Native American Heritage Month

To celebrate Native American Heritage month, we explored the Decennial Census data files to find some data on Native Americans living in Connecticut. In this post we share what we found about the tribes with the highest populations in Connecticut, demographics of the Native American population in Connecticut, and where Native populations live across the state.

According to the 2010 and 2020 Decennial Census, there was a 9% growth in the American Indian or Alaskan Native Population in Connecticut, from 31,140 in 2010 to 34,012 in 2020.

The Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics file reports that 3.6 million people reside in Connecticut, with 0.9% of the population identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native alone or in combination with other races.

The highest population of native North Americans is located in the southeast corner of the state, including the towns of Montville (618), Ledyard (558) and Groton (274). The counties of New Haven (7,489), Hartford (7,460), and New London (6,363) have the highest numbers of American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals, either alone or in any combination.

Tribes with the Highest Populations in Connecticut

The top 5 tribes in Connecticut that rank 1 or 2 when compared to other states: the Mohegan Tribe (1,402), Mashantucket Pequot (785), Narragansett Indian Tribe (685), Eastern Pequot (439), and Pequot (423). This number includes individuals who identify themselves with these tribal identities, as well as those who identify as any other race or as Hispanic.

The Tennessee State Data Center created the state rank table. It uses race and ethnicity data from the Census Bureau's Detailed Housing and Characteristic File A to rank the top 5 states by population for each group. Here is a link to the spreadsheet if you want to explore it further.

What data resources exist to explore further?

• Resources from the CT State Library

• Detailed Race and Ethnicities in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census

• Fun Facts: American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

• ACS 5-year Estimates Narrative Profiles

• Other Facts about Native Americans in the country

For More Information

To learn more about the Census and resources provided by CTData, head to our Census Data portal. Explore other data sets and analysis at data by topic and data projects. Access our Geospatial Tools or Census Data Tools for your census data project. You can stay up-to-date on the latest data and tools by subscribing to our newsletter and following CTData on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.