German Ancestry in United States
German Americans are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. People of German ancestry form an important group in several countries in North and South America. German Americans are the second largest of the self-reported ancestry groups in the United States and it’s estimated at around 45 million and account for about one-third of the total population of people of German ancestry in the world.
In the United States census of 2020, 45 million people identified as being fully or partly of German ancestry, forming the second largest single ethnic group in the country and the largest population of Germans outside of Germany.
According to the 2020 United States Census, 13.6% of the U.S. population, which is 44,978,546 people, identified as having German ancestry alone or in combination with another ancestry. Out of these, 4.7% of the U.S. population, which is 15,447,670 people, identified as having German ancestry alone.
also read about the German Population in Canada
Top US States by German population
The German alone population was the largest in the 10 states. Of the four major US regions, German was the most-reported ancestry in the Midwest, second in the West, and third in both the Northeast and the South. German (alone or in combination) was the top reported ancestry in 23 states, and it was one of the top five reported ancestries in every state except Maine and Rhode Island.
Top 10 U.S. States by Largest German Population
Pennsylvania, with 3 million people of German ancestry, has the largest population of German-Americans in the U.S. followed by California (2.8 million), Ohio (2.7 million), and Texas (2.4 million).
| # | State | German Population |
| 1 | Pennsylvania | 2,971,250 |
| 2 | California | 2,842,261 |
| 3 | Ohio | 2,769,988 |
| 4 | Texas | 2,436,308 |
| 5 | Wisconsin | 2,224,798 |
| 6 | Illinois | 2,222,578 |
| 7 | Florida | 1,934,102 |
| 8 | Michigan | 1,882,429 |
| 9 | New York | 1,837,913 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 1,773,397 |
Percentage-wise top U.S. States with German Ancestry
States with the highest proportions of German Americans tend to be those of the upper Midwest, including Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas; all at over 30%.
| # | State | % German Pop. |
| 1 | Wisconsin | 38.42% |
| 2 | North Dakota | 38.32% |
| 3 | South Dakota | 36.38% |
| 4 | Nebraska | 33.03% |
| 5 | Iowa | 32.72% |
| 6 | Minnesota | 31.88% |
| 7 | Kansas | 24.63% |
| 8 | Montana | 24.34% |
| 9 | Ohio | 23.77% |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 23.23% |
Complete List of U.S. States by German Ancestry
| # | State | German Ancestry | Percentage |
| 1 | Alabama | 300,665 | 6.17% |
| 2 | Alaska | 107,577 | 14.60% |
| 3 | Arizona | 890,190 | 12.63% |
| 4 | Arkansas | 284,329 | 9.48% |
| 5 | California | 2,842,261 | 7.24% |
| 6 | Colorado | 1,041,431 | 18.56% |
| 7 | Connecticut | 309,044 | 8.64% |
| 8 | Delaware | 112,719 | 11.78% |
| 9 | Florida | 1,934,102 | 9.25% |
| 10 | Georgia | 671,313 | 6.45% |
| 11 | Hawaii | 81,258 | 5.71% |
| 12 | Idaho | 282,688 | 16.46% |
| 13 | Illinois | 2,222,578 | 17.40% |
| 14 | Indiana | 1,401,364 | 21.02% |
| 15 | Iowa | 1,027,377 | 32.72% |
| 16 | Kansas | 716,919 | 24.63% |
| 17 | Kentucky | 588,316 | 13.22% |
| 18 | Louisiana | 318,270 | 6.82% |
| 19 | Maine | 104,722 | 7.84% |
| 20 | Maryland | 752,049 | 12.49% |
| 21 | Massachusetts | 388,451 | 5.67% |
| 22 | Michigan | 1,882,429 | 18.89% |
| 23 | Minnesota | 1,773,397 | 31.88% |
| 24 | Mississippi | 143,391 | 4.80% |
| 25 | Missouri | 1,383,878 | 22.67% |
| 26 | Montana | 255,729 | 24.34% |
| 27 | Nebraska | 632,458 | 33.03% |
| 28 | Nevada | 304,762 | 10.25% |
| 29 | New Hampshire | 117,819 | 8.74% |
| 30 | New Jersey | 884,992 | 9.97% |
| 31 | New Mexico | 161,558 | 7.72% |
| 32 | New York | 1,837,913 | 9.39% |
| 33 | North Carolina | 995,729 | 9.70% |
| 34 | North Dakota | 289,975 | 38.32% |
| 35 | Ohio | 2,769,988 | 23.77% |
| 36 | Oklahoma | 485,344 | 12.34% |
| 37 | Oregon | 722,675 | 17.50% |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | 2,971,250 | 23.23% |
| 39 | Rhode Island | 52,451 | 4.96% |
| 40 | South Carolina | 469,740 | 9.36% |
| 41 | South Dakota | 316,740 | 36.38% |
| 42 | Tennessee | 606,154 | 9.03% |
| 43 | Texas | 2,436,308 | 8.62% |
| 44 | Utah | 321,236 | 10.37% |
| 45 | Vermont | 61,248 | 9.81% |
| 46 | Virginia | 892,416 | 10.56% |
| 47 | Washington | 1,196,548 | 16.16% |
