With St Patrick’s Day I decided to take a quick look at Irish ancestry in America. Maps of Irish population centers are nothing new. For example, this map is from 1870.
Irish Americans have played a major role in US history, both cultural and political. We often think of New York City and Boston as being hotpots of Irish Americans. How well do those pre-conceived notions hold up?
Geography of Irish Ancestry in American
The states with the largest Irish ancestry are in New England. Massachusetts tops the list at 21%, followed closely behind by New Hampshire. The Southern States and Sun Belt have low Irish populations.
The county map gives better examples or Irish clustering. Areas outside Philadelphia and Boston have some of the largest shares of Irish ancestry. There are, however, pockets of modest Irish ancestry across the Midwest and farm states. Montana has a few counties with especially notable shares of the population reporting Irish heritage.
Looking more at New England, I broke the data down by census tract.
Zooming in, we see areas in south New Jersey and outside Philadelphia have large Irish shares of its population. The Jersey coast is also dotted by communities with higher Irish ancestry.
When we think of historic Irish political power, we think back to the New York City Tammany Hall machine. However, these days New York City has a much smaller Irish share of its population. Growing diversity in the city has resulted in lower Irish share of the population. Some Irish communities, especially in Staten Island, still stand out.
The highest concentration lies in the communities South of Boston and the Cape Cod area. The area is home to the largest Irish share of any congressional district, (MA-08).
Just North of Boston and heading into New Hampshire, we also see large Irish populations.
Political Power
Irish share of the population can also be examined at the Congressional District level. The map below shows the breakdown by district. New England districts, to zero shock, lead the way in Irish share.
The district with the largest Irish hare is the Massachusetts 8th, which is 30% Irish. The district is just south of Boston and is a solid Democratic seat currently held by Stephen Lynch. Four Massachusetts districts are in the top 10 for Irish seats. The Pennsylvania seats outside Philadelphia are in the top 5, but it should be noted these districts have been redrawn in the last month and these are old numbers.
The Irish districts are overall Democratic, with Clinton winning 7 of the 10 districts.
Conclusion
Irish geographic hot-spots are partly where Americans imagine they are – especially around Massachusetts. New Hampshire, which stands as the 2nd most Irish state, is probably not what most Americans would have guessed. In addition, the history of the Irish political machine of New York City is no longer reflected in New York City’s current demographics.