Most think of Minnesota as being a State filled with people of Swedish, Finnish, or Danish ancestry. Although there is a strong influence and connection with the countries of Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, these three countries make up only about 28.2% of the total population of Minnesota.
The following is a listing of the ancestry of Minnesotans based on population data from 2005-2009*:
| Ancestry |
Estimated*
|
Percent
|
Margin of
Error (+/-) |
| Total population |
5,188,581
|
100% | |
| German |
1,984,972
|
38.3%
|
0.2
|
| Norwegian |
878,452
|
16.9%
|
0.1
|
| Irish |
609,904
|
11.8%
|
0.1
|
| Swedish |
500,127
|
9.6%
|
0.1
|
| English |
336,539
|
6.5%
|
0.1
|
| Polish |
261,587
|
5.0%
|
0.1
|
| French (except Basque) |
220,743
|
4.3%
|
0.1
|
| American |
141,588
|
2.7%
|
0.1
|
| Italian |
128,336
|
2.5%
|
0.1
|
| Dutch |
109,236
|
2.1%
|
0.1
|
| Czech |
101,637
|
2.0%
|
0.1
|
| Danish |
88,315
|
1.7%
|
0.1
|
| Subsaharan African |
81,819
|
1.6%
|
0.1
|
| Scottish |
70,855
|
1.4%
|
0.1
|
| French Canadian |
55,917
|
1.1%
|
0.1
|
| Scotch-Irish |
53,565
|
1.0%
|
0.1
|
| Russian |
45,679
|
0.9%
|
0.1
|
| Swiss |
23,525
|
0.5%
|
0.1
|
| Welsh |
26,131
|
0.5%
|
0.1
|
| Arab |
18,390
|
0.4%
|
0.1
|
| Hungarian |
14,093
|
0.3%
|
0.1
|
| Ukrainian |
15,179
|
0.3%
|
0.1
|
| Greek |
12,359
|
0.2%
|
0.1
|
| Slovak |
8,394
|
0.2%
|
0.1
|
| Lithuanian |
7,040
|
0.1%
|
0.1
|
| Portuguese |
3,787
|
0.1%
|
0.1
|
| West Indian (excluding Hispanic origin groups) |
4,153
|
0.1%
|
0.1
|
The above data is collected voluntarily on the U.S. Census Form. The basic question on the 2000 Census was: “What is this person’s ancestry or ethnic origin.” This data may not be accurate because it is based on answers provided, which may or may not be correct.
Over the past few decades, both the Cambodian and Somali communities have grown significantly. Data for both communities were not provided by the U.S. Census, but it has been reported that Minnesota is home to one of the largest concentrations of both nationalities in the United States.
*Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-2009 American Community Survey. The final 2010 data will not be available until mid to late 2011.