| 48 | West Virginia | 292,422 | 16.09% |
| 49 | Wisconsin | 2,224,798 | 38.42% |
| 50 | Wyoming | 129,280 | 22.25% |
| – | District of Columbia | 47,894 | 6.91% |
Read about Top US states by population
Top U.S Cities by population
German was the largest group in over 1,000 counties, particularly in the Midwest, Pennsylvania, and parts of Texas, including the Texas Hill Country. Maricopa County, Arizona, home to Phoenix, had the largest English and German populations of all counties in the nation (620,199 and 639,586 respectively).
Chicago Metro area with 1.3 million people of German ancestry, has the largest population of German Americans. It’s followed by New York (1.1 million) and the Minneapolis metro area (1 million).
Top Metro Areas by German Population
| # | Metro Area | Population 2021 | % of Total |
| 1 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 1,303,172 | 13.70% |
| 2 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 1,123,462 | 5.68% |
| 3 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 1,018,735 | 27.60% |
| 4 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 850,990 | 13.66% |
| 5 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 735,420 | 26.20% |
| 6 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 675,621 | 5.20% |
| 7 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 620,478 | 12.54% |
| 8 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 613,380 | 7.90% |
| 9 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 606,781 | 13.90% |
| 10 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 606,485 | 9.54% |
| 11 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 577,142 | 25.52% |
| 12 | Pittsburgh, PA | 563,329 | 23.94% |
| 13 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 554,135 | 13.81% |
| 14 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 497,574 | 6.90% |
| 15 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 490,442 | 16.50% |
| 16 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 480,346 | 30.66% |
| 17 | Columbus, OH | 436,724 | 20.30% |
| 18 | Kansas City, MO-KS | 422,867 | 19.23% |
| 19 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 412,408 | 6.71% |
| 20 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | 393,454 | 18.96% |
| 21 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 390,177 | 13.75% |
| 22 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 387,611 | 15.44% |
| 23 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | 366,313 | 17.20% |
| 24 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 362,732 | 11.27% |
| 25 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 333,570 | 7.22% |
| 26 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 313,105 | 9.53% |
| 27 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 306,750 | 6.59% |
| 28 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 294,786 | 10.91% |
| 29 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | 292,604 | 12.44% |
| 30 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 270,065 | 5.51% |
| 31 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | 267,051 | 27.47% |
| 32 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 260,082 | 10.00% |
| 33 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 257,957 | 10.70% |
| 34 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 253,721 | 4.16% |
| 35 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | 247,242 | 21.27% |
| 36 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 229,479 | 17.86% |
| 37 | Madison, WI | 226,711 | 33.18% |
| 38 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 214,000 | 7.95% |
| 39 | Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 212,140 | 10.54% |
| 40 | Rochester, NY | 197,133 | 18.17% |
| 41 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | 192,042 | 17.59% |
| 42 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 187,911 | 21.72% |
| 43 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 186,715 | 8.14% |
| 44 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 170,783 | 9.45% |
| 45 | Oklahoma City, OK | 168,495 | 11.69% |
| 46 | Jacksonville, FL | 166,418 | 10.16% |
| 47 | Tucson, AZ | 143,838 | 13.67% |
| 48 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | 138,881 | 9.59% |
| 49 | Tulsa, OK | 135,336 | 13.21% |
| 50 | North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL | 134,932 | 15.69% |
read about Top US Cities by Population
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