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White Americans

The countries from which White Americans claim their ancestry
Total population
223,553,265 (2010)[1] 72% of the total U.S. population 197,285,202(Non-Hispanic: 2017)[2]
Regions with significant populations
All areas of the United States
Languages
English Albanian  · Arabic  · American Sign Language  · Neo-Aramaic  · Armenian  · Azerbaijani  · Belarusian  · Czech  · Danish  · Dutch  · Finnish  · French  · Georgian  · German  · Greek  · Hebrew  · Hungarian  · Italian  · Kurdish  · Ladino  · Lithuanian  · Norwegian  · Pashto  · Persian  · Polish  · Portuguese  · Romanian  · Russian  · Slovak  · South Slavic  · Spanish  · Swedish  · Tamazight  · Turkish  · Ukrainian  · Yiddish  · other languages
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Protestantism; Roman Catholic is the largest single denomination); Minority religions: Mormonism, Judaism , Buddhism, Islam, and non-religious
Related ethnic groups
European Americans, Europeans, Middle Eastern Americans, White Latin Americans, European Canadians, European Australians, European New Zealanders, European diasporas from other parts of the world

White Americans are Americans who are descendants from any of the white racial groups of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, or in census statistics, those who self-report as white based on having majority-white ancestry. White Americans (including White Hispanics) constitute the historical and current majority of the people living in the United States, with 72% of the population in the 2010 United States Census. Non-Hispanic whites totaled about 197,285,202 or 60% of the U.S. population.^[3]European Americans are the largest ethnic group of White Americans and constitute the historical population of the United States since the nation's founding.

The United States Census Bureau defines white people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa."^[4] Like all official U.S. racial categories, "White" has a "not Hispanic or Latino" and a "Hispanic or Latino" component,^[5] the latter consisting mostly of white Mexican Americans and white Cuban Americans. The term "Caucasian" is synonymous with "white", although the latter is sometimes used to denote skin tone instead of race.^[6] The inclusion of non-Europeans in the definition of white is controversial.^{[citation needed]} Many of the non-European ethnic groups classified as white by the U.S. Census, such as Arab Americans,^[7]Jewish Americans,^[8] and Hispanics or Latinos, may not identify as, or may not perceived to be, white.

The largest ancestries of American whites are: German Americans (17%), Irish Americans (12%), English Americans (9%), Italian Americans (6%), French Americans (4%), Polish Americans (3%), Scottish Americans (3%), Scotch-Irish Americans (2%), Dutch Americans (2%), Norwegian Americans (2%), and Swedish Americans (1%).^[9][10][11] However, the English Americans and British Americans demography is considered a serious under-count as the stock tend to self-report and identify as simply "Americans" (7%), due to the length of time they have inhabited the United States, particularly if their family arrived prior to the American Revolution.^[12] Many white Americans also have ancestry from multiple countries.

Historical and present definitions

Definitions of who is "White" have changed throughout the history of the United States.

U.S. Census definition

The term "White American" can encompass many different ethnic groups. Although the United States Census purports to reflect a social definition of race, the social dimensions of race are more complex than Census criteria. The 2000 U.S. census states that racial categories "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country. They do not conform to any biological, anthropological or genetic criteria."^[13]

The Census question on race lists the categories White or European American, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Asian, plus "Some other race", with the respondent having the ability to mark more than one racial and or ethnic category. The Census Bureau defines White people as follows:

"White" refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as "White" or reported entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan or Caucasian.^[4]

In U.S. census documents, the designation White overlaps, as do all other official racial categories, with the term Hispanic or Latino, which was introduced in the 1980 census as a category of ethnicity, separate and independent of race.^[14][15] Hispanic and Latino Americans as a whole make up a racially diverse group and as a whole are the largest minority in the country.^[16][17]

The characterization of Middle Eastern and North African Americans as white has been a matter of controversy. In the early 20th century, peoples of Arab descent were sometimes denied entry into the United States because they were characterized as nonwhite.^[18] In 1944, the law changed, and Middle Eastern and North African peoples were granted white status. The U.S. Census is currently revisiting the issue, and considering creating a separate racial category for Middle Eastern and North African Americans in the 2020 Census.

