Ancestry is a broad concept that can mean different things to different people; it can be

described alternately as

where their ancestors

are from, where they or

their parents originated,

or simply how they see

themselves ethnically.

Some people may have

one distinct ancestry,

while others are

descendants of several

ancestry groups, and

still others may know

only that their ancestors were from a

particular region of the world or may not

know their ethnic origins at all. The

Census Bureau defines ancestry as a person’s ethnic origin, heritage, descent, or

“roots,” which may reflect their place of

birth, place of birth of parents or ancestors, and ethnic identities that have

evolved within the United States.

This report is part of a series that presents population and housing data collected by Census 2000, where 80 percent of

respondents to the long form specified at

least one ancestry. (About one-sixth of

households received the long form.) It

presents data on the most frequently

reported ancestries and describes population distributions for the United States,

including regions, states, counties, and

selected cities.1 The listed ancestries

were reported by at least 100,000 people,

and the numbers cited in this report represent the number of people who reported each ancestry either as their first or

second response.

The question on ancestry first appeared

on the census questionnaire in 1980,

replacing a question on where a person’s

parents were born. The question on

parental birthplace provided foreignorigin data only for people with one or

both parents born outside the United

States. The current ancestry question

allows everyone to give one or two

attributions of their “ancestry or ethnic

origin” (Figure 1), and in doing so,

enables people to identify an ethnic

background, such as German, Lebanese,

Nigerian, or Portuguese, which was not

otherwise identified in the race or

Hispanic-origin questions. 

The ancestries in this report also include

the groups covered in the questions on

race and Hispanic origin, such as 

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S.Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued June 2004

C2KBR-35

Ancestry: 2000

Census 2000 Brief

By 

Angela Brittingham 

and 

G. Patricia de la Cruz

Figure 1.

Reproduction of the Question on Ancestry 

From Census 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 questionnaire.

What is this person’s ancestry or ethnic origin?

(For example: Italian, Jamaican, African Am., Cambodian,

Cape Verdean, Norwegian, Dominican, French Canadian,

Haitian, Korean, Lebanese, Polish, Nigerian, Mexican,

Taiwanese, Ukrainian, and so on.)

10

1 The text of this report discusses data for the

United States, including the 50 states and the

District of Columbia. Data for the Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico are shown in Table 3 and Figure 3.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

African American, Mexican,

American Indian, and Chinese. For

these groups, the results from the

ancestry question and the race and

Hispanic-origin questions differ, but

the latter are the official sources of

data for race and Hispanic groups.

In some cases, the totals reported

on the ancestry question are lower

than the numbers from the race or

Hispanic-origin question. For

instance, nearly 12 million fewer

people specified “African American”

as their ancestry than gave that

response to the race question. One

reason for this large difference is

that some people who reported

Black or African American on the

race question reported their ancestry more specifically, such as

Jamaican, Haitian, or Nigerian, and

thus were not counted in the

African American ancestry category.

Similarly, more than 2 million fewer

people reported Mexican ancestry

than gave that answer to the

Hispanic-origin question.2 In other

cases, the ancestry question

produced higher numbers, such as

for Dominicans, whose estimated

totals from the ancestry question

were over 100,000 higher than

from the Hispanic-origin question,

where many Dominicans may have

reported a general term (like

Hispanic) or checked “other” without writing in a detailed response.3

More than four out of five

people specified at least 

one ancestry.

In 2000, 58 percent of the population specified only one ancestry,

22 percent provided two ancestries, and 1 percent reported an

unclassifiable ancestry such as

“mixture” or “adopted.” Another

19 percent did not report any

ancestry at all, a substantial

increase from 1990, when 10 percent of the population left the

ancestry question blank (Table 1). 

Nearly one of six people

reported their ancestry 

as German.

In 2000, 42.8 million people 

(15 percent of the population) considered themselves to be of

German (or part-German) ancestry,

the most frequent response to the

census question (Figure 2).4 Other

ancestries with over 15 million

people in 2000 included Irish 

(30.5 million, or 11 percent),

African American (24.9 million, or

9 percent), English (24.5 million, or

9 percent), American (20.2 million,

or 7 percent), Mexican (18.4 million, or 7 percent), and Italian

(15.6 million, or 6 percent).

Other ancestries with 4 million or

more people included Polish,

French, American Indian, Scottish,

Dutch, Norwegian, Scotch-Irish,

and Swedish.

In total, 7 ancestries were reported

by more than 15 million people in

2000, 37 ancestries were reported

by more than 1 million people, and 2 The estimates in this report are based

on responses from a sample of the population. As with all surveys, estimates may vary

from the actual values because of sampling

variation or other factors. All statements

made in this report have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 

90-percent confidence level unless 

otherwise noted.

