- • Vermont is the US state boasting the fourth-highest rate of Irish heritage, with 16.39% of residents having Irish roots.
- • Burlington, Vergennes, and Rutland are the cities in Vermont with the highest percentage of residents of Irish descent.
- • Seven of the 10 states with the highest percentage of Irish heritage were in the Northeast, including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maine.
Vermont is the US state with the fourth-greatest rate of Irish heritage, according to a new study.
As people across America prepare to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, casino sweepstake comparison site Casinos Sweeps analyzed the latest 2022 Census data on the ancestry of residents in each US state, comparing the total state-wide populations with the number of people with Irish ancestral roots. They were then ranked from top to bottom to reveal the states with the highest percentage of Irish heritage.
Vermont is home to the fourth-highest rate of Irish descendants in America. The least populated state to feature among the top-performing regions, Vermont has approximately 105,520 residents of Irish descent, 16.39% of the state’s entire population.
Burlington ranked top as the Vermont city with the highest rate of Irish heritage, with 20.44% of its population descended from people native to Ireland. Vergennes and Rutland also have a high proportion of locals with Irish ancestral roots, with 19.6% and 19.35% of the population in each respective city having Irish ancestors.
New Hampshire ranked top as the US state with the highest percentage of Irish descendants in the entire country, with 20.2% of all people in the state having an Irish ancestor. One in every five people in New Hampshire has Irish heritage, more than any other state. Dover is the city with the strongest Irish heritage in the state, with 8,011 people, or 24.39%, of Irish descent.
Massachusetts is the state with the second-highest rate of residents of Irish descent. Approximately 1,319,826 people, or 18.9%, have Irish heritage in the state, higher than almost every other spot in the country. Weymouth is the city you are most likely to find someone with Irish ancestors, as they comprise 32.95% of the population.
Rhode Island has the third-highest rate of residents with Irish heritage in America. Of the 1,094,250 people residing in the state, 182,950, or 16.72%, are of Irish descent. On average, one in every six residents of Rhode Island has Irish heritage. Newport and Warwick are the cities with the highest percentage of residents of Irish descent, averaging 24.75% and 23.84%, respectively.
Maine rounds out the five US states with the highest percentage of residents of Irish descent. Exactly 16.08% of all people residing in Maine have Irish ancestry. The cities with the highest rate of Irish heritage include Hallowell, Saco, and Portland.
Residents of Pennsylvania have some of the greatest Irish heritage in the entire country. Precisely 15% of all people in Pennsylvania are of Irish descent, totaling 1,947,932 individuals in the entire state and cementing its position as sixth in the study. Pittston, Connellsville, and Scranton are the cities where you would find the highest percentage of Irish descendants.
The first state outside of the Northeast to feature in the ranking, Delaware has the seventh-highest rate of Irish heritage in the country. A total of 142,840 people in the state are of Irish descent, approximately 14.38% of the state-wide population.
Connecticut has the eighth-highest percentage of Irish descendants and is the final Northeastern state to feature in the study. One in every seven residents has Irish ancestral roots, representing 14.37% of the state’s total population. Milford is the city home to the state’s highest percentage of Irish heritage, with 20.35% of locals of Irish descent.
Montana ranks ninth among the US states with the highest rate of people of Irish descent. Of the 1,091,840 people living in the state, 148,897 have Irish heritage, around 13.64% of the state-wide population.
Iowa was the tenth and final state to be named in the study of the states with the highest rate of Irish ancestry. The state is home to 405,795 people of Irish descent, equal to 12.73% of the total population.
Table: The states with the highest percentage of Irish heritage
|
Ranking |
State |
Population |
Irish ancestry |
Percentage of Irish heritage |
|
1 |
New Hampshire |
1,379,610 |
278,617 |
20.20% |
|
2 |
Massachusetts |
6,984,205 |
1,319,826 |
18.90% |
|
3 |
Rhode Island |
1,094,250 |
182,950 |
16.72% |
|
4 |
Vermont |
643,816 |
105,520 |
16.39% |
|
5 |
Maine |
1,366,949 |
219,780 |
16.08% |
|
6 |
Pennsylvania |
12,989,208 |
1,947,932 |
15.00% |
|
7 |
Delaware |
993,635 |
142,840 |
14.38% |
|
8 |
Connecticut |
3,611,317 |
519,102 |
14.37% |
|
9 |
Montana |
1,091,840 |
148,897 |
13.64% |
|
10 |
Iowa |
3,188,836 |
405,795 |
12.73% |
A spokesperson from Casinos Sweeps commented on the study: “Ireland’s historic roots with the Northeast of America appear to remain strong, with seven of the states with the highest percentage of Irish ancestry found there.
“Interestingly, despite New York and Illinois hosting some of the most famous St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the world, neither feature in the states with the highest percentage of Irish descendants. In fact, just 10.74% of Illinois's population is of Irish descent, while New York’s is even lower at 10.66%.”
If you use these insights, please link credit to https://casinossweeps.com/, as they are responsible for the data.
Sources: 2022 American Community Survey
Methodology:
- • Data was gathered from the latest 2022 Census on the number of people of Irish ancestry in each US state.
- • These figures were compared with each state’s population according to the 2022 Census to reveal which states had the highest percentage of residents of Irish descent.
- • The states were ranked according to the highest to lowest percentage of population with Irish ancestry.