President Abraham Lincoln was descended from Samuel Lincoln and was of English and Welsh ancestry.

Actress Raquel Welch of Spanish (via Bolivia) and English ancestry back to the Mayflower.^[19]

In cases where individuals do not self-identify, the U.S. census parameters for race give each national origin a racial value.

Additionally, people who reported Muslim (or a sect of Islam such as Shi'ite or Sunni), Jewish, Zoroastrian, or Caucasian as their "race" in the "Some other race" section, without noting a country of origin, are automatically tallied as White.^[20] The US Census considers the write-in response of "Caucasian" or "Aryan" to be a synonym for White in their ancestry code listing.^[21]

Social definition

In the contemporary United States, essentially anyone of European descent is considered White. However, many of the non-European ethnic groups classified as White by the U.S. Census, such as Arab Americans, Jewish Americans, and Hispanics or Latinos may not identify as, and may not be perceived to be, White.^{[22][23][24][25][26][27]}

The definition of White has changed significantly over the course of American history. Among Europeans, those not considered White at some point in American history include Italians, Greeks, Spaniards, Irish, Swedes, Finns, and Russians.^[27][28][29] Early on in the United States, membership in the white race was generally limited to those of British, Germanic, or Nordic ancestry.^[30]

David R. Roediger argues that the construction of the white race in the United States was an effort to mentally distance slave owners from slaves.^[31] The process of officially being defined as white by law often came about in court disputes over pursuit of citizenship.^[32]

Critical race theory definition

Critical race theory developed in the 1970s and 1980s, influenced by the language of critical legal studies, which challenged concepts such as objective truth, rationality and judicial neutrality, and by critical theory.^[33] Academics and activists disillusioned with the outcomes of the Civil Rights Movement pointed out that though African Americans supposedly enjoyed legal equality, white Americans continued to hold disproportionate power and still had superior living standards.^[34] Liberal ideas such as meritocracy and equal opportunity, they argued, hid and reinforced deep structural inequalities and thus serves the interests of a white elite.^[35] Critical race theorists see racism as embedded in public attitudes and institutions, and highlight institutional racism and unconscious biases.^[36] Legal scholar Derrick Bell advanced the interest convergence principle, which suggests that whites support minority rights only when doing so is also in their self-interest.^[37][38]

As Whites, especially White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, or WASPs, are the dominant racial and cultural group, according to sociologist Steven Seidman, writing from a critical theory perspective, "White culture constitutes the general cultural mainstream, causing non-White culture to be seen as deviant, in either a positive or negative manner. Moreover, Whites tend to be disproportionately represented in powerful positions, controlling almost all political, economic, and cultural institutions."

Yet, according to Seidman, Whites are most commonly unaware of their privilege and the manner in which their culture has always been dominant in the US, as they do not identify as members of a specific racial group but rather incorrectly perceive their views and culture as "raceless", when in fact it is ethno-national (ethnic/cultural) specific, with a racial base component.^[39]

Demographic information

Self-identified as White 1790–2010
Year	Population	% of the U.S.	% change (10 yr)	Year	Population	% of the U.S.	% change (10 yr)
1790	3,172,006	80.7		1910	81,731,957	88.9	22.3%
1800	4,306,446	81.1	35.8%	1920	94,820,915	89.7	16.0%
1810	5,862,073	81.0	36.1%	1930	110,286,740	89.8	16.3%
1820	7,866,797	81.6	34.2%	1940	118,214,870	89.8 (highest)	7.2%
1830	10,532,060	81.9	33.9%	1950	134,942,028	89.5	14.1%
1840	14,189,705	83.2	34.7%	1960	158,831,732	88.6	17.7%
1850	19,553,068	84.3	37.8%	1970	178,119,221	87.5	12.1%
1860	26,922,537	85.6	37.7%	1980	188,371,622	83.1	5.8%
1870	33,589,377	87.1	24.8%	1990	199,686,070	80.3	6.0%
1880	43,402,970	86.5	29.2%	2000	211,460,626	75.1	5.9%
1890	55,101,258	87.5	26.9%	2010	223,553,265	72.4 (lowest)	5.7%
1900	66,809,196	87.9	21.2%	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Source: United States census bureau.[40][41][42][43]

