Demographics of Erie, Pennsylvania

[5] The city has lost over 40,000 people since the early 1970s, allowing Allentown to claim the third largest spot.

The major ethnic groups of the City of Erie are roughly broken down into 24% German, 14% Irish, 14% Polish, 13% Italian, 6% English, 2% Swedish, 2% French, 2% Russian, and the remaining 23% make up the ‘other’ category.

[6] Since the mid-1990s, the International Institute of Erie (IIE), founded in 1919, has helped with the resettlement of refugees from Bosnia, Eritrea, Ghana, Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, Somalia, Sudan, the former Soviet Union, and Vietnam.

[7] In the early 20th century, Erie had a significant Russian immigrant community, many of whom worked in the shipbuilding plants along the bayfront.

Unusual for a Great Lakes city, a substantial number of these Russian immigrants were Old Believers.

Temple Anshe Hesed, a member of the Union for Reform Judaism, is served by its spiritual leader, Rabbi John L.

According to the Association of Religion Date Archives,[11] Erie County had a total 2000 population of 280,843 persons, of which 103,333 claimed affiliation with the Catholic Church, 40,301 with mainline Protestant houses of worship, and 12,980 with evangelical Protestant churches.

[13] Approximately one-third of those refugees (4,384) journeyed here from Burma, while another 2,056 traveled from Somalia and 1,426 arrived from Iraq; these three countries alone account for over half of the total refugee population finding safety and a new start in Erie County since 2008.