Table 1.

Ancestry Reporting: 1990 and 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Ancestry

19901 2000 Change, 1990 to 2000

Number Percent Number Percent Numerical Percent

Total population...................... 248,709,873 100.0 281,421,906 100.0 32,712,033 13.2

Ancestry specified ......................... 222,608,257 89.5 225,310,411 80.1 2,702,154 1.2

Single ancestry ......................... 148,836,950 59.8 163,315,936 58.0 14,478,986 9.7

Multiple ancestry ........................ 73,771,307 29.7 61,994,475 22.0 –11,776,832 –16.0

Ancestry not specified . . . .................. 26,101,616 10.5 56,111,495 19.9 30,009,879 115.0

Unclassified ............................ 2,180,245 0.9 2,437,929 0.9 257,684 11.8

Not reported ............................ 23,921,371 9.6 53,673,566 19.1 29,752,195 124.4

1

1990 estimates in this table differ slightly from 1990 Summary Tape File 3 in order to make them fully consistent with data from

Census 2000.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3 and 1990 special tabulation.

3 For more information about race and

Hispanic groups, see Census 2000 Briefs on

Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native,

Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian and Pacific

Islander, White, and Two or More Races populations, available on the Census Bureau Web

site at www.census.gov/prod/cen2000

/index.html.

4 The estimates in Figure 2 and Table 2 in

some cases differ slightly from the estimates

in other data products due to the collapsing

schemes used. For example, here German

does not include Bavarian.
92 ancestries were reported by

more than 100,000 people (Table 2).

The largest European

ancestries have decreased in

population, while African

American, Hispanic, and Asian

ancestries have increased.

The highest growth rates between

1990 and 2000 occurred in groups

identified by a general heritage

rather than a particular country of

ancestry. For example, the number

of people who reported Latin

American, African, or European all

more than quadrupled (Latin

American increased from 44,000 in

1990 to 250,000 in 2000, African

grew from 246,000 to 1.2 million,

and European rose from 467,000

to 2.0 million). Other generalheritage groups that at least doubled in size included Western

European, Northern European,

Asian, Hispanic, and White.

The three largest ancestries in 1990

were German, Irish, and English. In

2000, these groups were still the

largest European ancestries, but

each had decreased in size by at

least 8 million and by more than 

20 percent (Table 2). As a proportion of the population, German

decreased from 23 percent in 1990

to 15 percent in 2000, while Irish

and English decreased from 16 percent to 11 percent, and from 

13 percent to 9 percent, respectively. Several other large European

ancestries also decreased over the

decade, including Polish, French,

Scottish, Dutch, and Swedish.

The number of people who reported African American ancestry

increased by nearly 1.2 million, or

4.9 percent, between 1990 and

2000, making this group the third

largest ancestry. However, the proportion of African Americans

decreased slightly over the decade,

from 9.5 percent to 8.8 percent. 

The population of many ancestries,

such as Mexican, Chinese, Filipino,

and Asian Indian, increased during

the decade, reflecting sizable

immigration, especially from Latin

America and Asia. Several small

ancestry populations, including

Brazilian, Pakistani, Albanian,

Honduran, and Trinidadian and

Tobagonian, at least doubled.

Seven percent of the 

U.S. population reported their

ancestry as American.

The number who reported

American and no other ancestry

increased from 12.4 million in

1990 to 20.2 million in 2000, the

largest numerical growth of any

group during the 1990s.5 This figure represents an increase of 

63 percent, as the proportion rose

from 5.0 percent to 7.2 percent of

the population.

THE GEOGRAPHIC

DISTRIBUTION OF

ANCESTRIES

In each of the four regions, 

a different ancestry was

reported as the largest.

Among the four regions, the largest

ancestries in 2000 were Irish in the

U.S. Census Bureau 3

Figure 2.

Fifteen Largest Ancestries: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 special tabulation.

(In millions. Percent of total population in parentheses.

Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Swedish (1.4%)

Scotch-Irish (1.5%)

Norwegian (1.6%)

Dutch (1.6%)

Scottish (1.7%)

American Indian (2.8%)

French (3.0%)

Polish (3.2%)

Italian (5.6%)

Mexican (6.5%)

American (7.2%)

English (8.7%)

African American (8.8%)

Irish (10.8%)

German (15.2%)

4.0

42.8

30.5

24.9

24.5

20.2

18.4

15.6

9.0

8.3

7.9

4.9

4.5

4.5

4.3

5 American was considered a valid ancestry response when it was the only ancestry

provided by a respondent. 
4 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 2.

