37
- Houston (IAH): 36
Tegucigalpa/Palmerola, Honduras (XPL):
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL): 132
- Miami (MIA): 87
- Houston (IAH): 66
- Washington, DC (IAD): 24
- New York City (JFK): 23
Roatan, Honduras (RTB):
- Houston (IAH): 28
- Miami (FLL): 23
- Dallas (DFW): 13
- Minneapolis (MSP): 12
- Denver (DEN): 11
All US-Central America City Pairs with at least 100 PDEW:
What does the data show us?
Given the small populations of immigrants in the US, it can be inferred that travel between the US and Panama, Belize, and Costa Rica is not primarily of a VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) nature. All three are popular vacation destinations for Americans, and Panama has a large amount of business demand. Demand to destinations in these countries follows large population centers, as opposed to places where immigrants from those countries live. Another leisure-focused destination would be Roatan (RTB) in Honduras. Even though other destinations may be focused on VFR, seeing cities like Minneapolis and Denver in the top 5 would imply leisure-based demand, as there are few Honduran immigrants in those places.
El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua are different. Their travel patterns to the US mirror where their immigrants have settled in the US. This would lead us to believe that travel to those destinations from the US is tied to VFR travel.