What U.S. state has the most Irish heritage?

The US state of New Hampshire boasts the highest rate of Irish heritage, a study has found, with a fifth (20.2%) of residents having Irish roots.

Massachusetts, where 18.9% of residents have Irish heritage, places second, while Rhode Island, where 16.72% can trace their ancestry back to Ireland, is third, the study, by Casinos Sweeps found.

Census data

In collating the data, the latest 2022 Census data on the ancestry of residents in each US state was investigated, comparing the total statewide populations with the number of people with Irish ancestral roots.

States 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 study found, at 16.08%, with Maine in fifth, with 15% of residents having Irish heritage.

Following closely behind, Pennsylvania has 15% of residents boasting Irish heritage, Delaware has 14.38%, while Connecticut has 14.37%. Montana and Iowa also revealed significant Irish heritage percentages, with 13.64% and 12.73%, respectively.

‘Historic roots’

“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,” a spokesperson for Casinos Sweeps said.

“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%.”

States with the Highest Percentage of Irish Ancestry

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