U.S. Census Office, Map Showing the Proportion of the Foreign to the Aggregate Population (1874)

This choropleth map shows the percentage of the immigrant population relative to the total population of the United States according to the returns to the 1870 Census. Darker shading indicates a higher proportion of immigrants, with the darkest areas representing immigrant populations of up to 34 percent. The map reveals a strong concentration of immigrants in the northern states, along with notable pockets in Texas and Louisiana. Northern states were particularly attractive to immigrants because of their expanding industrial economies, which offered factory and manufacturing jobs. In contrast, the southern states remained largely agrarian and provided fewer economic opportunities for immigrants. This map was included in the first Statistical Atlas of the United States (1874), a compilation of data visualizations created under the direction of Francis A. Walker to present collected data from the 1870 U.S. Census in visual form.