White Americans constitute the majority of the 308 million people living in the United States, with 72% of the population in the 2010 United States Census.^[a][1][45]

The largest ethnic groups (by ancestry) among White Americans were Germans, followed by Irish and English.^[46] In the 1980 census 49,598,035 Americans cited that they were of English ancestry, making them 26% of the country and the largest group at the time, and in fact larger than the population of England itself.^[47] Slightly more than half of these people would cite that they were of "American" ancestry on subsequent censuses and virtually everywhere that "American" ancestry predominates on the 2000 census corresponds to places where "English" predominated on the 1980 census.^[48][49]

White Americans are projected to remain the majority, though with their percentage decreasing to 72% of the total population by 2050. However, projections state that non-Hispanic Whites of that group will become less than 50% of the population by 2042 because Non-Hispanic Whites have the lowest fertility rate of any major racial group in the United States,^[50] mass-immigration of other ethnic groups with higher birth rates, and because of intermarriage with non-whites.

While over ten million White people can trace part of their ancestry back to the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 (this common statistic overlooks the Jamestown, Virginia foundations of America and roots of even earlier colonist-descended Americans, such as Spanish Americans in St. Augustine, Florida), over 35 million whites have at least one ancestor who passed through the Ellis Island immigration station, which processed arriving immigrants from 1892 until 1954.

Geographic distribution

According to the Census definition, White Americans are the majority racial group in almost all of the United States. They are not the majority in Hawaii, many American Indian reservations, parts of the South known as the Black Belt, the District of Columbia, all US territories, and in many urban areas throughout the country. Non-Hispanic whites are also not the majority in several southwestern states.

Overall the highest concentration of those referred to as "Non-Hispanic Whites" by the Census Bureau was found in the Midwest, New England, the Rocky Mountain states, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The lowest concentration of whites was found in southern and mid-Atlantic states.^[5][51][52]

Although all large geographical areas are dominated by White Americans, much larger differences can be seen between specific parts of large cities.

States with the highest percentages of White Americans, as of 2007:^[53]

• 
  Vermont 96.2%


• 
  Maine 95.5%


• 
  New Hampshire 95.0%


• 
  West Virginia 94.3%


• 
  Iowa 92.9%


• 
  Idaho 92.1%


• 
  Wyoming 91.6%


• 
  Minnesota 90.94%


• 
  North Dakota 90.9%

States with the highest percentages of non-Hispanic Whites, as of 2007:^[54]

• 
  Vermont 95.4%


• 
  Maine 94.8%


• 
  West Virginia 93.7%


• 
  New Hampshire 93.4%


• 
  Iowa 90.9%


• 
  North Dakota 90.2%


• 
  Montana 88.3%


• 
  Kentucky 88.1%


• 
  Wyoming 87.7%


• 
  South Dakota 86.5%

Income and educational attainment

White Americans have the second highest median household income and personal income levels in the nation, by cultural background. The median income per household member was also the highest, since White Americans had the smallest households of any racial demographic in the nation. In 2006, the median individual income of a White American age 25 or older was $33,030, with those who were full-time employed, and of age 25 to 64, earning $34,432. Since 42% of all households had two income earners, the median household income was considerably higher than the median personal income, which was $48,554 in 2005. Jewish Americans rank first in household income, personal income, and educational attainment among White Americans.^[55] In 2005, White households had a median household income of $48,977, which is 10% above the national median of $44,389. Among Cuban Americans, with 86% classified as White, those born in the US have a higher median income and educational attainment level than most other Whites.^[56]

The poverty rates for White Americans are the second-lowest of any racial group, with 11% of white individuals living below the poverty line, 3% lower than the national average.^[57] However, due to Whites' majority status, 48% of Americans living in poverty are white.^[58]

White Americans' educational attainment is the second-highest in the country, after Asian Americans'. Overall, nearly one-third of White Americans had a Bachelor's degree, with the educational attainment for Whites being higher for those born outside the United States: 38% of foreign born, and 30% of native born Whites had a college degree. Both figures are above the national average of 27%.^[59]