Ancestries With 100,000 or More People in 2000: 1990 and 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Ancestry

1990 2000 Change, 1990 to 2000

Number

Percent of

total

population Number

Percent of

total

population Numerical Percent

Total population........................ 248,709,873 100.0 281,421,906 100.0 32,712,033 13.2

African* .................................. 245,845 0.1 1,183,316 0.4 937,471 381.3

African American*1,2 ....................... 23,750,256 9.5 24,903,412 8.8 1,153,156 4.9

Albanian ................................. 47,710 - 113,661 - 65,951 138.2

American* ................................ 12,395,999 5.0 20,188,305 7.2 7,792,306 62.9

American Indian* .......................... 8,689,344 3.5 7,876,568 2.8 –812,776 –9.4

Arab* .................................... 127,364 0.1 205,822 0.1 78,458 61.6

Armenian................................. 308,096 0.1 385,488 0.1 77,392 25.1

Asian*

.................................... 107,172 - 238,960 0.1 131,788 123.0

Asian Indian .............................. 569,338 0.2 1,546,703 0.5 977,365 171.7

Austrian .................................. 864,783 0.3 730,336 0.3 –134,447 –15.5

Belgian................................... 380,403 0.2 348,531 0.1 –31,872 –8.4

Brazilian.................................. 65,875 - 181,076 0.1 115,201 174.9

British. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,119,140 0.4 1,085,718 0.4 –33,422 –3.0

Cambodian2 .............................. 134,955 0.1 197,093 0.1 62,138 46.0

Canadian. . ............................... 549,990 0.2 638,548 0.2 88,558 16.1

Chinese .................................. 1,505,229 0.6 2,271,562 0.8 766,333 50.9

Colombian. . .............................. 351,717 0.1 583,986 0.2 232,269 66.0

Croatian1 ................................. 544,270 0.2 374,241 0.1 –170,029 –31.2

Cuban ................................... 859,739 0.3 1,097,594 0.4 237,855 27.7

Czech. . . ................................. 1,296,369 0.5 1,258,452 0.4 –37,917 –2.9

Czechoslovakian .......................... 315,285 0.1 441,403 0.2 126,118 40.0

Danish ................................... 1,634,648 0.7 1,430,897 0.5 –203,751 –12.5

Dominican1,2.............................. 505,690 0.2 908,531 0.3 402,841 79.7

Dutch . . .................................. 6,226,339 2.5 4,541,770 1.6 –1,684,569 –27.1

Ecuadorian1 .............................. 197,374 0.1 322,965 0.1 125,591 63.6

Egyptian . . ............................... 78,574 - 142,832 0.1 64,258 81.8

English................................... 32,651,788 13.1 24,509,692 8.7 –8,142,096 –24.9

European* ................................ 466,718 0.2 1,968,696 0.7 1,501,978 321.8

Filipino ................................... 1,450,512 0.6 2,116,478 0.8 665,966 45.9

Finnish. . ................................. 658,854 0.3 623,559 0.2 –35,295 –5.4

French . .................................. 10,320,656 4.1 8,309,666 3.0 –2,010,990 –19.5

French Canadian1,2........................ 2,167,127 0.9 2,349,684 0.8 182,557 8.4

German1 ................................. 57,947,171 23.3 42,841,569 15.2 –15,105,602 –26.1

Greek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,110,292 0.4 1,153,295 0.4 43,003 3.9

Guatemalan . . . ........................... 241,559 0.1 463,502 0.2 221,943 91.9

Guyanese ................................ 81,665 - 162,425 0.1 80,760 98.9

Haitian1,2 ................................. 289,521 0.1 548,199 0.2 258,678 89.3

Hawaiian ................................. 256,081 0.1 334,858 0.1 78,777 30.8

Hispanic* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,113,259 0.4 2,451,109 0.9 1,337,850 120.2

Hmong................................... 84,823 - 140,528 - 55,705 65.7

Honduran ................................ 116,635 - 266,848 0.1 150,213 128.8

Hungarian ................................ 1,582,302 0.6 1,398,702 0.5 –183,600 –11.6

Iranian . .................................. 235,521 0.1 338,266 0.1 102,745 43.6

Irish1

..................................... 38,735,539 15.6 30,524,799 10.8 –8,210,740 –21.2

Israeli .................................... 81,677 - 106,839 - 25,162 30.8

Italian1,2 .................................. 14,664,189 5.9 15,638,348 5.6 974,159 6.6

Jamaican1,2............................... 435,024 0.2 736,513 0.3 301,489 69.3

Japanese. . . .............................. 1,004,622 0.4 1,103,325 0.4 98,703 9.8

Korean1,2................................. 836,987 0.3 1,190,353 0.4 353,366 42.2

Laotian................................... 146,947 0.1 179,866 0.1 32,919 22.4

Latin American* ........................... 43,521 - 250,052 0.1 206,531 474.6

Lebanese1,2 .............................. 394,180 0.2 440,279 0.2 46,099 11.7

Lithuanian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811,865 0.3 659,992 0.2 –151,873 –18.7

Mexican1,2................................ 11,580,038 4.7 18,382,291 6.5 6,802,253 58.7

Nicaraguan ............................... 177,077 0.1 230,358 0.1 53,281 30.1

Nigerian1,2................................ 91,499 - 164,691 0.1 73,192 80.0

(see footnotes on next page)
U.S. Census Bureau 5

Table 2.

