Italian emigration to the U.S. was fairly limited until 1870 and unification of Italy, but by 1900 the figure had risen to over 400,000, and in the decade after 1900 over 2,100,000 arrived. Today nearly 18 million Americans can claim Italian descent, or about 6% of the U.S. population. By 1910 New York City alone was already home to 472,000 Italians.