Gender income inequality was the greatest among Whites, with White men outearning White women by 48%. Census Bureau data for 2005 reveals that the median income of White females was lower than that of males of all races. In 2005, the median income for White American females was only slightly higher than that of African American females.^[60]

White Americans are more likely to live in suburbs and small cities than their black counterparts.^[61]

Population by state

60–70%

   70–80%

   80–90%

   more than 90%

2000 and 2010 censuses

White American population as of 2000 and 2010 censuses^[62]

State	Pop. 2000	% 2000	Pop. 2010	% 2010	% growth
Alabama	3,162,808	71.1%	3,275,394	68.5%	+3.6%
Alaska	434,534	69.3%	473,576	66.7%	+9.0%
Arizona	3,873,611	75.5%	4,667,121	73.0%	+20.5%
Arkansas	2,138,598	80.0%	2,245,229	77.0%	+5.0%
California	20,170,059	79.7%	21,453,934	74.0%	+6.4%
Colorado	3,560,005	82.8%	4,089,202	81.3%	+14.9%
Connecticut	2,780,355	81.6%	2,772,410	77.6%	-0.3%
Delaware	584,773	74.6%	618,617	68.9%	+5.8%
District of Columbia	176,101	30.8%	231,471	38.5%	+31.4%
Florida	12,465,029	78.0%	14,109,162	75.0%	+13.2%
Georgia	5,327,281	65.1%	5,787,440	59.7%	+8.6%
Hawaii	294,102	24.3%	336,599	24.7%	+14.4%
Idaho	1,177,304	91.0%	1,396,487	89.1%	+18.6%
Illinois	9,125,471	73.5%	9,177,877	71.5%	+0.6%
Indiana	5,320,022	87.5%	5,467,906	84.3%	+2.8%
Iowa	2,748,640	93.9%	2,781,561	91.3%	+1.2%
Kansas	2,313,944	86.1%	2,391,044	83.8%	+3.3%
Kentucky	3,640,889	90.1%	3,809,537	87.8%	+4.6%
Louisiana	2,856,161	63.9%	2,836,192	62.6%	-0.7%
Maine	1,236,014	96.9%	1,264,971	95.2%	+2.3%
Maryland	3,391,308	64.0%	3,359,284	58.2%	-0.9%
Massachusetts	5,367,286	84.5%	5,265,236	80.4%	-1.9%
Michigan	7,966,053	80.2%	7,803,120	78.9%	-2.0%
Minnesota	4,400,282	89.4%	4,524,062	85.3%	+2.8%
Mississippi	1,746,099	61.4%	1,754,684	59.1%	+0.5%
Missouri	4,748,083	84.9%	4,958,770	82.8%	+4.4%
Montana	817,229	90.6%	884,961	89.4%	+8.3%
Nebraska	1,533,261	89.6%	1,572,838	86.1%	+2.6%
Nevada	1,501,886	75.2%	1,786,688	66.2%	+19.0%
New Hampshire	1,186,851	96.0%	1,236,050	92.3%	+4.1%
New Jersey	6,104,705	72.6%	6,029,248	68.6%	-1.2%
New Mexico	1,214,253	66.8%	1,407,876	68.4%	+15.9%
New York	12,893,689	67.9%	12,740,974	65.7%	-1.2%
North Carolina	5,804,656	72.1%	6,528,950	68.5%	+12.5%
North Dakota	593,181	92.4%	605,449	90.0%	+2.1%
Ohio	9,645,453	85.0%	9,539,437	82.7%	-1.1%
Oklahoma	2,628,434	76.2%	2,706,845	72.2%	+3.0%
Oregon	2,961,623	86.6%	3,204,614	83.6%	+8.2%
Pennsylvania	10,484,203	85.4%	10,406,288	81.9%	-0.7%
Rhode Island	891,191	85.0%	856,869	81.4%	-3.8%
South Carolina	2,695,560	67.2%	3,060,000	66.2%	+13.5%
South Dakota	669,404	88.7%	699,392	85.9%	+4.5%
Tennessee	4,563,310	80.2%	4,921,948	77.6%	+7.9%
Texas	14,799,505	71.0%	17,701,552	70.4%	+19.6%
Utah	1,992,975	89.2%	2,379,560	86.1%	+19.4%
Vermont	589,208	96.8%	596,292	95.3%	+1.2%
Virginia	5,120,110	72.3%	5,486,852	68.6%	+7.2%
Washington	4,821,823	81.8%	5,196,362	77.3%	+7.8%
West Virginia	1,718,777	95.0%	1,739,988	93.9%	+1.2%
Wisconsin	4,769,857	88.9%	4,902,067	86.2%	+2.8%
Wyoming	454,670	92.1%	511,279	90.7%	+12.4%
United States of America	211,460,626	75.1%	223,553,265	72.4%	+5.7%