Ancestries With 100,000 or More People in 2000: 1990 and 2000—Con.

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Ancestry

1990 2000 Change, 1990 to 2000

Number

Percent of

total

population Number

Percent of

total

population Numerical Percent

Northern European*

........................ 65,993 - 163,657 0.1 97,664 148.0

Norwegian2 ............................... 3,869,395 1.6 4,477,725 1.6 608,330 15.7

Pakistani ................................. 99,974 - 253,193 0.1 153,219 153.3

Panamanian .............................. 88,649 - 119,497 - 30,848 34.8

Pennsylvania German ..................... 305,841 0.1 255,807 0.1 -50,034 -16.4

Peruvian ................................. 161,866 0.1 292,991 0.1 131,125 81.0

Polish1,2.................................. 9,366,051 3.8 8,977,235 3.2 -388,816 -4.2

Portuguese ............................... 1,148,857 0.5 1,173,691 0.4 24,834 2.2

Puerto Rican.............................. 1,955,323 0.8 2,652,598 0.9 697,275 35.7

Romanian . . .............................. 365,531 0.1 367,278 0.1 1,747 (NS)

Russian .................................. 2,951,373 1.2 2,652,214 0.9 -299,159 -10.1

Salvadoran ............................... 499,153 0.2 802,743 0.3 303,590 60.8

Scandinavian ............................. 678,880 0.3 425,099 0.2 -253,781 -37.4

Scotch-Irish............................... 5,617,773 2.3 4,319,232 1.5 -1,298,541 -23.1

Scottish .................................. 5,393,581 2.2 4,890,581 1.7 -503,000 -9.3

Serbian .................................. 116,795 - 140,337 - 23,5422 0.2

Slavic .................................... 76,923 - 127,136 - 50,213 65.3

Slovak1 .................................. 1,882,897 0.8 797,764 0.3 -1,085,133 -57.6

Slovene . . . ............................... 124,437 0.1 176,691 0.1 52,254 42.0

Spaniard ................................. 360,858 0.1 299,948 0.1 -60,910 -16.9

Spanish . . . ............................... 2,024,004 0.8 2,187,144 0.8 163,140 8.1

Swedish.................................. 4,680,863 1.9 3,998,310 1.4 -682,553 -14.6

Swiss . . . ................................. 1,045,492 0.4 911,502 0.3 -133,990 -12.8

Syrian. . .................................. 129,606 0.1 142,897 0.1 13,291 10.3

Taiwanese1,2.............................. 192,973 0.1 293,568 0.1 100,595 52.1

Thai1 .................................... 112,11 - 146,577 0.1 34,460 30.7

Trinidadian and Tobagonian ................ 76,270 - 164,738 0.1 88,468 116.0

Turkish................................... 83,850 - 117,575 - 33,725 40.2

Ukrainian1,2............................... 740,723 0.3 892,922 0.3 152,199 20.5

United States* ............................ 643,561 0.3 404,328 0.1 -239,233 -37.2

Vietnamese. . ............................. 535,825 0.2 1,029,420 0.4 493,595 92.1

Welsh.................................... 2,033,893 0.8 1,753,794 0.6 -280,099 -13.8

West Indian* .............................. 159,167 0.1 147,222 0.1 -11,945 -7.5

Western European* ........................ 42,409 - 125,300 - 82,891 195.5

White*

.................................... 1,799,711 0.7 3,834,122 1.4 2,034,411 113.0

Yugoslavian .............................. 257,986 0.1 328,547 0.1 70,561 27.4

Other ancestries .......................... 3,989,728 1.6 4,380,380 1.6 390,652 9.8

- Rounds to 0.0.

* General response which may encompass several ancestries not listed separately (i.e., African American includes Black and Negro).

NS Not statistically different from zero at the 90-percent confidence level.

1

Included in the list of examples on the census questionnaire in 1990.

2

Included in the list of examples on the census questionnaire in 2000.

Notes: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from one another or from other ancestries

not listed in this table.

