Scotch-Irish Population in North Carolina by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, the Scotch-Irish population in North Carolina stands at 203,111. Every county reports a non-zero population, with Mecklenburg County leading at 19,566, followed by Wake County (17,840) and Guilford County (9,842). The combined total across counties is slightly lower than the statewide figure - a gap that may reflect rounding, data lag, or unassigned residents in certain census tracts. This analysis ranks all counties in North Carolina by their Scotch-Irish population, offering a localized perspective on how the community is distributed across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Scotch-Irish population in North Carolina

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  • 1
    Mecklenburg County
    Scotch-Irish population in Mecklenburg County is 19,566
    1.73% of Mecklenburg County population is Scotch-Irish
  • 2
    Wake County
    Scotch-Irish population in Wake County is 17,840
    1.55% of Wake County population is Scotch-Irish
  • 3
    Guilford County
    Scotch-Irish population in Guilford County is 9,842
    1.81% of Guilford County population is Scotch-Irish
  • 4
    Buncombe County
    Scotch-Irish population in Buncombe County is 8,368
    3.08% of Buncombe County population is Scotch-Irish
  • 5
    Forsyth County
    Scotch-Irish population in Forsyth County is 6,243
    1.61% of Forsyth County population is Scotch-Irish

Overview of Scotch-Irish population in North Carolina

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents North Carolina with 203,111 Scotch-Irish residents (1.9% of 10.6 million total state population), ranking the state at the 97th percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Scotch-Irish demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate North Carolina's Scotch-Irish population of 1.9% exceeds the national average of 0.79% by a factor of 2.4.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey records show North Carolina hosts 203,111 Scotch-Irish residents, representing 7.8% of the nation's total Scotch-Irish population of 2.6 million, establishing the state as a significant demographic concentration center within national boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey document North Carolina with 4.2 Scotch-Irish Americans per square mile, more than five times the national average density of 0.74 per square mile, placing the state among jurisdictions with significantly elevated demographic concentrations nationally.
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98 Counties in North Carolina Ranked by Scotch-Irish Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Scotch-Irish populations across every county in North Carolina, with demographic distributions ranging from the highest population in Mecklenburg County to the lowest in $rank_n_geo_name. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all counties included in this analysis*.
counties in North Carolina ranked by Scotch-Irish population count
Rank by Scotch-Irish Population
County
Scotch-Irish Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total North Carolina Scotch-Irish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Mecklenburg County 19,566 1.73% 9.63%
2 Wake County 17,840 1.55% 8.78%
3 Guilford County 9,842 1.81% 4.85%
4 Buncombe County 8,368 3.08% 4.12%
5 Forsyth County 6,243 1.61% 3.07%
6 Gaston County 5,839 2.52% 2.87%
7 Iredell County 4,939 2.58% 2.43%
8 4,863 1.99% 2.39%
9 4,837 3.33% 2.38%
10 4,541 1.96% 2.24%
11 4,465 3.01% 2.20%
12 4,303 1.86% 2.12%
13 4,168 2.39% 2.05%
14 3,894 1.16% 1.92%
15 3,883 1.18% 1.91%
16 3,727 1.64% 1.84%
17 3,630 2.46% 1.79%
18 3,429 2.92% 1.69%
19 3,425 5.49% 1.69%
20 3,421 2.34% 1.68%
21 3,184 1.85% 1.57%
22 3,059 1.47% 1.51%
23 2,770 1.71% 1.36%
24 2,737 2.66% 1.35%
25 2,630 1.54% 1.29%
26 2,570 4.71% 1.27%
27 2,182 1.60% 1.07%
28 2,079 4.82% 1.02%
29 2,034 5.42% 1.00%
30 2,024 3.12% 1.00%
31 1,970 3.10% 0.97%
32 1,823 2.26% 0.90%
33 1,821 1.99% 0.90%
34 1,818 2.01% 0.90%
35 1,720 2.51% 0.85%
36 1,670 3.74% 0.82%
37 1,577 2.39% 0.78%
38 1,516 1.73% 0.75%
39 1,484 8.41% 0.73%
40 1,466 2.05% 0.72%
41 1,457 1.45% 0.72%
42 1,444 2.24% 0.71%
43 1,346 2.12% 0.66%
44 1,342 1.71% 0.66%
45 1,309 8.74% 0.64%
46 1,278 5.91% 0.63%
47 1,199 3.20% 0.59%
48 1,187 3.57% 0.58%
49 1,090 5.84% 0.54%
50 1,055 3.93% 0.52%
50 1,055 2.42% 0.52%
51 967 0.96% 0.48%
52 944 2.20% 0.46%
53 943 1.53% 0.46%
54 918 1.28% 0.45%
55 901 0.77% 0.44%
56 869 0.74% 0.43%
57 855 1.90% 0.42%
58 817 1.62% 0.40%
59 792 2.11% 0.39%
60 778 2.66% 0.38%
61 752 1.27% 0.37%
62 723 6.35% 0.36%
63 697 2.36% 0.34%
64 679 3.45% 0.33%
65 647 1.78% 0.32%
66 612 0.78% 0.30%
67 611 2.36% 0.30%
68 600 1.53% 0.30%
69 565 1.64% 0.28%
70 530 0.97% 0.26%
71 511 0.54% 0.25%
72 480 1.08% 0.24%
73 470 0.96% 0.23%
74 447 0.93% 0.22%
75 398 0.97% 0.20%
76 371 0.70% 0.18%
77 364 1.60% 0.18%
78 316 2.25% 0.16%
79 280 2.13% 0.14%
80 272 2.53% 0.13%
81 266 0.63% 0.13%
82 244 1.11% 0.12%
83 232 1.68% 0.11%
84 228 1.05% 0.11%
85 226 2.04% 0.11%
86 194 0.40% 0.10%
86 194 1.58% 0.10%
87 171 0.98% 0.08%
88 135 1.68% 0.07%
89 116 0.57% 0.06%
90 113 0.60% 0.06%
91 80 0.46% 0.04%
92 52 0.48% 0.03%
93 40 0.20% 0.02%
94 35 0.38% 0.02%
95 29 0.28% 0.01%
96 12 0.36% 0.01%
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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 county in North Carolina by their Scotch-Irish population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

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

Sources

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