English 24,509,692 Americans 8.7% of US population
estimated up to 19.5% of total US population . English people make up between 8.7% and 19.5% of the total U.S. population, and the English language is spoken by 82% of the U.S. population as their only language (with 96% of the population speaking it fluently/ very well to well).

Number of English Americans
In the 2000 Census, 24.5 million Americans reported English ancestry, 8.7% of the total U.S. population. This estimate may be a serious undercount by 30 million given the fact in the 1980 census 50 million claimed to be of English ancestry. 23,748,772 Americans claimed wholly English ancestry and another 25,849,263 claimed English along with another ethnic ancestry. 80 million people in the 2000 census list their ancestry as 'other' and 20 million as 'American.' In 1860 an estimated 11 million or almost 35% of the population of the United States was wholly or partly of English ancestry. The population has increased by almost ten times the numbers in 1860. As with any ethnicity, Americans of English descent may choose to identify themselves as American if their ancestry has been in America for many generations, or for the same reason may be unaware of their lineage.

Census Data
English Americans are found in large numbers throughout America, particularly in the Northeast and West. According to the 2000 US census, the 10 states with the largest populations of English Americans are
The 10 States with the highest percentages of self reported English ancestry are:
English was the highest reported European ancestry in the States of Maine, Utah, and Vermont, and was joint highest along with German in North and South Carolina.

California (2,521,355 - 7.4% of state population)
Florida (1,468,576 - 9.2%)
Texas (1,462,984 - 7%)
New York (1,140,036 - 6%)
Ohio (1,046,671 - 9.2%)
Pennsylvania (966,253 - 7.9%)
Michigan (988,625 - 9.9%)
Illinois (831,820 - 6.7)
Virginia (788,849 - 11.1)
North Carolina (767,749 - 9.5%)
Utah (29.0%)
Maine (21.5%)
Vermont (18.4%)
Idaho (18.1%)
New Hampshire (18.0%)
Wyoming (15.9%)
Oregon (13.2%)
Montana (12.7)
Delaware (12.1)
Colorado, Rhode Island, Washington (12.0% each) Distribution

On the left, a map showing the population density of Americans who declared English ancestry in the census. Dark blue and purple colours indicate a higher density: highest in the east and west (see also Maps of American ancestries). Center, a map showing the population of English Americans by state. On the right, a map showing the percentages of English Americans by state.

Maps

History
See also: English colonization of the Americas
English settlement in America began with Jamestown in the Virginia Colony in 1607. With the permission of James I, three ships (the Susan Constant, The Discovery, and The God Speed) sailed from England and landed at Cape Henry in April, under the captainship of Christopher Newport,. This became part of Pennsylvania. Many people believe that America was discovered by, and takes its name from, Amerigo Vespucci. However, this is unlikely as newly-discovered lands were normally named after their discoverer's surname. Therefore, had America been discovered by Vespucci, it would more likely have been called "Vespuccia" or something of that kind. It is much more likely that America was named after an englishman of welsh heritage named Richard Amerike, whose surname was "derived from ap Meuric, Welsh for the son of Maurice".

Early Settlement and Colonisation
An estimated 3.5 million English emigrated to the USA after 1776. English settlers provided a steady and substantial influx throughout the nineteenth century. The first wave of increasing English immigration began in the late 1820s and was sustained by unrest in the United Kingdom until it peaked in 1842 and declined slightly for nearly a decade. Most of these were small farmers and tenant farmers from depressed areas in rural counties in southern and western England and urban laborers who fled from the depressions and from the social and industrial changes of the late 1820s-1840s. While some English immigrants were drawn by dreams of creating model utopian societies in America, most others were attracted by the lure of new lands, textile factories, railroads, and the expansion of mining. During the last years of 1860s, annual English immigration increased to over 60,000 and continued to rise to over 75,000 per year in 1872, before experiencing a decline. The final and most sustained wave of immigration began in 1879 and lasted until the depression of 1893. During this period English annual immigration averaged more than 80,000, with peaks in 1882 and 1888. The building of America's transcontinental railroads, the settlement of the great plains, and industrialization attracted skilled and professional emigrants from England. Also, cheaper steamship fares enabled unskilled urban workers to come to America, and unskilled and semiskilled laborers, miners, and building trades workers made up the majority of these new English immigrants. While most settled in America, a number of skilled craftsmen remained itinerant, returning to England after a season or two of work. Groups of English immigrants came to America as missionaries for the Salvation Army and to work with the activities of the Evangelical and Mormon Churches. The depression of 1893 sharply decreased English immigration, and it stayed low for much of the twentieth century.This decline reversed itself in the decade of World War II when over 100,000 English (18 percent of all European immigrants) came from England. In this group was a large contingent of war brides who came between 1945 and 1948. In these years four women emigrated from England for every man. In the 1950's, English immigration increased to over 150,000.and rose to 170,000 in the 1960's[3] While differences developed, it is not surprising that English immigrants had little difficulty in assimilating to American life. The American resentment against the policies of the British government was rarely transferred to English settlers who came to America in the first decades of the nineteenth century. During all of American history English immigrants and their descendants were prominent on every level of government and in every aspect of American life. Eight of the first ten American presidents and more than that proportion of the 42 presidents, as well as the majority of sitting congressmen and congresswomen, are descended from English ancestors. The acronym WASP, for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, is used to describe the dominant political and cultural demographic.The descendants of English expatriates are so numerous and so well integrated in American life that it is impossible to identify all of them. While they are the third largest ethnic nationality identified in the 1990 census, they retain such a pervasive representation at every level of national and state government that, on any list of American senators, Supreme Court judges, governors, or legislators, they would constitute a plurality if not an outright majority.

English immigration after 1776

Political Involvement
"The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles", by Capt. John Smith
John Trumbull's famous painting, Declaration of Independence. Two Red Ensigns, one British flag, and one English flag can be seen upon the wall.
As the earliest colonists of The United States, the English and their descendents often held positions of power and made or helped make laws

Colonial Period
The lineage of most of the Founding Fathers was English. Such persons include Samuel Adams had English roots.

The Founding Fathers
The English have contributed greatly to American life. Today, English is the most commonly spoken language in the U.S