People who reported two ancestries were included once in each category. The estimates in this table differ slightly in some cases from

the estimates in other data products due to the collapsing schemes used. For example, here German does not include Bavarian. Some

groups correspond to groups identified separately in the race and Hispanic-origin questions. The race item provides the primary source of

data for White, Black, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian groups, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander groups. The Hispanic-origin question is the primary identifier for Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Hispanic groups.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 Census and Census 2000 special tabulations.
6 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 3.

Largest Ancestries for the United States, Regions, States, and for Puerto Rico: 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Ancestry Total

population Ancestry

Percent AncestryPercent AncestryPercent AncestryPercent AncestryPercent

United States .... 281,421,906 German 15.2 Irish 10.8 African Am. 8.8 English 8.7 American 7.2

Region

Northeast ...... 53,594,378 Irish 15.8 Italian 14.1 German 13.6 English 8.3 African Am. 6.5

Midwest ....... 64,392,776 German 26.6 Irish 11.8 English 8.4 African Am. 7.8 American 6.5

South ......... 100,236,820 African Am. 14.0 American 11.2 German 10.0 Irish 8.8 English 8.4

West . . . . . . . . . . 63,197,932 Mexican 16.0 German 13.3 English 9.9 Irish 9.0 American 4.1

State

Alabama ....... 4,447,100 African Am. 19.9 American 16.8 English 7.8 Irish 7.7 German 5.7

Alaska......... 626,932 German 16.6 Irish 10.8 Am. Indian 10.5 English 9.6 Eskimo 6.1

Arizona ........ 5,130,632 Mexican 18.0 German 15.6 English 10.4 Irish 10.2 Am. Indian 6.1

Arkansas ...... 2,673,400 American 15.7 African Am. 11.9 Irish 9.5 German 9.3 English 7.9

California ...... 33,871,648 Mexican 22.2 German 9.8 Irish 7.7 English 7.4 African Am. 5.1

Colorado....... 4,301,261 German 22.0 Irish 12.2 English 12.0 Mexican 9.0 American 5.0

Connecticut..... 3,405,565 Italian 18.6 Irish 16.6 English 10.3 German 9.8 Polish 8.3

Delaware ...... 783,600 Irish 16.6 German 14.3 African Am. 14.0 English 12.1 Italian 9.3

District of

Columbia ..... 572,059 African Am. 43.4 Irish 4.9 German 4.8 English 4.4 Salvadoran 2.3

Florida ........ 15,982,378 German 11.8 Irish 10.3 English 9.2 African Am. 8.6 American 7.8

Georgia........ 8,186,453 African Am. 21.6 American 13.3 English 8.1 Irish 7.8 German 7.0

Hawaii......... 1,211,537 Japanese 20.7 Filipino 17.7 Hawaiian 16.3 Chinese 8.3 German 5.8

Idaho ......... 1,293,953 German 18.8 English 18.1 Irish 10.0 American 8.1 Mexican 5.5

Illinois ......... 12,419,293 German 19.6 Irish 12.2 African Am. 11.5 Mexican 8.2 Polish 7.5

Indiana ........ 6,080,485 German 22.6 American 11.8 Irish 10.8 English 8.9 African Am. 6.5

Iowa .......... 2,926,324 German 35.7 Irish 13.5 English 9.5 American 6.6 Norwegian 5.7

Kansas ........ 2,688,418 German 25.8 Irish 11.5 English 10.8 American 8.7 Mexican 4.7

Kentucky....... 4,041,769 American 20.7 German 12.7 Irish 10.5 English 9.7 African Am. 5.7

Louisiana ...... 4,468,976 African Am. 25.5 French 12.2 American 10.0 German 7.0 Irish 7.0

Maine ......... 1,274,923 English 21.5 Irish 15.1 French 14.2 American 9.3 Fr. Canadian 8.6

Maryland....... 5,296,486 African Am. 20.5 German 15.7 Irish 11.7 English 9.0 American 5.6

Massachusetts . . 6,349,097 Irish 22.5 Italian 13.5 English 11.4 French 8.0 German 5.9

Michigan ....... 9,938,444 German 20.4 African Am. 11.0 Irish 10.7 English 9.9 Polish 8.6

Minnesota...... 4,919,479 German 36.7 Norwegian 17.3 Irish 11.2 Swedish 9.9 English 6.3

Mississippi ..... 2,844,658 African Am. 28.3 American 14.0 Irish 6.9 English 6.1 German 4.5

Missouri ....... 5,595,211 German 23.5 Irish 12.7 American 10.4 English 9.5 African Am. 8.8

Montana ....... 902,195 German 27.0 Irish 14.8 English 12.6 Norwegian 10.6 Am. Indian 7.4

Nebraska ...... 1,711,263 German 38.6 Irish 13.4 English 9.6 Swedish 4.9 Czech 4.9

Nevada........ 1,998,257 German 14.1 Mexican 12.7 Irish 11.0 English 10.1 Italian 6.6

