2022’s Most Irish Cities in America

Staff Report

Wednesday, March 16th, 2022

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, LawnStarterranked 2022’s Most Irish Cities in America.

We compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on the size of their Irish population and access to Irish restaurants and pubs. 

We also took into account 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 continues to rank as the No. 1 Irish city. The Irish masses started arriving 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 riverdances 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 in 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.

Our full ranking and analysis can be found here: https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/most-irish-cities-in-america/