2015 and 2016 estimates

White population by state^[63]

State	Pop. 2015	% 2015	Pop. 2016	% 2016	percentage growth	numeric growth
Alabama	3,373,302	69.5%	3,372,524	69.3%	-0.2%	-778
Alaska	490,380	66.5%	490,389	66.1%	-0.4%	+9
Arizona	5,696,106	83.5%	5,772,667	83.3%	-0.2%	+76,561
Arkansas	2,369,986	79.6%	2,373,726	79.4%	-0.2%	+3,740
California	28,467,494	73.0%	28,539,253	72.7%	-0.3%	+71,759
Colorado	4,776,140	87.6%	4,846,441	87.5%	-0.1%	+70,301
Connecticut	2,900,643	80.9%	2,882,093	80.6%	-0.3%	-18,550
Delaware	664,555	70.4%	667,809	70.1%	-0.3%	+3,254
District of Columbia	295,756	44.1%	303,813	44.6%	+0.5%	+8,057
Florida	15,735,811	77.7%	15,996,473	77.6%	-0.1%	+260,662
Georgia	6,280,677	61.6%	6,311,001	61.2%	-0.4%	+30,324
Hawaii	370,398	26.0%	369,064	25.8%	-0.2%	-1,334
Idaho	1,545,433	93.5%	1,571,098	93.3%	-0.2%	+25,665
Illinois	9,933,221	77.4%	9,885,382	77.2%	-0.2%	-47,839
Indiana	5,677,021	85.8%	5,678,630	85.6%	-0.2%	+1,609
Iowa	2,861,917	91.6%	2,864,884	91.4%	-0.2%	+2,967
Kansas	2,522,857	86.8%	2,518,720	86.6%	-0.2%	-4,137
Kentucky	3,900,103	88.1%	3,903,419	88.0%	-0.1%	+3,316
Louisiana	2,953,830	63.2%	2,956,505	63.1%	-0.1%	+2,675
Maine	1,262,043	94.9%	1,262,168	94.8%	-0.1%	+125
Maryland	3,574,645	59.6%	3,567,397	59.3%	-0.3%	-7,248
Massachusetts	5,575,530	82.2%	5,570,872	81.8%	-0.4%	-4,658
Michigan	7,909,528	79.7%	7,902,903	79.6%	-0.1%	-6,625
Minnesota	4,678,791	85.3%	4,691,265	85.0%	-0.3%	+12,474
Mississippi	1,777,735	59.4%	1,772,995	59.3%	-0.1%	-4,740
Missouri	5,065,735	83.3%	5,071,682	83.2%	-0.1%	+5,947
Montana	921,719	89.3%	929,802	89.2%	-0.1%	+8,083
Nebraska	1,687,415	89.1%	1,694,976	88.9%	-0.2%	+7,561
Nevada	2,183,208	75.7%	2,209,037	75.1%	-0.6%	+25,289
New Hampshire	1,249,796	93.9%	1,251,893	93.8%	-0.1%	+2,097
New Jersey	6,496,420	72.7%	6,473,721	72.3%	-0.4%	-22,699
New Mexico	1,717,860	82.6%	1,718,307	82.6%	0.0	+447
New York	13,860,222	70.2%	13,797,556	69.9%	-0.3%	-62,666
North Carolina	7,144,627	71.2%	7,206,071	71.0%	-0.2%	+61,444
North Dakota	669,125	88.4%	665,977	87.9%	-0.5%	-3,148
Ohio	9,594,996	82.7%	9,576,321	82.4%	-0.3%	-18,675
Oklahoma	2,922,871	74.8%	2,925,602	74.5%	-0.3%	+2,731
Oregon	3,529,292	87.7%	3,578,285	87.4%	-0.3%	+48,993
Pennsylvania	10,567,168	82.6%	10,531,113	82.4%	-0.2%	-36,055
Rhode Island	894,570	84.7%	892,045	84.4%	-0.3%	-2,525
South Carolina	3,348,754	68.4%	3,396,931	68.5%	+0.1%	+48,177
South Dakota	732,532	85.4%	737,070	85.1%	-0.3%	+4,538
Tennessee	5,196,817	78.8%	5,234,030	78.7%	-0.1%	+37,213
Texas	21,874,482	79.7%	22,135,668	79.4%	-0.3%	+261,186
Utah	2,730,389	91.3%	2,778,175	91.0%	-0.3%	+47,786
Vermont	593,577	94.8%	590,869	94.6%	-0.2%	-2,708
Virginia	5,884,689	70.3%	5,891,553	70.0%	-0.3%	+6,864
Washington	5,756,563	80.4%	5,830,144	80.0%	-0.4%	+73,581
West Virginia	1,725,045	93.7%	1,713,756	93.6%	-0.1%	-11,289
Wisconsin	5,056,456	87.6%	5,057,070	87.5%	-0.1%	+614
Wyoming	544,777	92.8%	543,387	92.8%	0.0	-1,390
United States	247,543,007	77.1%	248,502,532	76.9%	-0.2%	+959,525