New Hampshire . 1,235,786 Irish 19.4 English 18.0 French 14.6 Fr. Canadian 10.3 German 8.6

New Jersey..... 8,414,350 Italian 17.8 Irish 15.9 German 12.6 African Am. 8.8 Polish 6.9

New Mexico .... 1,819,046 Mexican 16.3 Am. Indian 10.3 German 9.8 Hispanic 9.4 Spanish 9.3

New York . . . . . . 18,976,457 Italian 14.4 Irish 12.9 German 11.2 African Am. 7.7 English 6.0

North Carolina . . 8,049,313 African Am. 16.6 American 13.7 English 9.5 German 9.5 Irish 7.4

North Dakota . . . 642,200 German 43.9 Norwegian 30.1 Irish 7.7 Am. Indian 5.1 Swedish 5.0

Ohio .......... 11,353,140 German 25.2 Irish 12.7 English 9.2 African Am. 9.1 American 8.5

Oklahoma ...... 3,450,654 German 12.6 Am. Indian 12.1 American 11.2 Irish 10.3 English 8.4

Oregon ........ 3,421,399 German 20.5 English 13.2 Irish 11.9 American 6.2 Mexican 5.5

Pennsylvania . . . 12,281,054 German 25.4 Irish 16.1 Italian 11.5 English 7.9 African Am. 7.4

Rhode Island . . . 1,048,319 Italian 19.0 Irish 18.4 English 12.0 French 10.9 Portuguese 8.7

South Carolina . . 4,012,012 African Am. 22.8 American 13.7 German 8.4 English 8.2 Irish 7.9

South Dakota . . . 754,844 German 40.7 Norwegian 15.3 Irish 10.4 Am. Indian 8.2 English 7.1

Tennessee ..... 5,689,283 American 17.3 African Am. 13.0 Irish 9.3 English 9.1 German 8.3

Texas ......... 20,851,820 Mexican 22.6 German 9.9 African Am. 8.7 Irish 7.2 American 7.2

Utah .......... 2,233,169 English 29.0 German 11.5 American 6.6 Danish 6.5 Irish 5.9

Vermont ....... 608,827 English 18.4 Irish 16.4 French 14.5 German 9.1 Fr. Canadian 8.8

Virginia ........ 7,078,515 African Am. 14.9 German 11.7 American 11.2 English 11.1 Irish 9.8

Washington..... 5,894,121 German 18.7 English 12.0 Irish 11.4 Norwegian 6.2 American 5.2

West Virginia . . . 1,808,344 American 18.7 German 14.0 Irish 11.0 English 9.7 Am. Indian 4.4

Wisconsin ...... 5,363,675 German 42.6 Irish 10.9 Polish 9.3 Norwegian 8.5 English 6.5

Wyoming ...... 493,782 German 25.9 English 15.9 Irish 13.3 American 6.4 Am. Indian 4.7

Puerto Rico...... 3,808,610 Puerto Rican 69.0 American 2.5 Spaniard 2.1 Dominican 1.7 Hispanic 0.8

Notes: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from one another or from other ancestries not listed in this

table.

People who reported two ancestries were included once in each category. Some groups correspond to groups identified separately in the race and Hispanicorigin questions. The race item provides the primary source of data for White, Black, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian groups, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific

Islander groups. The Hispanic-origin question is the primary identifier for Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Hispanic groups.
Northeast (16 percent), African

American in the South (14 percent),

German in the Midwest (27 percent), and Mexican in the West 

(16 percent, see Table 3).6

At the state level, 8 different

ancestries were each the largest

reported in 1 or more states.

German led in 23 states, including

every state in the Midwest, the

majority of states in the West, and

1 state in the South (Figure 3). In

3 of those states, German was

reported by more than 40 percent

of the population: North Dakota

(44 percent), Wisconsin 

(43 percent), and South Dakota 

(41 percent). 

The other leading ancestries at the

state level were African American in

7 contiguous states from Louisiana

to Maryland and in the District of

Columbia (also notably high at 43

percent); American in Arkansas,

Tennessee, Kentucky, and West

Virginia; Italian in Connecticut, New

Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island;

Mexican in 4 states from California

to Texas; English in Maine, Utah and

Vermont; Irish in Delaware,

Massachusetts and New Hampshire;

and Japanese in Hawaii.

Many other ancestries were not the

largest ancestry in any state but

represented more than 10 percent

of a state’s population, including

American Indian in Oklahoma 

(12 percent) and Alaska 

(11 percent); Filipino (18 percent)

and Hawaiian (16 percent) in

Hawaii; French in Maine (14 percent), Vermont (15 percent), and

Rhode Island (11 percent); French

Canadian in New Hampshire 

(10 percent); and Norwegian in

North Dakota (30 percent),

Minnesota (17 percent), South

Dakota (15 percent), and Montana

(11 percent, see Table 3). 

