West Virginia's biggest ancestry is German, the background of 18% of residents in 2010. Here is a list of the state's 50 largest ancestries:
Rank
|
Ancestry
|
West Virginia Estimated Population
|
Percentage of Total Population
|
Total:
|
1,853,973
|
100.0%
|
|
1
|
German
|
335,477
|
18.1%
|
2
|
Irish
|
267,713
|
14.4%
|
3
|
American
|
232,119
|
12.5%
|
4
|
English
|
205,530
|
11.1%
|
5
|
Italian
|
85,848
|
4.6%
|
6
|
Dutch
|
45,323
|
2.4%
|
7
|
Scottish
|
42,349
|
2.3%
|
8
|
Scotch-Irish
|
39,648
|
2.1%
|
9
|
Polish
|
34,292
|
1.8%
|
10
|
French
(except Basque)
|
29,068
|
1.6%
|
11
|
European
|
14,793
|
0.8%
|
12
|
Welsh
|
13,637
|
0.7%
|
13
|
Hungarian
|
11,106
|
0.6%
|
14
|
Swedish
|
6,984
|
0.4%
|
15
|
Russian
|
6,622
|
0.4%
|
16
|
Greek
|
5,450
|
0.3%
|
17
|
Slovak
|
4,348
|
0.2%
|
18
|
African
|
4,093
|
0.2%
|
19
|
British
|
3,955
|
0.2%
|
20
|
Czech
|
3,455
|
0.2%
|
21
|
Swiss
|
3,370
|
0.2%
|
22
|
Norwegian
|
3,357
|
0.2%
|
23
|
French
Canadian
|
3,354
|
0.2%
|
24
|
Lebanese
|
3,124
|
0.2%
|
25
|
Ukrainian
|
2,283
|
0.1%
|
26
|
Austrian
|
2,152
|
0.1%
|
27
|
Canadian
|
2,129
|
0.1%
|
28
|
Lithuanian
|
2,110
|
0.1%
|
29
|
Belgian
|
1,791
|
0.1%
|
30
|
Czechoslovakian
|
1,767
|
0.1%
|
31
|
Slavic
|
1,723
|
0.1%
|
32
|
Serbian
|
1,465
|
0.1%
|
33
|
Croatian
|
1,436
|
0.1%
|
34
|
Danish
|
1,306
|
0.1%
|
35
|
Other
Arab
|
1,283
|
0.1%
|
36
|
Finnish
|
937
|
0.1%
|
37
|
Scandinavian
|
868
|
0.0%
|
38
|
Egyptian
|
807
|
0.0%
|
39
|
Yugoslavian
|
759
|
0.0%
|
40
|
Turkish
|
696
|
0.0%
|
41
|
Jamaican
|
677
|
0.0%
|
42
|
Pennsylvania
German
|
673
|
0.0%
|
43
|
Arab
|
655
|
0.0%
|
44
|
Slovene
|
615
|
0.0%
|
45
|
Romanian
|
594
|
0.0%
|
46
|
Syrian
|
470
|
0.0%
|
47
|
Dutch
West Indian
|
450
|
0.0%
|
48
|
Northern
European
|
422
|
0.0%
|
49
|
Portuguese
|
389
|
0.0%
|
50
|
Cajun
|
367
|
0.0%
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey
B04006 People Reporting Ancestry, 1 year estimates
