Polish Population in United States by State : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, all 50 states and the District of Columbia report a measurable Polish population, totaling 8.5 million nationwide. New York leads with 806,476 residents, followed by Illinois (789,582) and Michigan (744,210). This ranking examines how Polish communities are distributed across the entire United States, highlighting regional patterns, cultural concentrations, and state-level differences.

Top 5 states with the largest Polish population in United States

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  • 1
    New York
    Polish population in New York is 806,476
    4.06% of New York population is Polish
  • 2
    Illinois
    Polish population in Illinois is 789,582
    6.22% of Illinois population is Polish
  • 3
    Michigan
    Polish population in Michigan is 744,210
    7.40% of Michigan population is Polish
  • 4
    Pennsylvania
    Polish population in Pennsylvania is 719,382
    5.54% of Pennsylvania population is Polish
  • 5
    Florida
    Polish population in Florida is 475,665
    2.17% of Florida population is Polish

U.S. States by Polish Population : National Rankings

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Polish populations present across states nationwide, with the largest counts in New York, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all states included in this analysis*.
states in United States ranked by Polish population count
Rank by Polish Population
State
Polish Population
% of Total State Population
% of Total United States Polish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 New York 806,476 4.06% 9.49%
2 Illinois 789,582 6.22% 9.29%
3 Michigan 744,210 7.40% 8.76%
4 Pennsylvania 719,382 5.54% 8.47%
5 Florida 475,665 2.17% 5.60%
6 Wisconsin 462,215 7.84% 5.44%
7 New Jersey 445,431 4.81% 5.24%
8 439,900 1.12% 5.18%
9 393,493 3.34% 4.63%
10 293,358 0.99% 3.45%
11 268,725 3.84% 3.16%
12 229,189 6.37% 2.70%
13 225,662 3.95% 2.66%
14 190,405 2.80% 2.24%
15 164,035 2.66% 1.93%
16 153,015 2.11% 1.80%
17 149,753 1.73% 1.76%
18 148,819 1.41% 1.75%
19 137,348 2.36% 1.62%
20 120,858 1.56% 1.42%
21 107,190 0.99% 1.26%
22 96,975 1.57% 1.14%
23 77,696 1.49% 0.91%
24 72,796 1.04% 0.86%
25 70,116 1.65% 0.83%
26 58,674 2.98% 0.69%
27 52,626 1.68% 0.62%
28 51,105 3.68% 0.60%
29 41,025 0.91% 0.48%
30 39,973 3.97% 0.47%
31 37,742 1.18% 0.44%
32 36,282 1.24% 0.43%
33 35,091 3.20% 0.41%
34 30,313 2.20% 0.36%
35 29,790 0.75% 0.35%
36 28,254 0.56% 0.33%
37 27,511 1.54% 0.32%
38 25,463 0.76% 0.30%
39 22,646 1.20% 0.27%
40 22,584 3.50% 0.27%
41 22,023 0.73% 0.26%
42 21,656 1.02% 0.25%
43 20,357 0.44% 0.24%
44 18,909 1.71% 0.22%
45 15,950 2.05% 0.19%
46 15,045 2.24% 0.18%
47 13,425 1.49% 0.16%
48 12,526 1.71% 0.15%
49 11,302 0.38% 0.13%
50 9,370 1.62% 0.11%
Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

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 state in United States by their Polish population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Polish 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 Polish 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 Polish alone, while others identify as Polish along with another race (such as Polish and German).
  • We’ve used the “Polish alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Polish population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Polish alone or in combination in state. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total State Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Polish .
  2. % of Total United States Polish Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Polish 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 Polish 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.
  • State that don’t have any reported Polish 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 Polish populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

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