French Canadian Population in United States by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, the French Canadian population in the United States stands at 1.7 million individuals. Manchester contains the largest French Canadian community with 11,945 residents, followed by New York (10,292) and Nashua (7,302), with many other cities across the country home to active French Canadian communities of varying sizes. This nationwide ranking highlights how French Canadian populations are distributed across American cities, offering a broader view into their settlement patterns and regional diversity.

Top 5 cities with the largest French Canadian population in United States

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  • 1
    Manchester
    French Canadian population in Manchester is 11,945
    10.35% of Manchester population is French Canadian
  • 2
    New York
    French Canadian population in New York is 10,292
    0.12% of New York population is French Canadian
  • 3
    Nashua
    French Canadian population in Nashua is 7,302
    8.01% of Nashua population is French Canadian
  • 4
    Boston
    French Canadian population in Boston is 7,268
    1.09% of Boston population is French Canadian
  • 5
    Lewiston
    French Canadian population in Lewiston is 6,091
    16.08% of Lewiston population is French Canadian

U.S. Cities by French Canadian Population : National Rankings

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show significant French Canadian populations in leading metropolitan areas, including Manchester, New York, Nashua, and Boston, while numerous other incorporated cities recorded minimal or zero residents identified as Americans of French-Canadian descent. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in United States ranked by French Canadian population count
Rank by French Canadian Population
City
French Canadian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total United States French Canadian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Manchester 11,945 10.35% 0.70%
2 New York 10,292 0.12% 0.60%
3 Nashua 7,302 8.01% 0.43%
4 Boston 7,268 1.09% 0.43%
5 Lewiston 6,091 16.08% 0.36%
6 Los Angeles 5,600 0.15% 0.33%
7 Lafayette 5,398 4.44% 0.32%
8 5,381 2.62% 0.31%
9 4,787 11.11% 0.28%
10 4,692 8.50% 0.27%
11 4,561 0.17% 0.27%
12 4,526 0.61% 0.26%
13 4,157 0.18% 0.24%
14 4,093 0.25% 0.24%
15 4,032 0.29% 0.24%
16 3,842 0.15% 0.22%
17 3,715 15.29% 0.22%
18 3,531 0.22% 0.21%
19 3,500 9.62% 0.20%
20 3,365 14.98% 0.20%
21 3,342 4.03% 0.20%
22 3,219 2.80% 0.19%
23 3,098 0.48% 0.18%
24 2,998 3.98% 0.18%
25 2,977 0.70% 0.17%
26 2,967 0.42% 0.17%
27 2,957 0.31% 0.17%
28 2,914 4.25% 0.17%
29 2,903 4.31% 0.17%
30 2,881 8.06% 0.17%
31 2,831 0.29% 0.17%
32 2,799 6.33% 0.16%
33 2,759 13.09% 0.16%
34 2,702 6.18% 0.16%
35 2,645 1.71% 0.15%
36 2,614 2.79% 0.15%
37 2,593 5.58% 0.15%
38 2,587 5.79% 0.15%
39 2,558 4.18% 0.15%
40 2,513 7.65% 0.15%
41 2,487 5.97% 0.15%
42 2,443 9.32% 0.14%
43 2,427 0.50% 0.14%
44 2,401 2.38% 0.14%
45 2,390 2.93% 0.14%
46 2,367 0.35% 0.14%
47 2,357 0.52% 0.14%
48 2,292 1.21% 0.13%
49 2,283 0.16% 0.13%
50 2,276 12.29% 0.13%
51 2,274 0.26% 0.13%
52 2,265 0.60% 0.13%
53 2,219 8.02% 0.13%
54 2,188 10.42% 0.13%
55 2,180 8.56% 0.13%
56 2,166 6.55% 0.13%
57 2,152 6.65% 0.13%
58 2,111 1.58% 0.12%
59 2,098 0.25% 0.12%
60 2,088 16.59% 0.12%
61 2,068 0.22% 0.12%
62 2,065 3.89% 0.12%
63 2,044 5.95% 0.12%
64 2,021 9.79% 0.12%
65 1,978 2.39% 0.12%
66 1,961 9.57% 0.11%
67 1,955 1.42% 0.11%
68 1,950 6.84% 0.11%
69 1,946 0.38% 0.11%
70 1,931 0.30% 0.11%
71 1,917 8.36% 0.11%
72 1,894 0.71% 0.11%
73 1,873 10.66% 0.11%
74 1,863 0.34% 0.11%
75 1,856 0.83% 0.11%
76 1,849 0.57% 0.11%
77 1,848 3.93% 0.11%
78 1,845 2.94% 0.11%
79 1,830 5.97% 0.11%
80 1,828 10.76% 0.11%
81 1,818 12.16% 0.11%
82 1,788 0.58% 0.10%
83 1,776 1.76% 0.10%
84 1,740 0.31% 0.10%
85 1,736 0.11% 0.10%
86 1,711 2.00% 0.10%
87 1,689 3.12% 0.10%
88 1,681 1.58% 0.10%
89 1,679 2.81% 0.10%
89 1,679 5.41% 0.10%
90 1,678 10.32% 0.10%
91 1,673 7.10% 0.10%
92 1,663 3.99% 0.10%
93 1,660 2.85% 0.10%
94 1,657 0.29% 0.10%
95 1,632 4.51% 0.10%
96 1,625 9.13% 0.10%
97 1,624 1.65% 0.10%
98 1,622 2.51% 0.09%
99 1,618 3.98% 0.09%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in United States by their French Canadian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines French Canadian population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having French Canadian ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as French Canadian alone, while others identify as French Canadian along with another race (such as French Canadian and German).
  • We’ve used the “French Canadian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the French Canadian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as French Canadian alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as French Canadian .
  2. % of Total United States French Canadian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. French Canadian population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small French Canadian populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported French Canadian population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where French Canadian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.