According to Census data, there are 39.6 million American who claim Irish heritage including five million who say they are of Scots-Irish heritage. That number is almost seven times larger than the entire population of Ireland (6.3 million). After German, Irish is the most common ancestry of Americans. Now Jed Kulko, chief economist for Trulia, has created a map showing the areas with the most concentrated number of Irish Americans.
“Irish Americans are at least 5 percent of the population in most counties across the U.S., and 10 percent or more in most of New England, New York state, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and other smaller counties across the country," he said.
With 12.9 percent of its residents claiming Irish ancestry, New York has the most concentrated Irish American population. At 20.4 percent, Boston has the most concentrated Irish population for a city, while Miami, at 1 percent, has the least.
According to Kolko's data, the one neighborhood in the entire U.S. that has the largest Irish American population is Breezy Point in Queens, where 54.3 percent of its population claim Irish ancestry.
Kolko says that new Irish immigrants to the U.S. tend to settle in areas that already have a large Irish population.
"Eight of the top 10 metros where Ireland accounts for the highest share of foreign search traffic are also among the top 20 metros for the highest share of Irish ancestry,” he says. “In other words, people from Ireland tend to search more for homes in places where more Irish-Americans live.”
Read more: Numbers of Irish Americans not going down - here’s the proof
* Originally published August 5, 2013.
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