Other ancestries not noted above

were among the 5 largest in a

state but represented less than 

10 percent of the state’s population. Examples include Chinese in

Hawaii (8.3 percent), Czech in

Nebraska (4.9 percent), Danish in

Utah (6.5 percent), Eskimo in

Alaska (6.1 percent), Polish in

Michigan (8.6 percent), Portuguese

in Rhode Island (8.7 percent),

Spanish in New Mexico (9.3 percent), and Swedish in Minnesota

(9.9 percent).

Twenty-four different

ancestries were the largest in

at least one county in the

United States.

Ancestry patterns by county in

2000 are shown in Figure 3.

German was the leading ancestry

reported in many counties across

the northern half of the United

States, from Pennsylvania to

Washington, as well as some counties in the southern half. Mexican

was the leading ancestry along the

southwestern border of the United

States, and American and African

American were the most commonly

reported ancestries in many southern counties, from Virginia to eastern Texas.

Several ancestries that did not predominate in any state were the

most common within one or more

counties. Examples include Aleut

and Eskimo in some counties of

Alaska; American Indian in counties in Alaska, Arizona, California,

Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New

Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma,

Oregon, South Dakota, Washington,

and Wisconsin; Finnish in several

counties in the Upper Peninsula of

Michigan; French in counties in

Connecticut, New York, Maine,

New Hampshire, Vermont, and

Louisiana; French Canadian in

counties in Maine; Dutch in several

counties in Michigan and Iowa;

Norwegian in counties in Iowa,

Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota,

and Wisconsin; Polish in one county in Pennsylvania; and Portuguese

in one county each in

Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 

African American and 

Mexican were the most

commonly reported ancestries

in the ten largest cities in 

the United States.

In 2000, African American was the

most frequently reported ancestry

in New York City, Chicago,

Philadelphia, and Detroit 

(Table 4).7 Mexican was the leading ancestry in Los Angeles,

Houston, Phoenix, San Diego,

Dallas, and San Antonio. 

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS

What combinations were 

the most common among

respondents who reported 

two ancestries?

The most common ancestry combinations in 2000 were German and

Irish (2.7 percent of the population), German and English (1.7 percent), and Irish and English 

(1.4 percent). 

U.S. Census Bureau 7

6 The Northeast region includes the states

of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Midwest region includes the states of

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota,

Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The

South region includes the states of Alabama,

Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and

the District of Columbia, a state equivalent.

The West region includes the states of Alaska,

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho,

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,

Washington, and Wyoming.

7 Census 2000 showed 245 places in the

United States with 100,000 or more population. They included 238 incorporated places

(including 4 city-county consolidations) and

7 census designated places that were not

legally incorporated. For a list of places by

state, see www.census.gov/population/www

/cen2000/phc-t6.html
8 U.S. Census Bureau Largest Ancestry: 2000 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 special tabulation. American Factfinder at factfinder.census.gov provides census data and mapping tools. (Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf) Figure 3. 0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles 

0 100 Miles 

OTHER: Chinese Cuban (MDominicaFilipino (French CHawaiian Japanese Polish (LuPortuges
What other ancestries 

were reported?

Overall, about 500 different ancestries were reported during Census

2000. The category “Other ancestries” in Table 2 consists of all

ancestries with fewer than

100,000 people (such as

Venezuelan, Samoan, or Latvian) as

well as all religious identifications

(which are not tabulated).8

ABOUT CENSUS 2000

Why Census 2000 Asked

About Ancestry

Information about ancestry is

required to enforce provisions

under the Civil Rights Act that prohibit discrimination based upon

race, sex, religion, and national origin. More generally, these data are

needed to measure the social and

economic characteristics of ethnic

groups and to tailor services to

accommodate cultural differences. 

Data about ancestry assist states

and local agencies on aging to

develop health care and other services tailored to address the language and cultural diversity of various groups. 

Under the Public Health Service

Act, ancestry is one of the factors

used to identify segments of the

population who may not be receiving medical services. 

Accuracy of the Estimates

The data contained in this report

are based on the sample of households who responded to the Census

2000 long form. Nationally,

approximately 1 out of every 6

housing units was included in this

sample. As a result, the sample

estimates may differ somewhat

from the 100-percent figures that

would have been obtained if all

housing units, people within those

housing units, and people living in

group quarters had been enumerated using the same questionnaires,

instructions, enumerators, and so

forth. The sample estimates also

differ from the values that would

have been obtained from different

samples of housing units, people

within those housing units, and

people living in group quarters.

