The 2000 US Census asked a person's "ancestry or ethnic origin." Most Ohioans still trace their roots to Europe.
First Ancestry Reported
1. German, 2.13 million;
2. American, 982,000;
3. Irish, 849,000;
4. English, 685,000;
5. Italian, 554,000;
6. Polish, 308,000;
7. French, 145,000;
8. Hungarian, 131,000;
9. Scottish, 124,000;
10. Scottish-Irish, 122,000.
Sources: A Geography of Ohio, edited by Leonard Peacefull; Ohio Historical Society; Ohio's Natural Heritage; US Census Bureau; http://www.ohiomemory.org
Ohio Today (excerpt from the Columbus Dispatch, Sept. 14, 2003).
The 1990s saw a boom in immigration from Africa, Asia and Latin America. In percentage terms, it didn't top the flood of 100 years ago, but the motives were much the same: employment, security and freedom.
2000 Ohio Population
White, 9.6 million;
Black, 1.3 million;
American Indian and Alaska Native, 27,000;
Asian, 132,000;
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 2,600;
Other race, 89,000;
Two or more races, 173,000;
Hispanic or Latino (of any race), 214,000
TOTAL: 11.4 million
(figures have been rounded)