Facts and figures for Saint Patrick’s Day 2016
March 16, 2016
Saint Patrick’s Day is Thursday. I’m looking forward to celebrating. How about you?
How America celebrates
More than 125 million Americans plan to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day this year and are expected to spend an average of $35.37 per person, down slightly from last year’s $36.52.
Total spending for the March 17 holiday is expected to reach $4.4 billion based on the U.S. population 18 and older, according to National Retail Federation’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Spending Survey.
People plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in many different ways. According to the survey, 82.1 percent will wear green, 31.3 percent plan to make a special dinner, 28.7 percent will head to a party at a bar or restaurant, and 21.1 percent will attend a private party. In addition, 22.8 percent plan to decorate their homes or offices in an Irish theme.
According to the survey, 56.5 percent of those celebrating will purchase food and beverages, 28 percent will buy apparel or accessories, 23.3 percent will buy decorations, and 17.2 percent will buy candy.
The holiday is most popular among people 18-24 years old with 70.1 percent celebrating, but those 25-34 years old will be the biggest spenders at an average $42.58.
The Irish in America
The these facts and figures are provided by the U.S. Census Bureau:
Where they live
33.1 million, or 10.4%
Number and percentage of U.S. residents who claimed Irish ancestry in 2014. This number is more than seven times the population of Ireland itself, 4.6 million. Irish is the nation’s second-most frequently reported European ancestry, trailing German.
21.5%
Percentage of Massachusetts residents who claimed Irish ancestry in 2014. New Hampshire, at 20.9 percent, is the only other state in which more than 20 percent claimed Irish ancestry. California had 2.5 million people claiming Irish ancestry, which was the highest of any state. Two other states – New York and Pennsylvania – also had more than 2 million Irish-Americans.
42.3%
Percentage of the population of Braintree, Massachusetts, who were of Irish ancestry. Braintree is just one example of the many communities near Boston that are close to having a majority Irish population. Scituate, Hanover, Marshfield, and Norwell are some others.
196,568
Number of Irish-Americans living in Chicago, the location of one of the nation’s most famous St. Patrick’s Day traditions: dyeing the Chicago River green. Chicago’s Irish-American population is second among cities only to New York, 363,045, home to the world’s oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day parade. Philadelphia is third at 176,568.
Irish-Americans today
35.6%
Percentage of people of Irish ancestry, 25 or older, who had a bachelor’s degree or higher. In addition, 93.7 percent of Irish-Americans in this age group had at least a high school diploma. For the nation as a whole, the corresponding rates are 30.1 percent and 86.9 percent, respectively.
$62,141
Median income for households headed by an Irish-American, higher than the median household income of $53,657 for all households. In addition, 7 percent of family households headed by a householder of Irish ancestry are in poverty, lower than the rate of 11.3 percent for all Americans.
42.6%
Percentage of employed civilian Irish-Americans 16 or older who work in management, business, science, and arts occupations. In addition, 24.8 percent work in sales and office occupations; 15.6 percent in service occupations; 9.5 percent in production, transportation, and material moving occupations; and 7.6 percent in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations.
68.3%
Percentage of householders of Irish ancestry who own the home in which they live, with the remainder renting. For the nation as a whole, the homeownership rate is 63.1 percent.
243,135
Number of foreign-born U.S. residents with Irish ancestry in 2014. Of these, 143,256 became naturalized citizens.
40.1 years old
Median age of those who claimed Irish ancestry, which is higher than U.S. residents as a whole at 37.7 years.
Reminders of the old country
16
Number of places – incorporated places and census designated places – or counties in the United States that share the name of Ireland’s capital, Dublin. The most populous of these places in 2014 is Dublin, California, at 54,695.
Also named after Ireland is Emerald Isle, North Carolina, with a population of 3,717 residents.
Other places that might conjure up images of the old country include the township of Irishtown, Illinois, several places or counties named Clover, in South Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin; or one of the six places that are named Shamrock – in Oklahoma, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas, with Texas having two Shamrocks.
20,590
Estimated number of U.S. residents who speak Irish Gaelic. All except about 2,500 of them also spoke English “very well.”
125,022
Number of U.S. residents who were born in Ireland.
$34 billion
Value of goods imported from Ireland in 2014. This compared with $7.8 billion exported there.
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