Danish Americans
Danish Americans (Danish: Dansk-amerikanere) are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,215,809 0.4% of the U.S. population (2019) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, Iowa, Washington, California, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois and Montana | |
| Languages | |
| English (American English dialects), Danish | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (predominantly Lutheran; also other Protestant churches, Catholicism and Mormonism) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Danes, Greenlanders, Faroese Americans, Greenlandic Americans, Danish Canadians, Danish Australians, Scandinavian Americans, Norwegian Americans, European Americans |
Most Danes who came to the United States after 1865 did so because of economic motives. The Danish population in Europe had grown significantly by 1865 due to advancements in medicine and food industries, leading to higher poverty rates and an increase in Danish migration to other countries. The sale of lands was another reason for migration, with many Danes becoming farmers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Dakotas. During the 1870s, almost half of all Danish immigrants settled in the US with their families, but by the 1890s, family immigration accounted for only 25% of the total. Many of these immigrants eventually returned to Denmark. Greater land inequality in certain areas of Denmark was linked to higher rates of emigration. In addition, Mormon missionaries converted many Danes who moved to Utah. Danish Americans assimilated into American society more quickly than other European groups and were the least united in preserving their cultural heritage.