2022’s Most Irish Cities in America
Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but where will you find the cities with the greenest Irish roots? To mark Irish-American Heritage Month and St. Patrick’s Day, LawnStarter ranked 2022’s Most Irish Cities in America.
They compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on the size of their Irish population and access to Irish restaurants and pubs.
They also considered the number of St. Patrick’s Day and other Irish cultural events and the number of Irish cultural groups and organizations, such as Irish dance schools, cultural centers, and networking associations.
Find out which 10 cities are the greenest (and the 10 least Irish) below, followed by some highlights and lowlights from our report.
| 2022’s Most Irish U.S. Cities | |
| Rank | City |
| 1 | Boston, MA |
| 2 | Chicago, IL |
| 3 | New York, NY |
| 4 | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 5 | Naperville, IL |
| 6 | Philadelphia, PA |
| 7 | Denver, CO |
| 8 | Spokane, WA |
| 9 | Syracuse, NY |
| 10 | Worcester, MA |
| 2022’s Least Irish U.S. Cities | |
| Rank | City |
| 191 | Salinas, CA |
| 192 | Moreno Valley, CA |
| 193 | Pomona, CA |
| 194 | Miramar, FL |
| 195 | Paterson, NJ |
| 196 | Newark, NJ |
| 197 | Santa Ana, CA |
| 198 | Brownsville, TX |
| 199 | Laredo, TX |
| 200 | Hialeah, FL |
Highlights:
- Buckled in Boston: It’s no surprise that Boston ranks as the No. 1 Irish city. The Irish masses arrived in Massachusetts after a blight hit the Emerald Isle’s potato crop in 1845. Today, Irish-Americans make up over 20% — or nearly 1 million — of the metro area’s population.
(Green) Bean Town traditionally holds huge Celtic celebrations, including the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. You’ll also find plenty of restaurants and pubs where the Guinness is flowing and big screens featuring the latest Irish soccer game.
- The Windy City Wearing the Green: Chicago Riverdance to the No. 2 spot in our ranking for holding the most Irish community events, 143 total. That’s nearly three times as many as New York, the city with the second-highest number.
Of course, Chicago’s events calendar wouldn’t be complete without Irish step dancing classes. The Windy City also gets points for its green spirit. Few other cities dye their rivers green for St. Paddy’s Day.
- It’s Paddy and Parade Time: The Big (Green) Apple ranks No. 3 in our study — no surprise since New York holds the country’s largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Expect to see a six-hour-long line of Irish dancers, bagpipers, and jugglers.
Other big cities parading their Irish heritage include Philadelphia at No. 6 and Denver at No. 7. Philly’s parade is the second-oldest in the country, and Denver’s parade lasts five hours.
Their full ranking and analysis can be found here.