Non-Hispanic population

Non-Hispanic White population by state^[63]

State	Pop. 2015	% 2015	Pop. 2016	% 2016	percentage growth	numeric growth
Alabama	3,206,017	66.0%	3,201,937	65.8%	-0.2%	-4,080
Alaska	454,782	61.6%	453,915	61.2%	-0.4%	-867
Arizona	3,809,881	55.9%	3,844,532	55.5%	-0.4%	+34,651
Arkansas	2,178,888	73.2%	2,177,898	72.9%	-0.3%	-990
California	14,880,574	38.2%	14,802,979	37.7%	-0.5%	-77,595
Colorado	3,753,560	68.9%	3,802,465	68.6%	-0.3%	+48,905
Connecticut	2,448,730	68.3%	2,420,461	67.7%	-0.6%	-28,269
Delaware	597,073	63.2%	598,485	62.9%	-0.3%	+1,412
District of Columbia	242,060	36.1%	248,169	36.4%	+0.3%	+6,109
Florida	11,200,754	55.3%	11,314,909	54.9%	-0.4%	+114,155
Georgia	5,493,595	53.8%	5,503,895	53.4%	-0.4%	+10,300
Hawaii	319,112	22.4%	316,077	22.1%	-0.3%	-3,035
Idaho	1,366,457	82.7%	1,386,279	82.4%	-0.3%	+19,822
Illinois	7,963,439	62.0%	7,896,462	61.7%	-0.3%	-93,977
Indiana	5,290,028	80.0%	5,282,559	79.6%	-0.4%	-7,469
Iowa	2,704,016	86.6%	2,702,702	86.2%	-0.4%	-1,314
Kansas	2,225,679	76.6%	2,217,600	76.3%	-0.3%	-8,079
Kentucky	3,770,531	85.2%	3,770,240	85.0%	-0.2%	-291
Louisiana	2,762,836	59.2%	2,760,505	59.0%	-0.2%	-2,331
Maine	1,245,105	93.6%	1,244,762	93.5%	-0.1%	-343
Maryland	3,120,807	52.0%	3,099,419	51.5%	-0.5%	-21,388
Massachusetts	4,993,805	73.6%	4,972,277	73.0%	-0.6%	-21,528
Michigan	7,501,007	75.6%	7,486,890	75.4%	-0.2%	-14,177
Minnesota	4,442,065	81.0%	4,448,493	80.6%	-0.4%	+6,428
Mississippi	1,706,231	57.1%	1,700,036	56.9%	-0.2%	-6,195
Missouri	4,857,656	80.0%	4,857,925	79.7%	-0.3%	+269
Montana	894,287	86.6%	901,301	86.4%	-0.2%	+7,014
Nebraska	1,515,363	80.0%	1,517,526	79.6%	-0.4%	+2,163
Nevada	1,463,294	50.7%	1,468,421	49.9%	-0.8%	+5,127
New Hampshire	1,211,938	91.1%	1,212,634	90.8%	-0.3%	+696
New Jersey	5,037,204	56.4%	4,990,905	55.8%	-0.6%	-46,299
New Mexico	798,211	38.4%	792,167	38.1%	-0.3%	-6,044
New York	11,093,447	56.2%	11,009,263	55.7%	-0.5%	-84,184
North Carolina	6,407,365	63.8%	6,447,335	63.5%	-0.3%	+39,970
North Dakota	648,034	85.6%	644,127	85.0%	-0.6%	-3,907
Ohio	9,258,140	79.8%	9,230,244	79.5%	-0.3%	-27,896
Oklahoma	2,602,100	66.6%	2,596,769	66.1%	-0.5%	-5,331
Oregon	3,090,378	76.8%	3,126,217	76.4%	-0.4%	+35,839
Pennsylvania	9,906,474	77.4%	9,848,778	77.0%	-0.4%	-57,969
Rhode Island	780,522	73.9%	774,832	73.3%	-0.6%	-5,690
South Carolina	3,128,841	63.9%	3,169,878	63.9%	0.0	+41,037
South Dakota	709,991	82.7%	713,665	82.5%	-0.2%	+3,674
Tennessee	4,910,112	74.4%	4,937,280	74.2%	-0.2%	+27,168
Texas	11,824,057	43.1%	11,872,926	42.6%	-0.5%	+48,869
