Scottish 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 Scottish population, totaling 5.3 million nationwide. California leads with 453,079 residents, followed by Texas (388,333) and Florida (303,492). This ranking examines how Scottish communities are distributed across the entire United States, highlighting regional patterns, cultural concentrations, and state-level differences.

Top 5 states with the largest Scottish population in United States

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  • 1
    California
    Scottish population in California is 453,079
    1.15% of California population is Scottish
  • 2
    Texas
    Scottish population in Texas is 388,333
    1.31% of Texas population is Scottish
  • 3
    Florida
    Scottish population in Florida is 303,492
    1.38% of Florida population is Scottish
  • 4
    North Carolina
    Scottish population in North Carolina is 230,229
    2.18% of North Carolina population is Scottish
  • 5
    Ohio
    Scottish population in Ohio is 210,646
    1.79% of Ohio population is Scottish

U.S. States by Scottish Population : National Rankings

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Scottish populations present across states nationwide, with the largest counts in California, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. 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 Scottish population count
Rank by Scottish Population
State
Scottish Population
% of Total State Population
% of Total United States Scottish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 California 453,079 1.15% 8.60%
2 Texas 388,333 1.31% 7.37%
3 Florida 303,492 1.38% 5.76%
4 North Carolina 230,229 2.18% 4.37%
5 Ohio 210,646 1.79% 4.00%
6 Michigan 204,395 2.03% 3.88%
7 Washington 195,328 2.52% 3.71%
8 186,269 0.94% 3.53%
9 183,255 1.41% 3.48%
10 178,160 1.65% 3.38%
11 160,137 1.85% 3.04%
12 143,992 2.06% 2.73%
13 143,118 2.46% 2.72%
14 142,518 1.12% 2.70%
15 130,026 3.90% 2.47%
16 126,870 1.81% 2.41%
17 126,310 1.74% 2.40%
18 120,200 2.84% 2.28%
19 115,241 1.69% 2.19%
20 110,435 2.12% 2.10%
21 105,401 1.71% 2.00%
22 93,298 1.85% 1.77%
23 84,635 1.88% 1.61%
24 80,758 1.31% 1.53%
25 78,874 0.85% 1.50%
26 75,166 1.88% 1.43%
27 63,595 1.08% 1.21%
28 62,986 1.10% 1.19%
29 59,714 3.15% 1.13%
30 58,264 4.23% 1.11%
31 54,269 1.51% 1.03%
32 53,968 1.84% 1.02%
33 52,222 3.76% 0.99%
34 52,076 1.72% 0.99%
35 46,533 1.46% 0.88%
36 46,368 1.48% 0.88%
37 46,074 1.00% 0.87%
38 43,010 1.46% 0.82%
39 36,153 2.03% 0.69%
40 33,964 1.61% 0.64%
41 30,697 2.78% 0.58%
42 27,212 1.38% 0.52%
43 25,984 4.03% 0.49%
44 18,528 3.20% 0.35%
45 17,679 1.61% 0.34%
46 15,152 2.06% 0.29%
47 14,658 1.46% 0.28%
48 10,286 1.14% 0.20%
49 9,710 1.44% 0.18%
50 8,854 1.14% 0.17%
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 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 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 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.
  • State 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.