Most Common Ethnicity of White Americans by County

Map created by reddit user Mission-Guidance4782The map above shows the most common self-reported ethnicity of White Americans in the 2020 US census. The ethnic groups are:

English
German
Irish
Italian
Spanish
French
Dutch
Norwegian
Portuguese
Finnish
Polish
Czech

From the census website:

Among those who identified as White alone or in combination, English (46.6 million), German (45 million), and Irish (38.6 million) were the largest groups.

Several other alone or in any combination groups had at least 8 million people: Italian (16.8 million), Polish (8.6 million), Scottish (8.4 million), and French (8.0 million).

An additional 11 detailed White alone or in any combination groups had at least 1 million people, including Swedish (3.8 million), Norwegian (3.8 million), and Dutch (3.6 million)

Key Map Observations:

Regional Trends:
- English Ancestry (Yellow):
  - Most prominent across much of the South and western regions of the United States.
  - Indicates earlier Anglo-Saxon settlers or self-identifying “American” ancestry, which is often tied to English roots.
- German Ancestry (Blue):
  - The dominant ethnicity in many counties across the Midwest and the Great Plains states (e.g., Minnesota, the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas).
  - Reflects the strong historical immigration of German communities to these agricultural regions.
- Irish Ancestry (Green):
  - Particularly dominant in parts of the Northeast (e.g., Massachusetts) and areas with historical Irish immigration.
- Italian Ancestry (Red):
  - Concentrated in specific counties, especially in the Northeast (e.g., New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island).
- Spanish Ancestry (Brown):
  - Found in southern and western counties, particularly in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, reflecting the Hispanic and Spanish colonial heritage of these areas.
- French Ancestry (Purple):
  - Most common in southern Louisiana, reflecting the Cajun and Creole populations rooted in French settlement and on the border with Quebec.
Less Common Ethnicities:
- Dutch (Light Orange): Seen in small pockets, typically in the Midwest and parts of Michigan.
- Norwegian (Dark Green): Dominates in small parts of the northern Midwest, such as Minnesota and North Dakota.
- Portuguese, Finnish, Polish, Czech (Various Colors): Found in smaller, localized areas where specific immigrant groups settled historically.