Small Massachusetts Town Has the Highest Irish Population in the U.S.

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner and Massachusetts is ready to celebrate!

While St. Patrick's Day is traditionally an Irish holiday celebrating the feast day of their patron saint, originally celebrated with religious feasts and services, Since then the day has become a celebration of Irish culture in the U.S. The Americanized version of the holiday has more to do with green beer rather than an actual celebration of the Irish culture, but you know, that's just what we do.

St. Patrick's Day in Massachusetts is a huge deal. There are tons of large city-wide celebrations including the very notable and beloved Boston and Holyoke parades. The way we celebrate here in the Bay State, you'd think we're all Irish, or at least of Irish descent, but that's not exactly the case.

New Hampshire is actually the state with the highest population of people of Irish descent. Using data from the U.S. Census Ancestry, Zippia determined that 20.2% of New Hampshire residents claim Irish ancestry.

Massachusetts does come in at number two right behind our neighbors to the north and the margin is pretty minuscule. Zippia confirmed that 20% of Massachusetts residents claim Irish heritage.

This Massachusetts Town is the Most Irish Town in the United States.

Scituate has a higher concentration of Irish folks than anywhere else in Massachusetts. According to Irish Central, recent census data shows that Scituate is the most Irish city in the country.

Almost 50 percent of residents in Scituate are of Irish descent. There are a few Massachusetts towns just behind them on the list of the "most Irish". Braintree, Hull, Marshfield, Avon, Pembroke, and Milton all average around 44% Irish ancestry, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scituate St. Patrick's Day Parade is extremely popular among the South Shore and Cape Cod communities. Over 15,000 people attend each year, nearly doubling the population of the town.