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 South 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 with the lowest home prices in South Carolina
You may also like: Best NFL players born in South Carolina
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 2,075
- Percent of foreign born residents: 37.54%
- Percent of total state population: 0.15%
National
- Number of residents: 2,669,164
- Percent of foreign born residents: 25.52%
- #1 most common country of origin
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 1,181
- Percent of foreign born residents: 21.36%
- Percent of total state population: 0.09%
National
- Number of residents: 1,619,409
- Percent of foreign born residents: 15.48%
- #2 most common country of origin
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 474
- Percent of foreign born residents: 8.57%
- Percent of total state population: 0.04%
National
- Number of residents: 843,491
- Percent of foreign born residents: 8.06%
- #4 most common country of origin
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 316
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.72%
- Percent of total state population: 0.02%
National
- Number of residents: 424,372
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.06%
- #7 most common country of origin
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 254
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.59%
- Percent of total state population: 0.02%
National
- Number of residents: 1,183,225
- Percent of foreign born residents: 11.31%
- #3 most common country of origin
You may also like: Counties with the most renters in South Carolina
You may also like: Most commonly seen birds in South Carolina
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 239
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.32%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 180
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.26%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 103
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.86%
- Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 383,595
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.67%
- #8 most common country of origin
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 86
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.56%
- Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 115,959
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.11%
- #15 most common country of origin
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 84
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.52%
- 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
You may also like: Fastest-growing counties in South Carolina
You may also like: Hottest Novembers in South Carolina since 1895
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 77
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.39%
- Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
- Number of residents: 276,702
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.65%
- #10 most common country of origin
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 76
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.37%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 65
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.18%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 62
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.12%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 61
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.10%
- 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
You may also like: Counties with the oldest homes in South Carolina
You may also like: Most commonly hunted migratory birds in South Carolina
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 55
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.99%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 49
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.89%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 43
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.78%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 27
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.49%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 19
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.34%
- 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
You may also like: Counties in South Carolina where people spend most of their paycheck on housing
You may also like: Average South Carolina mortgage debt increased to $207,099 in 2024
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 15
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.27%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 14
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.25%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 14
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.25%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 14
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.25%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 11
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.20%
- 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: Counties with the most college graduates in South Carolina
You may also like: Highest-rated Class of 2025 men's basketball recruits from South Carolina
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 10
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.18%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 9
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.16%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 9
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.16%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 6
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- 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
You may also like: Counties most concerned about climate change in South Carolina
You may also like: Car insurance rates in South Carolina August 2025
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 6
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 6
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 6
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 6
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 5
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.09%
- 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: Highest-earning counties in South Carolina
You may also like: The 20 most competitive housing markets in South Carolina
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 2
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 2
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
- 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
South Carolina
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- 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
You may also like: Counties with the highest rate of food insecurity in South Carolina
You may also like: Best colleges in South Carolina
