美国文化属于西方文化，在美国独立前就早已发展出来，由于其被殖民的历史，英国文化影响最剧，像是使用英语和英美法系等；其余对美国文化影响较大的有爱尔兰文化、德国文化、波兰文化、意大利文化、美国土着文化和非洲文化（尤其是西部非洲）。美国文化也受到新移民和其周边国家（如加拿大、墨西哥等）的影响。美国因为受到英国殖民的影响，使得文化有一定程度地相似于其他西方移民国家，像是加拿大和澳大利亚等。除此之外，次文化在美国文化中扮演着不可忽视的角色，其中最有影响力的应属德国次文化、爱尔兰次文化和英格兰次文化。

美国在过去曾被认为是文化熔炉(melting pot)，但近期对于文化多样性的研究，更倾向于将其描述成沙拉盘(salad bowl)（其中各种“原料”皆维持原样，因沙拉酱的不同而改变些许味道）。

The culture of the United States of America is primarily Western, but is influenced by African, Native American, Asian, Polynesian, and Latin American cultures. A strand of what may be described as American culture started its formation over 10,000 years ago with the migration of Paleo-Indians from Asia, Oceania, and Europe, into the region that is today the continental United States. The United States of America has its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, cuisine, and folklore. The United States of America is an ethnically and racially diverse country as a result of large-scale migration from many ethnically and racially different countries throughout its history. Differing birth and death rates among natives, settlers, and immigrants are also a factor.