What North Carolina's Immigrant Population Looked Like in 1900

Everett Collection // Shutterstock

What North Carolina's immigrant population looked like in 1900

Since the first successful English colony settled in Jamestown in 1607, flows of immigrants have arrived on American shores seeking a new life. From Irish immigrants fleeing famine to Chinese immigrants settling in California during the Gold Rush, more than 86 million people legally immigrated to the United States between 1783 and 2019.

There have been four major waves of immigration to the U.S., beginning with settlers from northern and western Europe seeking land on the frontier from 1820 to 1880. The immigrants counted in the 1900 Census hailed primarily from southern and eastern Europe, drawn by the call of industrialization in America. At the advent of the era of world wars, there was a dearth of immigration, but after 1965, individuals from Asia and Latin America began to move to the U.S. in droves.

Though the national immigrant population today and in 1900 is comparable by percentage, hovering around 14% of the overall U.S. population, the raw population tells a different story. Today, the U.S. is home to 44.7 million immigrants, whereas that number was just shy of 10.5 million at the time of the 1900 Census. Stacker compiled a list of the largest sources of immigrants in North Carolina in 1900 by transcribing a previously untranscribed dataset from the U.S. Census Bureau. Countries are ranked by total residents who were born in that country.

Immigration to the U.S. was handled at the state level prior to 1890, with each state government designating its own processes and checkpoints. New York originally used Castle Garden (now Castle Clinton) as its immigration processing hub, but within a few decades realized that a massive influx of immigrants necessitated a larger venue. Ellis Island opened on Jan. 1, 1892, to the first of more than 12 million individuals who entered the U.S. through its doors.

Keep reading to find out more about the historical immigrant community in your home state or explore the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.

You may also like: Counties in North Carolina with more precipitation over the past year than average

#1. Germany

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 1,101
- Percent of foreign born residents: 24.51%
- Percent of total state population: 0.06%
National
- Number of residents: 2,669,164
- Percent of foreign born residents: 25.52%
- #1 most common country of origin

#2. England

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 904
- Percent of foreign born residents: 20.12%
- Percent of total state population: 0.05%
National
- Number of residents: 843,491
- Percent of foreign born residents: 8.06%
- #4 most common country of origin

#3. Ireland

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 871
- Percent of foreign born residents: 19.39%
- Percent of total state population: 0.05%
National
- Number of residents: 1,619,409
- Percent of foreign born residents: 15.48%
- #2 most common country of origin

#4. Canada

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 480
- Percent of foreign born residents: 10.69%
- Percent of total state population: 0.03%
National
- Number of residents: 1,183,225
- Percent of foreign born residents: 11.31%
- #3 most common country of origin

#5. Scotland

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 320
- Percent of foreign born residents: 7.12%
- Percent of total state population: 0.02%
National
- Number of residents: 234,699
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.24%
- #11 most common country of origin

You may also like: Most diverse counties in North Carolina

You may also like: Counties where children have the best opportunity for economic mobility in North Carolina

#6. Russia

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 253
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.63%
- Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 424,372
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.06%
- #7 most common country of origin

#7. Italy

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 201
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.47%
- Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 484,703
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.63%
- #6 most common country of origin

#8. Asia (except China, Japan, and India)

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 110
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.45%
- Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 11,928
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- #27 most common country of origin

#9. France

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 95
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.11%
- Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 104,534
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- #18 most common country of origin

#10. Denmark

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 86
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.91%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 154,616
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.48%
- #13 most common country of origin

You may also like: Fastest-growing counties in North Carolina

You may also like: Highest-rated wineries in North Carolina, according to Yelp

#11. Switzerland

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 77
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.71%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 115,959
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.11%
- #15 most common country of origin

#12. Sweden

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 68
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.51%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 574,625
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.49%
- #5 most common country of origin

#13. Poland

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 45
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 383,595
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.67%
- #8 most common country of origin

#14. China

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 44
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.98%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 106,659
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.02%
- #16 most common country of origin

#15. West Indies (except Cuba and Puerto Rico)

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 28
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.62%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 14,468
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
- #26 most common country of origin

You may also like: How syringe exchanges in North Carolina reduce the spread of disease

#16. Austria

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 28
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.62%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 276,702
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.65%
- #10 most common country of origin

#17. Africa

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 23
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.51%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 2,577
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- #40 most common country of origin

#18. Norway

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 21
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.47%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 338,426
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.24%
- #9 most common country of origin

#19. Wales

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 20
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.45%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 93,744
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.90%
- #20 most common country of origin

#20. Europe (not otherwise specified)

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 20
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.45%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 2,272
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- #41 most common country of origin

You may also like: Least educated counties in North Carolina

You may also like: Counties with the most prewar homes in North Carolina

#21. Holland

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 17
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.38%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 105,098
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- #17 most common country of origin

#22. Turkey

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 16
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.36%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 9,949
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
- #30 most common country of origin

#23. Belgium

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 16
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.36%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 29,848
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.29%
- #24 most common country of origin

#24. Greece

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 14
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.31%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 8,655
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
- #31 most common country of origin

#25. Born at Sea

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 12
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.27%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 8,310
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
- #32 most common country of origin

You may also like: Counties with the highest rates of high blood pressure in North Carolina

#26. South America

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 12
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.27%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 4,814
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
- #35 most common country of origin

#27. Other Countries

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 9
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.20%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 2,587
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- #39 most common country of origin

#28. Cuba

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 9
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.20%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 11,159
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- #28 most common country of origin

#29. Portugal

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.18%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 37,144
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.36%
- #23 most common country of origin

#30. Pacific Islands (except Phillipine Islands)

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.18%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 2,659
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.03%
- #38 most common country of origin

You may also like: Counties with the highest rates of strokes in North Carolina

#31. Hungary

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.18%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 145,815
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.39%
- #14 most common country of origin

#32. Finland

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.18%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 63,440
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.61%
- #22 most common country of origin

#33. Bohemia

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.18%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 156,999
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.50%
- #12 most common country of origin

#34. Australia

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 7
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.16%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 7,041
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
- #34 most common country of origin

#35. Spain

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 6
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.13%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 7,284
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
- #33 most common country of origin

You may also like: Where refugees in North Carolina are arriving from

#36. Roumania

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 6
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.13%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 15,043
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
- #25 most common country of origin

#37. Mexico

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.09%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 103,445
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.99%
- #19 most common country of origin

#38. Central America

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 2
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 3,911
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
- #36 most common country of origin

#39. Japan

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 81,590
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.78%
- #21 most common country of origin

#40. Atlantic Islands

North Carolina
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 10,955
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
- #29 most common country of origin

You may also like: Counties with the oldest homes in North Carolina

You may also like: Counties receiving the most SBA loans in North Carolina