U.S. Data

More than 43 million people living in the United States—whether as naturalized citizen, legal permanent resident, temporary resident, or unauthorized immigrant—were born in another country, representing 13 percent of the U.S. population. Immigration has ebbed and flowed throughout U.S. history, peaking at nearly 15 percent of the population in 1890 and plummeting to 5 percent in 1970. The data-rich research offered here traces the U.S. immigrant population by size, educational and workforce characteristics, English language proficiency, and more.

For information on U.S. immigrants by state, check out the State Immigration Data Profiles tool. And for detailed profiles on unauthorized immigrants nationally and by state, visit this tool.

Recent Activity

Articles October 13, 2022 Mexican Immigrants in the United States By Raquel Rosenbloom and Jeanne Batalova	Fact Sheets October 2022 Dual Language Learners: Key Characteristics and Considerations for Early Childhood Programs By Ivana Tú Nhi Giang and Maki Park
Policy Briefs October 2022 Diverging Pathways: Immigrants’ Legal Status and Access to Postsecondary Credentials By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix	Articles September 15, 2022 Temporary Visa Holders in the United States By Jeanne Batalova
Articles August 4, 2022 Brazilian Immigrants in the United States By Jaret Waters and Jeanne Batalova	Articles July 7, 2022 Caribbean Immigrants in the United States By Jane Lorenzi and Jeanne Batalova
Policy Briefs June 2022 Immigrant Children’s Medicaid and CHIP Access and Participation: A Data Profile By Valerie Lacarte	Articles June 22, 2022 Ukrainian Immigrants in the United States By Joshua Rodriguez and Jeanne Batalova

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Fact Sheets November 2018 Settling In: A Profile of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population in the United States By Julia Gelatt and Jie Zong	Reports September 2018 A Profile of Houston’s Diverse Immigrant Population in a Rapidly Changing Policy Landscape By Randy Capps and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Fact Sheets August 2018 English Learners in Select States: Demographics, Outcomes, and State Accountability Policies By Julie Sugarman and Courtney Geary	Reports June 2018 Chilling Effects: The Expected Public Charge Rule and Its Impact on Legal Immigrant Families’ Public Benefits Use By Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and Mark Greenberg
Policy Briefs May 2018 A Guide to Finding and Understanding English Learner Data By Julie Sugarman	Policy Briefs April 2018 It’s Relative: A Crosscountry Comparison of Family-Migration Policies and Flows By Kate Hooper and Brian Salant
Policy Briefs March 2018 Evolution of the H-1B: Latest Trends in a Program on the Brink of Reform By Sarah Pierce and Julia Gelatt	Reports February 2018 Growing Superdiversity among Young U.S. Dual Language Learners and Its Implications By Maki Park, Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova

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A mariachi band performing in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Spotlight

October 13, 2022

Mexican Immigrants in the United States

Mexicans are by far the largest immigrant group in the United States, accounting for nearly one-fourth of all immigrants. However their numbers have been declining and in 2021 there were 1 million fewer than a decade ago. At the same time, despite years in which more new migrants came from China and India, Mexicans once again count as the largest group of new arrivals. This article outlines the changing shape and composition of this immigrant population.

A tourist takes a selfie in New York City.

Spotlight

September 15, 2022

Temporary Visa Holders in the United States

COVID-19 and restrictive policies from the Trump administration led to the most dramatic slowdown of temporary immigration to the United States in years, as fewer tourists, temporary workers, and international students arrived. This article reviews the trends in issuance of nonimmigrant visas and arrivals of temporary visitors, including the numbers issued annually over the past five years and the top countries of origin.

Image of band playing music at a concert in Athens, GA.

Spotlight

August 4, 2022

Brazilian Immigrants in the United States

Persistent economic turmoil and civil and political insecurity have been drivers of emigration from Brazil, including to the United States. Although the number of Brazilian immigrants in the United States has been on the rise since the 1980s, the magnitude of these flows has made the past decade unique. Read a useful profile of Brazilians immigrants, including U.S. destinations, modes of entry, and educational and work characteristics.

Image of marchers at Dominican Day parade in New York City

Spotlight

July 7, 2022

Caribbean Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from the Caribbean living in the United States come from a diverse set of countries and territories, with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago the top origins. This article offers a sociodemographic profile of Caribbean immigrants, who represent 10 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population and nearly half of all Black immigrants in the United States.

Four dancers in traditional Ukrainian dress.

Spotlight

June 22, 2022

Ukrainian Immigrants in the United States

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 displaced millions, the United States was home to nearly 355,000 Ukrainians. While most displaced Ukrainians have remained in neighboring countries, small numbers have come to the United States. This article examines the pre-invasion Ukrainian immigrant population in the United States—its history, sociodemographic characteristics, modes of arrival, and more.

Recent Activity

Articles

March 20, 2015

Immigrant Women in the United States in 2013

Immigrant women constitute a varied and dynamic population in the United States with 51 percent or 21.2 million of the country's total foreign-born population. Examining key gender-based socioeconomic indicators from origin and fertility to educational attainment and immigration status, this Spotlight raises implications for sending and receiving countries, with respect to labor opportunities, family structure, gender roles, and more.

Reports

March 2015

A Profile of Immigrants in Houston, the Nation's Most Diverse Metropolitan Area

In 2013 the Houston metro area was home to 1.4 million immigrants—with the nearly 60 percent growth in its immigrant population since 2000 nearly twice the national rate. This report provides an overview of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Houston's immigrants, along with their naturalization rates, legal status, and potential eligibility for immigration benefits such as citizenship or deferred action programs.

Articles

February 26, 2015

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

An estimated 41.3 million immigrants lived in the United States in 2013, about 13 percent of the total U.S. population, constituting the world's largest foreign-born population. This Spotlight from MPI's Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova offers the most current and sought-after data on immigrants in the United States—including origin, educational attainment, the unauthorized, deportations, and more—in one easy-to-use resource.

Video, Audio

February 12, 2015

The Skills of Immigrants: What PIAAC Tells Us

A report release examining PIAAC data on the skills of U.S. immigrant adults and whether there is a gap with native-born adults, and discussion of how these skills relate to key immigrant integration outcomes such as employment, income, access to training, and health.

Reports

February 2015

Through an Immigrant Lens: PIAAC Assessment of the Competencies of Adults in the United States

Immigrant adults in the United States lag their native-born peers in literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills, with resulting effects on their income, employment, education, and health, according to MPI analysis of U.S. scores on the 2012 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). The findings, which reveal wide ethnic and racial gaps in scoring, underscore deep U.S. social inequalities.

Articles

January 28, 2015

Chinese Immigrants in the United States

With the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 and normalization of U.S.-China relations in the late 1970s, Chinese immigration to the United States has steadily increased, to a population of more than 2 million. Using the latest data, this Spotlight highlights characteristics of Chinese immigrants from mainland China and Hong Kong, including their top state and metro areas of residence, immigration pathways, educational attainment, and more.

Articles

December 3, 2014

Korean Immigrants in the United States

Migration to the United States from the Korean peninsula, largely from South Korea, owes its roots to political, military, and economic factors, with an estimated 1.1 million Korean immigrants in the United States as of 2013. Korean migration to the United States has stalled in recent years, and even declined, with a small but growing number of immigrants and their U.S.-born children returning to Korea, as this article explores.

Articles

October 30, 2014

Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States

From 1980 to 2013, the sub-Saharan African immigrant population in the United States increased from 130,000 to 1.5 million, roughly doubling each decade between 1980 and 2010. This profile provides up-to-date demographic information for sub-Saharan immigrants including location, educational attainment, workforce participation, and much more.

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