The 15 Most Irish Cities in America


Irish woman celebrating St. Patrick's Day
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Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.

Finding corned beef and green beer most times of the year can be like searching for a four-leaf clover. Not now. For those of Irish ancestry — and everyone else — a green March Madness is already in full swing.

Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but which cities have the greenest Irish roots?

LawnStarter ranked the 200 biggest U.S. cities to find the ones where the most Irish eyes are smiling.

We looked beyond green bloodlines — we searched for cities where the locals know how to celebrate the Celtic spirit, too. Our metrics include:

  • The percentage of the Irish population
  • The number of Irish restaurants and pubs
  • The number of St. Patrick’s Day and other Irish cultural events
  • The number of Irish cultural groups and organizations

Following are the most Irish cities in America, with details on our methodology at the end.

1. Boston, MA

Boston, Massachusetts
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Overall score: 54.66

Population rank: 7

Community rank: 6

Cuisine rank: 3

Events rank: 3

2. Chicago, IL

Chicago, Illinois
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Overall score: 54.01

Population rank: 92

Community rank: 5

Cuisine rank: 2

Events rank: 1

3. New York, NY

New York City coastline
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Overall score: 52.22

Population rank: 153

Community rank: 1

Cuisine rank: 1

Events rank: 2

4. Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Overall score: 48.55

Population rank: 3

Community rank: 14

Cuisine rank: 33

Events rank: 15

5. Naperville, IL

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Overall score: 46.98

Population rank: 1

Community rank: 53

Cuisine rank: 85

Events rank: 63

6. Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at dusk
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Overall score: 44.72

Population rank: 40

Community rank: 3

Cuisine rank: 4

Events rank: 8

7. Denver, CO

Denver, Colorado
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Overall score: 44.05

Population rank: 51

Community rank: 2

Cuisine rank: 16

Events rank: 6

8. Spokane, WA

Spokane, Washington
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Overall score: 42.35

Population rank: 2

Community rank: 119

Cuisine rank: 59

Events rank: 92

9. Syracuse, NY

Syracuse New York
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Overall score: 41.66

Population rank: 5

Community rank: 29

Cuisine rank: 33

Events rank: 103

10. Worcester, MA

Worcester, Massachusetts
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Overall score: 40.80

Population rank: 4

Community rank: 119

Cuisine rank: 59

Events rank: 83

11. Buffalo, NY

Buffalo, New York
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Overall score: 40.20

Population rank: 25

Community rank: 9

Cuisine rank: 21

Events rank: 21

12. Fort Collins, CO

Fort Collins,
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Overall score: 39.61

Population rank: 11

Community rank: 16

Cuisine rank: 85

Events rank: 103

13. Omaha, NE

Omaha, Nebraska traffic highways
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Overall score: 39.30

Population rank: 8

Community rank: 107

Cuisine rank: 59

Events rank: 41

14. Overland Park, KS

Overland Park Kansas
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Overall score: 38.74

Population rank: 6

Community rank: 119

Cuisine rank: 85

Events rank: 103

15. Colorado Springs, CO

Colorado Springs
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Overall score: 37.71

Population rank: 29

Community rank: 16

Cuisine rank: 46

Events rank: 24

Methodology

Data entry on a laptop
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We ranked 200 of the biggest U.S. cities from the most Irish (No. 1) to the least (No. 200) based on their overall scores (out of 100 possible points), averaged across all the weighted metrics listed below.

  • Share of Irish Population
  • Number of Irish Cultural Meetup Groups
  • Number of Local Irish Organizations
  • Number of State Irish Organizations
  • Number of Irish Restaurants and Bars
  • Number of St. Patrick’s Day and Other Irish Cultural Events

“Local” and “State Irish organizations” include, among others, Irish cultural and heritage centers and clubs; museums; dance schools; libraries; immigration, legal, and welfare support centers; and networking associations.

Sources: Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers, Global Irish, Google Events, The Ireland Funds, Irish-American Heritage Museum, Irish Network USA, Mark Holan’s Irish-American Blog, Meetup, Transceltic, TripAdvisor, and U.S. Census Bureau.

Disclosure: The information you read here is always objective. However, we sometimes receive compensation when you click links within our stories.



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