Mar 15, 2024 - News
Where Virginia's Irish Americans live
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The luck of the Irish is alive and well in Virginia ahead of St. Patrick's Day this weekend.
The big picture: About 8.7% of Virginians reported having Irish ancestry in 2022, according to the latest census data.
- That's lower than the U.S. average of 9.5%.
Yes, but: Nearly 18% of residents in Lexington City — about two hours from Richmond — are Irish Americans, which ranks them in the top 100 in the country.
- At more than 16%, Rappahannock County and Orange County have the next highest percentages of Irish Virginians.
- It's about 10%, or 1 in 10 people, in Hanover, Goochland and Colonial Heights.
- Chesterfield is just below that at 8.5%.
Zoom in: Richmond and Henrico are below the state and U.S. averages at about 7.8%.
- Petersburg has the lowest percentage of Irish people in the state at 1%.