The Most Common Ancestry In Every State

America is a melting pot.

People of every nationality call the US home, bringing with them their rich cultural traditions.

However, like any soup, it’s not always evenly distributed. Some nationalities are more prominently represented in certain states than others.

We analyzed data from the ACS Census to find the three most common ancestries in each state.

Keep reading to see our top findings, and the second and third most common ancestries.

Key Findings On Most Common Ancestry

The most common single ancestry in the US is German, with over 50 million Americans of German descent and 21 states claiming German heritage the most.
To put into common how prevalent German heritage is, prior to WW 1 when it fell out of favor, German was the second most common language in the US.
German remains the second most spoken language in North Dakota.
19 states claim “American” as their ancestry the most.
Massachusetts and New Hampshire have extra reason to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Maryland was the only state for Sub-Saharan African to be the most common ancestry.

Second Most Common Ancestry In Each State

American remains a common response.
10 states claim “English” as the second most common primary ancestry, almost all in the South.
Unsurprisingly, French heritage is common in Louisiana where visitors can see the French influence all around them.
Norwegian was the 2nd most common ancestry in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
West Indian enters the map for the first time, as the 2nd most common single ancestry in Florida.

Third Most Common Ancestry In Each State

Unsurprisingly as we look at the third most common ancestry, we see previously popular heritages (Irish, English, German, and American) pop up in other parts of the country.
Portuguese is the third most common single ancestry in Rhode Island.
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois all claim Polish as the third most common single ancestry.

How We Determined This

To find the most common ancestry in each state, we turned to US Census Ancestry data.

From there, we simply found the single ancestry the highest number of residents reported, then finding the second and third highest.

This data is self-reported, which relies on people accurately knowing their own heritage. Considering, 21% of Americans are unable to name a single great-grandparent, chances are good these results are skewed.

This may have contributed to the large number of respondents in every state who chose “American” as their ancestry– because the more distant heritage has been lost to history.

Similarly, the data is for those who report a single ancestry–so doesn’t take into account all the people whose personal heritage is their own melting pot and have multiple ancestries.

You can see a table of each state’s 3 most common single ancestries below:

Most Common Ancestries

State	First	Second	Third
Alabama	American	English	Irish
Alaska	German	American	Irish
Arizona	German	American	English
Arkansas	American	English	German
California	American	German	European
Colorado	German	American	English
Connecticut	Italian	Irish	American
Delaware	American	Irish	German
Florida	American	West Indian	German
Georgia	American	English	Irish
Hawaii	German	Irish	English
Idaho	English	American	German
Illinois	German	American	Polish
Indiana	German	American	English
Iowa	German	American	Irish
Kansas	German	American	English
Kentucky	American	English	German
Louisiana	American	French	French Canadian
Maine	English	American	Irish
Maryland	Subsaharan African	American	German
Massachusetts	Irish	Italian	American
Michigan	German	American	Polish
Minnesota	German	Norwegian	American
Mississippi	American	English	Irish
Missouri	German	American	Irish
Montana	German	American	Irish
Nebraska	German	American	Irish
Nevada	American	German	Irish
New Hampshire	Irish	French Canadian	English
New Jersey	Italian	Irish	American
New Mexico	American	German	English
New York	Italian	American	West Indian
North Carolina	American	English	German
North Dakota	German	Norwegian	American
Ohio	German	American	Irish
Oklahoma	American	German	Irish
Oregon	German	American	English
Pennsylvania	German	American	Italian
Rhode Island	Italian	Irish	Portuguese
South Carolina	American	English	German
South Dakota	German	Norwegian	American
Tennessee	American	English	Irish
Texas	American	German	English
Utah	English	European	American
Vermont	American	English	Irish
Virginia	American	English	German
Washington	German	American	European
West Virginia	American	German	Irish
Wisconsin	German	American	Polish
Wyoming	German	American	English

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Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.

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