Italian culture is stronger in four adjoining Eastern states than anywhere else in America.
Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are home to the 22 U.S. markets that have the largest percentages of Italian-American residents, according to the latest federal data.
The U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 American Community Survey asked respondents to identify the ethnic groups from which they are descended. Each participant was told to select one or two groups from a list of 70 possible choices.
The survey counted 17.1 million Italian-Americans in the nation's 942 metropolitan and micropolitan areas, putting Italian fourth on the ancestry list behind German, Irish and English. The latter three groups were profiled by On Numbers earlier this week.
Italian influence is heaviest in New Castle, Pa., which is 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Italy accounts for one-fifth (20.4 percent) of all ancestries reported by New Castle residents.
Italian workers were attracted to mining, railroad and masonry jobs in the New Castle area in the early 20th century. A few of these immigrants brought specialized skills with fireworks, and New Castle remains the home city for two of the leading companies in that field, Zambelli Fireworks and Pyrotecnico.
Rounding out the top five in Italian heritage are New Haven and Torrington, Conn., Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and St. Marys, Pa.
The following database has breakdowns for all 942 markets, based on 2010 federal data. Use the tab to isolate a single state, or simply click Search to see the top-to-bottom standings.
A comparable report on 2009 ancestry statistics was previously published by On Numbers.