Utah	2,368,257	79.2%	2,404,802	78.8%	-0.4%	+36,545
Vermont	584,256	93.3%	581,225	93.0%	-0.3%	-3,031
Virginia	5,261,313	62.9%	5,252,972	62.4%	-0.5%	-8,341
Washington	5,013,824	70.0%	5,062,580	69.5%	-0.5%	+48,756
West Virginia	1,701,827	92.4%	1,689,821	92.2%	-0.2%	-12,006
Wisconsin	4,726,306	81.9%	4,719,824	81.7%	-0.2%	-6,482
Wyoming	494,173	84.2%	492,245	84.1%	-0.1%	-1,928
United States	197,964,402	61.7%	197,969,608	61.3%	-0.3%	+5,206

Culture

From their earliest presence in North America, White Americans have contributed literature, art, cinema, religion, agricultural skills, foods, science and technology, fashion and clothing styles, music, language, legal system, political system, and social and technological innovation to American culture. White American culture derived its earliest influences from English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish settlers and is quantitatively the largest proportion of American culture.^[64] The overall American culture reflects White American culture. The culture has been developing since long before the United States formed a separate country. Much of American culture shows influences from English culture. Colonial ties to Great Britain spread the English language, legal system and other cultural attributes.^[65]

Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America

Three members of the Kennedy political dynasty, John, Robert and Edward. All eight of their great-grandparents emigrated from Ireland.

In his 1989 book Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America, David Hackett Fischer explores the details of the folkways of four groups of settlers from the British Isles that moved to the American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries from distinct regions of Britain and Ireland. His thesis is that the culture of each group persisted (albeit in modified form), providing the basis for the modern United States.^[66]

According to Fischer, the foundation of America's four regional cultures was formed from four mass migrations from four regions of the British Isles by four distinct ethno-cultural groups. New England's formative period occurred between 1629 and 1640 when Puritans, mostly from East Anglia, settled there, thus forming the basis for the New England regional culture.^[67] The next mass migration was of southern English Cavaliers and their working class English servants to the Chesapeake Bay region between 1640 and 1675. This spawned the creation of the American Southern culture.^[68]

