Scottish Population in United States by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, the Scottish population in the United States stands at 5.3 million individuals. New York contains the largest Scottish community with 40,329 residents, followed by Los Angeles (27,592) and Austin (21,092), with many other cities across the country home to active Scottish communities of varying sizes. This nationwide ranking highlights how Scottish populations are distributed across American cities, offering a broader view into their settlement patterns and regional diversity.

Top 5 cities with the largest Scottish population in United States

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  • 1
    New York
    Scottish population in New York is 40,329
    0.47% of New York population is Scottish
  • 2
    Los Angeles
    Scottish population in Los Angeles is 27,592
    0.72% of Los Angeles population is Scottish
  • 3
    Austin
    Scottish population in Austin is 21,092
    2.18% of Austin population is Scottish
  • 4
    Houston
    Scottish population in Houston is 20,620
    0.90% of Houston population is Scottish
  • 5
    Phoenix
    Scottish population in Phoenix is 20,406
    1.26% of Phoenix population is Scottish

U.S. Cities by Scottish Population : National Rankings

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show significant Scottish populations in leading metropolitan areas, including New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and Houston, while numerous other incorporated cities recorded minimal or zero residents identified as Americans of Scottish birth or 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 Scottish population count
Rank by Scottish Population
City
Scottish Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total United States Scottish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 New York 40,329 0.47% 0.77%
2 Los Angeles 27,592 0.72% 0.52%
3 Austin 21,092 2.18% 0.40%
4 Houston 20,620 0.90% 0.39%
5 Phoenix 20,406 1.26% 0.39%
6 Seattle 19,710 2.66% 0.37%
7 Portland 19,656 3.06% 0.37%
8 19,384 0.72% 0.37%
9 18,593 1.34% 0.35%
10 16,669 1.02% 0.32%
11 15,434 1.60% 0.29%
12 14,825 1.14% 0.28%
13 14,773 0.56% 0.28%
14 14,623 1.65% 0.28%
15 14,577 2.04% 0.28%
16 14,102 1.56% 0.27%
17 14,056 1.49% 0.27%
18 13,347 0.91% 0.25%
19 12,733 2.64% 0.24%
20 11,630 1.69% 0.22%
21 10,815 1.29% 0.21%
22 10,711 0.68% 0.20%
23 10,207 2.23% 0.19%
24 10,179 2.16% 0.19%
25 9,710 1.44% 0.18%
26 9,470 1.74% 0.18%
27 8,664 1.77% 0.16%
28 8,649 2.10% 0.16%
29 8,585 1.53% 0.16%
30 8,362 1.28% 0.16%
31 8,224 1.62% 0.16%
32 7,363 1.45% 0.14%
33 7,251 3.08% 0.14%
34 7,202 1.44% 0.14%
35 7,201 1.08% 0.14%
36 7,111 0.72% 0.13%
37 7,006 3.44% 0.13%
38 6,908 3.89% 0.13%
39 6,452 2.81% 0.12%
40 6,376 1.63% 0.12%
41 6,280 1.58% 0.12%
42 5,961 3.51% 0.11%
43 5,945 1.39% 0.11%
44 5,926 0.25% 0.11%
45 5,916 2.44% 0.11%
46 5,762 0.92% 0.11%
47 5,632 1.74% 0.11%
48 5,544 1.41% 0.11%
49 5,422 1.37% 0.10%
50 5,399 1.03% 0.10%
51 5,365 1.99% 0.10%
52 5,323 1.84% 0.10%
53 5,314 1.85% 0.10%
54 5,185 2.69% 0.10%
55 5,184 1.80% 0.10%
56 5,151 1.87% 0.10%
57 4,973 1.87% 0.09%
58 4,965 2.25% 0.09%
59 4,944 1.66% 0.09%
60 4,899 1.88% 0.09%
61 4,895 2.77% 0.09%
62 4,867 5.14% 0.09%
63 4,850 4.89% 0.09%
64 4,843 1.11% 0.09%
65 4,841 2.50% 0.09%
66 4,770 1.83% 0.09%
67 4,765 1.76% 0.09%
68 4,684 1.87% 0.09%
69 4,682 1.68% 0.09%
70 4,643 2.12% 0.09%
71 4,505 1.79% 0.09%
72 4,417 2.42% 0.08%
73 4,414 2.50% 0.08%
74 4,352 2.78% 0.08%
75 4,324 0.80% 0.08%
76 4,162 1.37% 0.08%
77 4,153 0.72% 0.08%
78 4,127 3.61% 0.08%
79 4,097 1.00% 0.08%
80 4,086 2.08% 0.08%
81 4,069 4.31% 0.08%
82 4,047 1.78% 0.08%
83 4,035 1.07% 0.08%
84 4,020 5.00% 0.08%
85 4,014 1.38% 0.08%
86 4,008 0.87% 0.08%
87 3,943 2.00% 0.07%
88 3,933 0.81% 0.07%
89 3,910 1.86% 0.07%
89 3,910 4.03% 0.07%
90 3,863 2.45% 0.07%
91 3,810 1.24% 0.07%
92 3,798 1.95% 0.07%
93 3,779 4.66% 0.07%
94 3,678 1.25% 0.07%
95 3,667 2.55% 0.07%
96 3,651 2.15% 0.07%
97 3,623 2.38% 0.07%
98 3,528 2.87% 0.07%
99 3,494 3.78% 0.07%
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 city in United States by their Scottish population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Scottish 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 Scottish .
  2. % of Total United States Scottish Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Scottish 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 Scottish 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 Scottish 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 Scottish populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

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