The deviation of a sample estimate

from the average of all possible

samples is called the sampling

error. 

In addition to the variability that

arises from the sampling procedures, both sample data and 

100-percent data are subject to

nonsampling error. Nonsampling

error may be introduced during any

of the various complex operations

used to collect and process data.

Such errors may include: not enumerating every household or every

person in the population, failing to

obtain all required information from

the respondents, obtaining incorrect

or inconsistent information, and

recording information incorrectly.

U.S. Census Bureau 9

Table 4.

Largest Ancestry for the Ten Cities With the Highest Population: 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

City

Total

population

Largest ancestry

Ancestry

Number

of people

Percent of

population

90-percent

confidence

interval

New York, NY............................. 8,008,278 African American 922,116 11.5 11.4 - 11.6

Los Angeles, CA .......................... 3,694,834 Mexican 983,157 26.6 26.5 - 26.8

Chicago, IL ............................... 2,895,964 African American 804,053 27.8 27.6 - 27.9

Houston, TX . . . ........................... 1,954,848 Mexican 467,213 23.9 23.7 - 24.1

Philadelphia, PA........................... 1,517,550 African American 493,177 32.5 32.3 - 32.8

Phoenix, AZ .............................. 1,320,994 Mexican 320,092 24.2 24.0 - 24.5

San Diego, CA............................ 1,223,341 Mexican 237,867 19.9 19.2 - 19.7

Dallas, TX . . . ............................. 1,188,204 Mexican 306,072 25.8 25.5 - 26.0

San Antonio, TX . . . ....................... 1,144,554 Mexican 472,324 41.3 41.0 - 41.6

Detroit, MI ................................ 951,270 African American 599,667 63.0 62.7 - 63.4

Notes: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from one another or from other ancestries

not listed in this table.

People who reported two ancestries were included once in each category. Some groups correspond to groups identified separately in the

race and Hispanic-origin questions. The race item provides the primary source of data for White, Black, American Indian, Alaska Native,

Asian groups, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander groups. The Hispanic-origin question is the primary identifier for Mexican, Puerto Rican,

Cuban, and other Hispanic groups.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 special tabulation.

8 Smaller groups are listed at 

www.census.gov/population/www

/ancestry.html.
In addition, errors can occur during

the field review of the enumerators’

work, during clerical handling of

the census questionnaires, or during the electronic processing of 

the questionnaires.

Nonsampling error may affect the

data in two ways: (1) errors that

are introduced randomly will

increase the variability of the data

and, therefore, should be reflected

in the standard errors; and (2)

errors that tend to be consistent in

one direction will bias both sample

and 100-percent data in that direction. For example, if respondents

consistently tend to underreport

their incomes, then the resulting

estimates of households or families by income category will tend

to be understated for the higher

income categories and overstated

for the lower income categories.

Such biases are not reflected in the

standard errors.

While it is impossible to completely

eliminate error from an operation

as large and complex as the decennial census, the Census Bureau

attempts to control the sources of

such error during the data collection and processing operations.

The primary sources of error and

the programs instituted to control

error in Census 2000 are described

in detail in Summary File 3

Technical Documentation under

Chapter 8, “Accuracy of the Data,”

located at www.census.gov/prod

/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf. 

All statements in this Census 2000

Brief have undergone statistical

testing and all comparisons are

significant at the 90-percent confidence level, unless otherwise

noted. The estimates in tables,

maps, and other figures may vary

from actual values due to sampling

and nonsampling errors. As a

result, estimates in one category

may not be significantly different

from estimates assigned to a different category. Further information on the accuracy of the data is

located at www.census.gov/prod

/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf. For further

information on the computation

and use of standard errors, contact

the Decennial Statistical Studies

Division at 301-763-4242. 

For More Information

The Census 2000 Summary File 3

data are available from the

American Factfinder on the Internet

(factfinder.census.gov). They were

released on a state-by-state basis

during 2002. For information on

confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, sampling error, and definitions, also see www.census.gov

/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf or contact the Customer Services Center

at 301-763-INFO (4636).

Information on population and

housing topics is presented in the

Census 2000 Brief series, located

on the Census Bureau’s Web site at

www.census.gov/population/www

/cen2000/briefs.html. This series

presents information on race,

Hispanic origin, age, sex, household type, housing tenure, and

social, economic, and housing

characteristics, such as ancestry,

income, and housing costs.

For additional information on

ancestry, including reports and survey data, visit the Census Bureau’s

Web site on at www.census.gov

/population/www/ancestry.html.

To find information about the availability of data products, including

reports, CD-ROMs, and DVDs, call

the Customer Services Center at

301-763-INFO (4636), or e-mail

webmaster@census.gov.

10 U.S. Census Bureau