U.S. Census Office, Composition of the Foreign Born Population (1898)

This set of pie charts, created by Henry Gannett using data from the 1890 Census and published in the Statistical Atlas of the United States Based upon the Results of the Eleventh Census, illustrates the composition of the foreign-born population in each state. Each color-coded pie chart shows the proportions of different foreign-born populations living in the state. Residents from fourteen countries across Europe and Asia are represented, with each color representing a different country of origin. In Michigan, Canadians constituted the largest foreign-born group, followed by Germans. In Florida, immigrants classified as coming from “other countries” formed the largest group, with English immigrants ranking second and Germans third. In Kentucky, Germans made up roughly half of the foreign-born population, while Irish immigrants accounted for about one quarter. States in the Midwest, Appalachia, and the South experienced notable growth in German immigration, as opportunities for farming and agriculture attracted families seeking new lives in the United States. The availability of inexpensive, fertile land made these regions particularly appealing to German settlers. According to the 1890 Census, nearly 15 percent of the nation’s total population was foreign-born, while approximately 33 percent of children had immigrant parents. These figures underscore the substantial population growth of the late 19th century, driven by large-scale immigration from diverse regions as people fled economic hardship, political instability, and social unrest in their home countries.