Mapping North Country immigration

The New York Times has created a fantastically cool interactive map that tracks immigration patterns in the U.S.

The great thing is that you can zoom in: first by state, then burrowing down to the county level.

What’s more, you can then run the slider from 1880 through 2000, observing the evolving trend-lines of immigration.

In 1880, St. Lawrence County was about one-sixth foreign born, with most of the immigrants hailing from Canada. In 2000, the percentage had dropped to about 2%. (Though the big arrival group was still Canadian.)

My biggest takeaway? In 1880 through the early parts of 1900, northern New York enjoyed a lot of immigration, allowing these communities to keep pace (at least to a certain degree) with downstate populations.

But after 1940 or so, our immigration actually begins to shrink, while New York City continues to erupt with newcomers.

Check the tool out and play with it and tell us what you see.