<P> Irish American populations can be found throughout the Baltimore area, and the Northern and Eastern suburbs of Washington D.C. in Maryland (descendents of those who moved out to the suburbs of Washington's once predominantly Irish neighborhoods), as well as Western Maryland, where Irish immigrant laborers helped to build the C & O Railroad . Smaller but much older Irish populations can be found in Southern Maryland, with some roots dating as far back as the early Maryland colony . This population, however, still remains culturally very active and yearly festivals are held . </P> <P> A large percentage of the population of the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland are descendants of British American ancestry . The Eastern Shore was settled by Protestants, chiefly Methodist and the southern counties were initially settled by English Catholics . Western and northern Maryland have large German - American populations . More recent European immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th century settled first in Baltimore, attracted to its industrial jobs . Many of their ethnic Italian, Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, and Greek descendants still live in the area . </P> <P> Large ethnic minorities include Eastern Europeans such as Croatians, Belarusians, Russians and Ukrainians . The shares of European immigrants born in Eastern Europe increased significantly between 1990 and 2010 . Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, many immigrants from Eastern Europe came to the United States - 12 percent of which currently reside in Maryland . </P> <P> Hispanic immigrants of the later 20th century have settled in Aspen Hill, Hyattsville / Langley Park, Glenmont / Wheaton, Bladensburg, Riverdale Park, Gaithersburg, as well as Highlandtown and Greektown in East Baltimore . Salvadorans are the largest Hispanic group in Maryland . Other Hispanic groups with significant populations in the state include Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and Hondurans . Though the Salvadoran population is more concentrated in the area around Washington, D.C., and the Puerto Rican population is more concentrated in the Baltimore area, all other major Hispanic groups in the state are evenly dispersed between these two areas . Maryland has one of the most diverse Hispanic populations in the country, with significant populations from various Caribbean and Central American nations . </P>

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