Then, between 1675 and 1725, thousands of Irish, Cornish, English and Welsh Quakers plus many Germans sympathetic to Quaker ideas, led by William Penn, settled the Delaware Valley. This resulted in the formation of the General American culture, although, according to Fischer, this is really a "regional culture", even if it does today encompass most of the U.S. from the mid-Atlantic states to the Pacific Coast.^[69] Finally, a huge number of settlers from the borderlands between England and Scotland, and from northern Ireland, migrated to Appalachia between 1717 and 1775. This resulted in the formation of the Upland South regional culture, which has since expanded to the west to West Texas and parts of the American Southwest.^[70]

In his book, Fischer brings up several points. He states that the U.S. is not a country with one "general" culture and several "regional" culture, as is commonly thought. Rather, there are only four regional cultures as described above, and understanding this helps one to more clearly understand American history as well as contemporary American life. Fischer asserts that it is not only important to understand where different groups came from, but when. All population groups have, at different times, their own unique set of beliefs, fears, hopes and prejudices. When different groups moved to America and brought certain beliefs and values with them, these ideas became, according to Fischer, more or less frozen in time, even if they eventually changed in their original place of origin.^[71]

Admixture

Admixture in Non-Hispanic Whites

Some White Americans have varying amounts of American Indian and Sub-Saharan African ancestry. In a recent study, Gonçalves et al. 2007 reported Sub-Saharan and Amerindian mtDna lineages at a frequency of 3.1% (respectively 0.9% and 2.2%) in American Caucasians (Please note that in the USA, "Caucasian" includes people from North Africa and Western Asia as well as Europeans).^[72] Recent research on Y-chromosomes and mtDNA detected no African admixture in European-Americans. The sample included 628 European-American Y-chromosomes and mtDNA from 922 European-Americans^[73]

DNA analysis on White Americans by geneticist Mark D. Shriver showed an average of 0.7% Sub-Saharan African admixture and 3.2% Native American admixture.^[74] The same author, in another study, claimed that about 30% of all White Americans, approximately 66 million people, have a median of 2.3% of Black African admixture.^[75] Shriver discovered his ancestry is 10 percent African, and Shriver's partner in DNA Print Genomics, J.T. Frudacas, contradicted him two years later stating "Five percent of European Americans exhibit some detectable level of African ancestry."^[76]

White Americans (European Americans) on average are: 98.6 percent European, 0.19 percent African and 0.18 percent Native American. Inferred British/Irish ancestry is found in European Americans from all states at mean proportions of
above 20%, and represents a majority of ancestry, above 50% mean proportion, in states such
as Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Scandinavian
ancestry in European Americans is highly localized; most states show only trace mean
proportions of Scandinavian ancestry, while it comprises a significant proportion, upwards of
10%, of ancestry in European Americans from Minnesota and the Dakotas.^[77]

Admixture in Hispanic Whites

Although most Hispanic Americans self-identify in the white racial category of the US Census and/or other official government data collecting, an overwhelming majority of them would in their personal lives consider themselves as ethnically mestizo (of mixed European and Amerindian background) or mulatto (of mixed European and sub-Saharan African background).^{[78][not in citation given]}

Thus, only a minority of those Hispanic Americans who self-identified in their personal lives as mestizo or mulatto actually selected "multiracial" as their race on the U.S. census, with 9 out of every 10 of them preferring to pick white, one of the five single race categories available on the U.S. census.^{[78][not in citation given]}

In contrast to non-Hispanic European Americans, whose average European ancestry ranges about 98.6%,^[77][79] genetic research has found that the average European admixture among self-identified Hispanic White Americans is 73% European, while the average European admixture for Hispanic Americans overall (regardless of their self-identified race) is 65.1% European admixture.

See also

• Anglo


• Emigration from Europe


• European Americans


• Europhobia


• Hyphenated American


• Middle Eastern Americans


• Non-Hispanic Whites


• Race and ethnicity in the United States


• Stereotypes of White Americans


• White Anglo-Saxon Protestant


• White ethnic


• White Hispanic and Latino Americans


• White Southerners

Notes

References

External links

• 
  White Population 2000 from the US Census