Though every city in the U.S. has a distinctly American flavor, so many metropolitan areas display distinct signs of the immigrant populations that melded together to make the cities we know and love today. From Miami's Little Havana to New York City's Chinatown and Los Angeles' Little Italy, cultural enclaves continue to thrive in modern metropolitan areas and help build colorful and diverse communities.
Many cultural and ethnic enclaves have become destinations for locals and tourists alike, but these visitors bring with them a mixed bag of consequences. On one hand, increased foot traffic allows small businesses and restaurants more opportunities for business, ushering in much-appreciated cash flow. On the other hand, rising demand for goods and services can cause prices to rise, hiking up the cost of living and potentially pushing poorer individuals and families out of the community.
The gentrification of ethnic enclaves is not new. The term "gentrification" was coined by Ruth Glass in the 1960s to describe the displacement of working class folks in London, but the first examples of gentrification can be traced back to the 18th century when wealthy landowners, or the "gentry," began buying out small farmers who were struggling to accumulate the capital necessary to operate in England.
Today, ethnic enclaves continue to thrive despite the looming threats of gentrification and economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. As one step towards understanding the history of these enclaves, Stacker compiled a list of the largest sources of immigrants in Portland, Maine in 1900 by transcribing a previously untranscribed dataset from the U.S. Census Bureau. Table 35 of the Twelfth Census details the immigrant population of every city in the U.S. with at least 25,000 inhabitants as of the turn of the last century.
Read on to find out more about the historical immigrant community in your home city or explore the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.
You may also like: The 30 most popular homes for sale in Portland, Maine
1 / 35
#1. Canada
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 4,376
- Percent of foreign born residents: 41.94%
National
- Number of residents: 1,183,225
- Percent of foreign born residents: 11.31%
- #3 most common country of origin
2 / 35
#2. Ireland
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 3,273
- Percent of foreign born residents: 31.37%
National
- Number of residents: 1,619,409
- Percent of foreign born residents: 15.48%
- #2 most common country of origin
3 / 35
#3. England
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 598
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.73%
National
- Number of residents: 843,491
- Percent of foreign born residents: 8.06%
- #4 most common country of origin
4 / 35
#4. Denmark
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 356
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.41%
National
- Number of residents: 154,616
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.48%
- #13 most common country of origin
6 / 35
#6. Norway
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 268
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.57%
National
- Number of residents: 338,426
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.24%
- #9 most common country of origin
7 / 35
#7. Sweden
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 231
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.21%
National
- Number of residents: 574,625
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.49%
- #5 most common country of origin
8 / 35
#8. Scotland
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 223
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.14%
National
- Number of residents: 234,699
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.24%
- #11 most common country of origin
9 / 35
#9. Poland
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 211
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.02%
National
- Number of residents: 383,595
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.67%
- #8 most common country of origin
10 / 35
#10. Germany
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 205
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.96%
National
- Number of residents: 2,669,164
- Percent of foreign born residents: 25.52%
- #1 most common country of origin
You may also like: Most expensive homes for sale in Portland, Maine
11 / 35
#11. Italy
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 148
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.42%
National
- Number of residents: 484,703
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.63%
- #6 most common country of origin
12 / 35
#12. Asia (except China, Japan, and India)
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 35
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.34%
National
- Number of residents: 11,928
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- #27 most common country of origin
13 / 35
#13. China
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 26
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.25%
National
- Number of residents: 106,659
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.02%
- #16 most common country of origin
14 / 35
#14. France
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 23
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.22%
National
- Number of residents: 104,534
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- #18 most common country of origin
16 / 35
#16. West Indies (except Cuba and Puerto Rico)
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 17
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.16%
National
- Number of residents: 14,468
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
- #26 most common country of origin
17 / 35
#17. Turkey
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 17
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.16%
National
- Number of residents: 9,949
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
- #30 most common country of origin
18 / 35
#18. Austria
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 16
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.15%
National
- Number of residents: 276,702
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.65%
- #10 most common country of origin
19 / 35
#19. Portugal
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 15
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
National
- Number of residents: 37,144
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.36%
- #23 most common country of origin
21 / 35
#21. Atlantic Islands
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 14
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.13%
National
- Number of residents: 10,955
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
- #29 most common country of origin
22 / 35
#22. Born at sea
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 12
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
National
- Number of residents: 8,310
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
- #32 most common country of origin
23 / 35
#23. Other countries
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 11
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
National
- Number of residents: 2,587
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- #39 most common country of origin
24 / 35
#24. Spain
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 11
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
National
- Number of residents: 7,284
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
- #33 most common country of origin
26 / 35
#26. Switzerland
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 10
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
National
- Number of residents: 115,959
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.11%
- #15 most common country of origin
27 / 35
#27. India
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
National
- Number of residents: 2,069
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- #42 most common country of origin
28 / 35
#28. Belgium
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
National
- Number of residents: 29,848
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.29%
- #24 most common country of origin
29 / 35
#29. South America
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 2
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
National
- Number of residents: 4,814
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
- #35 most common country of origin
31 / 35
#31. Australia
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 2
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
National
- Number of residents: 7,041
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
- #34 most common country of origin
32 / 35
#32. Mexico
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 103,445
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.99%
- #19 most common country of origin
33 / 35
#33. Holland
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 105,098
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- #17 most common country of origin
34 / 35
#34. Greece
Portland, Maine
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 8,655
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
- #31 most common country of origin
