What Fort Worth's immigrant population looked like in 1900

·Stacker

Everett Collection // Shutterstock
Everett Collection // Shutterstock

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 Fort Worth 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: Best restaurants for 10 cuisines in Fort Worth

1 / 36

#1. Germany

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 466
- Percent of foreign born residents: 25.99%
National
- Number of residents: 2,669,164
- Percent of foreign born residents: 25.52%
- #1 most common country of origin
2 / 36

#2. Ireland

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 274
- Percent of foreign born residents: 15.28%
National
- Number of residents: 1,619,409
- Percent of foreign born residents: 15.48%
- #2 most common country of origin
3 / 36

#3. England

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 225
- Percent of foreign born residents: 12.55%
National
- Number of residents: 843,491
- Percent of foreign born residents: 8.06%
- #4 most common country of origin
4 / 36

#4. Canada

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 132
- Percent of foreign born residents: 7.36%
National
- Number of residents: 1,183,225
- Percent of foreign born residents: 11.31%
- #3 most common country of origin
6 / 36

#6. Russia

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 104
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.80%
National
- Number of residents: 424,372
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.06%
- #7 most common country of origin
7 / 36

#7. Sweden

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 99
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.52%
National
- Number of residents: 574,625
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.49%
- #5 most common country of origin
8 / 36

#8. Scotland

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 75
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.18%
National
- Number of residents: 234,699
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.24%
- #11 most common country of origin
9 / 36

#9. Mexico

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 59
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.29%
National
- Number of residents: 103,445
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.99%
- #19 most common country of origin
10 / 36

#10. France

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 38
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.12%
National
- Number of residents: 104,534
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- #18 most common country of origin

You may also like: How gas prices have changed in Fort Worth in the last week

11 / 36

#11. Norway

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 33
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.84%
National
- Number of residents: 338,426
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.24%
- #9 most common country of origin
12 / 36

#12. Austria

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 33
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.84%
National
- Number of residents: 276,702
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.65%
- #10 most common country of origin
13 / 36

#13. Poland

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 23
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.28%
National
- Number of residents: 383,595
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.67%
- #8 most common country of origin
14 / 36

#14. Switzerland

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 22
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.23%
National
- Number of residents: 115,959
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.11%
- #15 most common country of origin
15 / 36

#15. China

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 20
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.12%
National
- Number of residents: 106,659
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.02%
- #16 most common country of origin

You may also like: Coat drives near Fort Worth

16 / 36

#16. Turkey

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 9
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.50%
National
- Number of residents: 9,949
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
- #30 most common country of origin
17 / 36

#17. Pacific Islands (except Phillipine Islands)

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.45%
National
- Number of residents: 2,659
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.03%
- #38 most common country of origin
18 / 36

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

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 8
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.45%
National
- Number of residents: 11,928
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- #27 most common country of origin
19 / 36

#19. Wales

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 7
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.39%
National
- Number of residents: 93,744
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.90%
- #20 most common country of origin
20 / 36

#20. Holland

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 7
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.39%
National
- Number of residents: 105,098
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
- #17 most common country of origin

You may also like: Fort Worth's 2025 housing market year in review

21 / 36

#21. Denmark

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 7
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.39%
National
- Number of residents: 154,616
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.48%
- #13 most common country of origin
22 / 36

#22. Belgium

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 7
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.39%
National
- Number of residents: 29,848
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.29%
- #24 most common country of origin
23 / 36

#23. Born at sea

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.22%
National
- Number of residents: 8,310
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
- #32 most common country of origin
24 / 36

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

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.22%
National
- Number of residents: 14,468
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
- #26 most common country of origin
25 / 36

#25. Hungary

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 4
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.22%
National
- Number of residents: 145,815
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.39%
- #14 most common country of origin

You may also like: Movies and TV shows casting in Fort Worth

26 / 36

#26. Australia

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 3
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.17%
National
- Number of residents: 7,041
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
- #34 most common country of origin
27 / 36

#27. Spain

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 2
- 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
28 / 36

#28. Finland

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 2
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
National
- Number of residents: 63,440
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.61%
- #22 most common country of origin
29 / 36

#29. Europe (not otherwise specified)

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 2
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
National
- Number of residents: 2,272
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- #41 most common country of origin
30 / 36

#30. Bohemia

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 2
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
National
- Number of residents: 156,999
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.50%
- #12 most common country of origin

You may also like: Top 25 songs in Fort Worth on Shazam in the past week

31 / 36

#31. South America

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.06%
National
- Number of residents: 4,814
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
- #35 most common country of origin
32 / 36

#32. Roumania

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.06%
National
- Number of residents: 15,043
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
- #25 most common country of origin
33 / 36

#33. Portugal

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.06%
National
- Number of residents: 37,144
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.36%
- #23 most common country of origin
34 / 36

#34. India

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.06%
National
- Number of residents: 2,069
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
- #42 most common country of origin
35 / 36

#35. Cuba

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.06%
National
- Number of residents: 11,159
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
- #28 most common country of origin

You may also like: How gas prices have changed in Fort Worth in the last week

36 / 36

#36. Central America

Fort Worth, Texas
- Number of residents: 1
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.06%
National
- Number of residents: 3,911
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
- #36 most common country of origin