What North Dakota's Immigrant Population Looked Like in 1900

Everett Collection // Shutterstock

What North Dakota'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 Dakota 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: Lowest-earning counties in North Dakota

You may also like: Cities with the most expensive homes in North Dakota

#1. Norway

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 30,206
- Percent of foreign born residents: 26.73%
- Percent of total state population: 9.46%
National
- Number of residents: 338,426
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.24%
- #9 most common country of origin

#2. Canada

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 28,103
- Percent of foreign born residents: 24.87%
- Percent of total state population: 8.81%
National
- Number of residents: 1,183,225
- Percent of foreign born residents: 11.31%
- #3 most common country of origin

#3. Russia

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 14,979
- Percent of foreign born residents: 13.26%
- Percent of total state population: 4.69%
National
- Number of residents: 424,372
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.06%
- #7 most common country of origin

#4. Germany

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 11,546
- Percent of foreign born residents: 10.22%
- Percent of total state population: 3.62%
National
- Number of residents: 2,669,164
- Percent of foreign born residents: 25.52%
- #1 most common country of origin

#5. Sweden

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 8,419
- Percent of foreign born residents: 7.45%
- Percent of total state population: 2.64%
National
- Number of residents: 574,625
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.49%
- #5 most common country of origin

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

You may also like: Best counties to raise a family in North Dakota

#6. Denmark

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 3,958
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.50%
- Percent of total state population: 1.24%
National
- Number of residents: 154,616
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.48%
- #13 most common country of origin

#7. England

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 2,909
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.57%
- Percent of total state population: 0.91%
National
- Number of residents: 843,491
- Percent of foreign born residents: 8.06%
- #4 most common country of origin

#8. Ireland

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 2,670
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.36%
- Percent of total state population: 0.84%
National
- Number of residents: 1,619,409
- Percent of foreign born residents: 15.48%
- #2 most common country of origin

#9. Scotland

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 1,800
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.59%
- Percent of total state population: 0.56%
National
- Number of residents: 234,699
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.24%
- #11 most common country of origin

#10. Bohemia

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 1,445
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.28%
- Percent of total state population: 0.45%
National
- Number of residents: 156,999
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.50%
- #12 most common country of origin

You may also like: Counties with the lowest home prices in North Dakota

You may also like: Highest-rated free things to do in North Dakota, according to Tripadvisor

#11. Hungary

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 1,327
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.17%
- Percent of total state population: 0.42%
National
- Number of residents: 145,815
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.39%
- #14 most common country of origin

#12. Austria

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 1,131
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- Percent of total state population: 0.35%
National
- Number of residents: 276,702
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.65%
- #10 most common country of origin

#13. Poland

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 1,054
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.93%
- Percent of total state population: 0.33%
National
- Number of residents: 383,595
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.67%
- #8 most common country of origin

#14. Italy

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 700
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.62%
- Percent of total state population: 0.22%
National
- Number of residents: 484,703
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.63%
- #6 most common country of origin

#15. Finland

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 651
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.58%
- Percent of total state population: 0.20%
National
- Number of residents: 63,440
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.61%
- #22 most common country of origin

You may also like: Counties with the most tornadoes in North Dakota

#16. Switzerland

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 374
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.33%
- Percent of total state population: 0.12%
National
- Number of residents: 115,959
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.11%
- #15 most common country of origin

#17. Roumania

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 358
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.32%
- Percent of total state population: 0.11%
National
- Number of residents: 15,043
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
- #25 most common country of origin

#18. Holland

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 317
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.28%
- Percent of total state population: 0.10%
National
- Number of residents: 105,098
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- #17 most common country of origin

#19. France

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 251
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.22%
- Percent of total state population: 0.08%
National
- Number of residents: 104,534
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- #18 most common country of origin

#20. Belgium

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 154
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
- Percent of total state population: 0.05%
National
- Number of residents: 29,848
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.29%
- #24 most common country of origin

You may also like: Best amusement parks in North Dakota

#21. Japan

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 148
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.13%
- Percent of total state population: 0.05%
National
- Number of residents: 81,590
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.78%
- #21 most common country of origin

#22. Wales

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 147
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.13%
- Percent of total state population: 0.05%
National
- Number of residents: 93,744
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.90%
- #20 most common country of origin

#23. Turkey

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 104
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.09%
- Percent of total state population: 0.03%
National
- Number of residents: 9,949
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
- #30 most common country of origin

#24. Born at Sea

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 87
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
- Percent of total state population: 0.03%
National
- Number of residents: 8,310
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
- #32 most common country of origin

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

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 54
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
- Percent of total state population: 0.02%
National
- Number of residents: 11,928
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- #27 most common country of origin

You may also like: North Dakota ranks #9 in mental health care deserts

#26. Luxemburg

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 39
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.03%
- Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 3,049
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.03%
- #37 most common country of origin

#27. China

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 31
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.03%
- Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 106,659
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.02%
- #16 most common country of origin

#28. Australia

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 15
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
- 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

#29. Other Countries

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 13
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
- 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

#30. South America

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
- 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

You may also like: Best public high schools in North Dakota

#31. Europe (not otherwise specified)

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
- 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

#32. Central America

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
- 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

#33. India

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 7
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
- Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
- Number of residents: 2,069
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- #42 most common country of origin

#34. Spain

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 6
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
- 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

#35. Pacific Islands (except Phillipine Islands)

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 5
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.00%
- 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: The most popular poker players in North Dakota

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

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.00%
- 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

#37. Africa

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.00%
- 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

#38. Portugal

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.00%
- 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

#39. Mexico

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.00%
- 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

#40. Atlantic Islands

North Dakota
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.00%
- 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 most veterans in North Dakota

You may also like: Highest-rated things to do in North Dakota, according to Tripadvisor