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36.5 million US residents claimed Irish ancestry in 2007
By Noreen Bowden | January 7, 2009
As it does annually, the US Census Bureau has issued its fact sheet in preparation for the observance of Irish-American Heritage Month. Irish-American Heritage Month takes place every March. In the fact sheet we learn the following statistics:
- 36.5 million US residents claimed Irish ancestry in 2007; only Germany can claim more descendants in the US.
- 24% of Massachusetts residents are of Irish ancestry; 12% of the US population is Irish.
- 32% of Irish-American adults over 25 have at least a bachelor’s degree, while 92% have at least a high school diploma. This compares to 28% and 85% for the national average.
- US imports from Ireland totalled $26.2 billion from January to October 2008, while $7.4 billion worth of goods went from the US to Ireland.
See the full press release from the US Census Bureau.
See last year’s Presidential proclamation of Irish-American Heritage Month.
Topics: Latest News | 1 Comment »
February 15th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
This figure is deceptive and should have been explained by the reporter. The fact is that you can put down as many ethnic identifications as you like on the US census. You can list yourself as English, French, Scottish, German, Irish etc. etc.
Hence it’s quite wrong to think that the 30+ million who mentioned “Irish” can actually be considered Irish-Americans. A true figure for Irish-Americans, whom I might define as Americans who know of their Irish ethnic heritage and attempt to learn more about the land of their Irish ancestors and its history and culture, is much smaller. Perhaps a million or so.