Who lives where in Richmond may surprise you
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
A new look at census ancestry data is revealing layers of Richmond history hiding in today's neighborhoods, as well as some surprising pockets of who lives where.
Why it matters: It's nearly a block-by-block glimpse into how Richmond became Richmond, surfacing a patchwork of communities that broader demographic data can obscure.
The big picture: A New York Times analysis of 2019-2024 census data found nearly 200 identities nationwide, showing how waves of immigration, migration, displacement and government policy still shape where Americans call home.
Zoom in: African American ancestry still dominates much of Richmond, where historians estimate as many as 1 in 4 Black Americans have ancestral ties due to the city's role in the domestic slave trade.
- A closer look shows parts by Westover Hills, Powhite Parkway and Jahnke Road being 9% Panamanian, as well as pockets of Iraqi, Egyptian, Lebanese and Chinese ancestry by Brookland Park.
- Then the area near Hull and Warwick in South Richmond — where a majority-immigrant neighborhood helped turn the area into a hub for Latinos over the past 20 years — includes Puerto Ricans.
Cross the county line, and the map changes again.
- Parts of Henrico off East Parham Road are nearly 30% Hispanic, with concentrations of Salvadoran, Mexican and Venezuelan residents.
- Near Wyndham in Short Pump, one area is as much as 31% Indian. Near Three Chopt, another is 11% Vietnamese.
- Elsewhere, you'll find Filipino ancestry near Virginia Center Parkway, Brazilians near Regency and Mechanicsville Turnpike, Serbians near Bon Air, and Nigerians near Jessup Road in Chesterfield.
The intrigue: Some of these communities have decades, if not more than a century, of history.
- The Vietnamese population near Three Chopt traces back to refugees who settled in western Henrico after the Vietnam War.
- In Maidens near Goochland, today's predominantly African American ancestry overlaps with a Black community that took root after emancipation and later built churches and Rosenwald schools that educated Black children for more than 30 years.
- In Windsor Farms, English ancestry is still a major part of the 1920s neighborhood designed as an English-style village for wealthy Richmonders.
Between the lines: Windsor Farms also once had in its lease that land there could not be sold or leased to "any person not of the Caucasian race."
Plus: In Shockoe Bottom, the prominent Irish ancestry dates back to the mid-1800s, when Irish immigrants settled there to work after the Great Famine.
What's next: Want to find the ancestries near you? Type your address in here.