> > Home >>  Europe  > > Norway >> Norwegian Americans

Norwegian Ancestry in America

People of Norwegian ancestry form an important group in several countries in North and South America. As per the estimates, the total population of Norwegian ancestry is 5 million in North and South America.

According to the 2020 US Census, Norwegian ancestry is estimated at 4.6 million people. It also forms an important minority Group in Canada and Brazil.

Let’s have a look at Americans Countries having significant Norwegian ancestry

Norwegian Americans are Americans who have full or partial Norwegian ancestry. In the United States census of 2020, 4.3 million people identified as being fully or partly of Norwegian ancestry. 

According to the United States Ancestry Census estimates 2020, there were 4,289,825 (1.31% of the US Population) people of Norwegian descent in the U.S.

Norwegian Ancestry Statewise

Population wise Minnesota (777,745) has the largest number of people with Norwegian Ancestry followed by Wisconsin (413,515), Washington (356,334), California (354,919), and North Dakota (180,029).

Percentage-wise top US states with Norwegian Ancestry are North Dakota (23.68%), Minnesota (13.89%), South Dakota (12.68%), Montana (8.65%), and Wisconsin (7.12%).

List of States by Norwegian Ancestry Population

#StatesEstimated PopulationPercent
1Alabama15,6480.32%
2Alaska22,3603.03%
3Arizona119,1591.66%
4Arkansas15,0550.50%
5California354,9190.90%
6Colorado121,3392.13%
7Connecticut17,6970.50%
8Delaware3,9690.41%
9District of Columbia4,5010.64%
10Florida122,9080.58%
11Georgia38,3990.37%
12Hawaii10,3680.73%
13Idaho52,0672.97%
14Illinois144,8281.14%
15Indiana35,7490.53%
16Iowa147,2664.68%
17Kansas27,9170.96%
18Kentucky15,5830.35%
19Louisiana11,3540.24%
20Maine11,3140.84%
21Maryland27,0780.45%
22Massachusetts35,2040.51%
23Michigan76,7760.77%
24Minnesota777,74513.89%
25Mississippi7,5600.25%
26Missouri45,0810.74%
27Montana91,8648.65%
28Nebraska35,7811.86%
29Nevada37,2111.23%
30New Hampshire12,4570.92%
31New Jersey39,3020.44%
32New Mexico14,9590.71%
33New York79,3430.41%
34North Carolina47,8440.46%
35North Dakota180,02923.68%
36Ohio44,6800.38%
37Oklahoma24,8820.63%
38Oregon141,7493.39%
39Pennsylvania42,4860.33%
40Rhode Island3,6730.35%
41South Carolina21,6550.43%
42South Dakota111,46212.68%
43Tennessee30,2170.45%
44Texas145,5800.51%
45Utah72,6202.30%
46Vermont5,8250.93%
47Virginia49,4680.58%
48Washington356,3344.74%
49West Virginia4,7240.26%
50Wisconsin413,5157.12%
51Wyoming20,3213.50%

Source: US Census estimates 2020

Norwegian Canadians are Canadians who have full or partial Russian ancestry. Norwegian Canadians account for about  1.34%  of the total population of Canada

According to the Canadian Census 2020, there were 463,275 people of Norwegian descent in Canada.

Norwegian Ancestry Provinces

Alberta, with 156,595 people of Norwegian ancestry, has the largest population of Norwegian -Canadians in Canada followed by British Columbia (138,430) and Saskatchewan (68,640). Percentage-wise Saskatchewan (6.40%) has the highest percentage of Norwegian followed by Alberta (3.90%) and Yukon (3.90%).

List of Provinces by Norwegian Ancestry Population

#ProvinceEstimate PopulationPercentage
1 Alberta156,5953.90%
2 British Columbia138,4303.00%
3 Manitoba19,6001.60%
4 New Brunswick3,3300.50%
5 Newfoundland and Labrador1,7100.30%
6 Northwest Territories7101.70%
7 Nova Scotia5,1700.60%
8 Nunavut1450.40%
9 Ontario59,3350.40%
10 Prince Edward Island4150.30%
11 Quebec7,8200.10%
12 Saskatchewan68,6406.40%
13 Yukon1,3803.90%
  Canada463,2751.30%

Source: Canada Census 2016

Norwegian Brazilians are Brazilians who have full or partial Norwegian ancestry. In Brazil, Norwegian are part of the larger Scandinavian group and are counted as Scandinavian Brazilians.

As per the estimates, there were 10,618 people of Norwegian descent in Brazil.

The Brazilian states with Significant Norwegian descendants are Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Curitiba, São Paulo, and Ceará.

Norwegian Ancestry in America | Norwegian Americans