E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
U.S. Data

U.S. Data

U.S. Immigrant Population Spotlights
Immigration_History

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

Senate LegalizationCommentaryFeb2018
Commentaries
February 2018
A Path to Citizenship for 1.8 Million DREAMERs? Despite Talk, No Proposal Would Do So
By  Sarah Pierce
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Articles
February 8, 2018
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
By Jie Zong, Jeanne Batalova, and Jeffrey Hallock
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Articles
January 10, 2018
Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants in the United States
By Mattea Cumoletti and Jeanne Batalova
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Commentaries
November 2017
Legalization for DREAMers: A Realistic Appraisal of Potential Chain Migration
By  Julia Gelatt and Randy Capps
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Fact Sheets
November 2017
A Profile of Current DACA Recipients by Education, Industry, and Occupation
By  Jie Zong, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Jeanne Batalova, Julia Gelatt and Randy Capps
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Articles
November 9, 2017
Cuban Immigrants in the United States
By Jeanne Batalova and Jie Zong
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Fact Sheets
October 2017
Differing DREAMs: Estimating the Unauthorized Populations That Could Benefit under Different Legalization Bills
By  Jeanne Batalova, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Sarah Pierce and Randy Capps
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Fact Sheets
October 2017
Protecting the DREAM: The Potential Impact of Different Legislative Scenarios for Unauthorized Youth
By  Jeanne Batalova, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Michelle Mittelstadt

Pages

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Fact Sheets
September 2003
Immigration Since September 11, 2001
By  Elizabeth Grieco, Deborah W. Meyers and Kathleen Newland
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Reports
March 2003
Women Immigrants in the United States
By  Deborah W. Meyers and Maia Jachimowicz
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Policy Briefs
February 2003
Census 2010 and the Foreign Born: Averting the Data Crisis
By  Elizabeth Grieco

Pages

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Spotlight
June 28, 2017
Immigrant Health-Care Workers in the United States

Approximately 2.1 million immigrants work in health-care occupations in the United States, comprising nearly 17 percent of the 12.4 million doctors, nurses, dentists, and other health-care professionals. Learn more about immigrant health-care workers in the United States with this data-rich article, including top occupations nationally and by state, countries of origin, educational levels, visa pathways, and much more.

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Spotlight
June 7, 2017
Refugees and Asylees in the United States

The United States has historically led the world on refugee resettlement, and today remains the top country, having resettled approximately 85,000 refugees in fiscal 2016. It also granted asylum status to more than 26,000 individuals in FY 2015. This article examines characteristics of U.S. refugee and asylee populations, including top countries of origin, states of resettlement, age and gender, and more.

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Spotlight
May 3, 2017
Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States

The population of sub-Saharan African immigrants in the United States has grown rapidly in recent decades, from 130,000 in 1980 to 1.7 million in 2015. The current flow of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa consists of skilled professionals, individuals seeking reunification with relatives, and refugees from war-torn countries. This article provides the latest data on immigrants from the region in the United States.

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Spotlight
April 21, 2017
Inmigrantes Centroamericanos en los Estados Unidos

La migración centroamericana a los Estados Unidos comenzó en gran números en los años ochenta, impulsada por la inestabilidad política, los desastres naturales y las dificultades económicas. Aproximadamente 3,4 millones de centroamericanos vivieron en los Estados Unidos en 2015, principalmente de El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras. Dónde viven en los Estados Unidos, su competencia en inglés, su estado legal, las vías de inmigración, y más, están cubiertos en este artículo.

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Spotlight
April 5, 2017
Central American Immigrants in the United States

Central American migration to the United States began in large numbers in the 1980s, fueled by political instability, natural disaster, and economic hardship. Approximately 3.4 million Central Americans lived in the United States in 2015, primarily from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Where they live in the United States, their English proficiency, legal status, immigration pathways, and more are covered in this article.

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Recent Activity

Reports
October 2014

Deportation and Discretion: Reviewing the Record and Options for Change

Even as deportation of criminals has risen steadily, immigration crimes are the largest category of criminal removals, representing 18 percent of the 1.5 million criminal removals that occurred between fiscal 2003-13. This report analyzes the 3.7 million formal removals that occurred during the period, offering a profile of deportees and changing trends. It also outlines how possible scenarios for executive action could affect the number of deportations.
Articles
October 9, 2014

Mexican Immigrants in the United States

In 2013, 11.6 million Mexican immigrants resided in the United States, accounting for 28 percent of the total foreign-born population, making Mexicans the largest immigrant group in the country. Using the latest data, this Spotlight examines the Mexican immigrant population by size, location, language ability, workforce participation, and more.

Reports
September 2014

Diploma, Please: Promoting Educational Attainment for DACA- and Potential DREAM Act-Eligible Youth

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is unprecedented in the scope of its educational requirements. This report provides sociodemographic snapshots of three key DACA groups, explores the challenges to their educational success, and offers recommendations for educators and other stakeholders looking to support the educational attainment of these young unauthorized immigrants.
Articles
September 15, 2014

Canadian Immigrants in the United States

Between 1960 and 2012 the share of Canadians in the U.S. foreign-born population declined from 10 to 2 percent, while the actual number of Canadian immigrants has remained remarkably steady. Using the most up-to-date statistics, this profile examines the Canadian immigrant population by size, age, location, college education, and more.

Policy Briefs
September 2014

Executive Action for Unauthorized Immigrants: Estimates of the Populations that Could Receive Relief

In the absence of legislative movement to reform the U.S. immigration system, the Obama administration is considering executive action to provide relief from deportation to some of the nation's estimated 11.7 million unauthorized immigrants. This issue brief examines a number of scenarios for possible executive action, estimating how many people could benefit.
Articles
August 25, 2014

Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States

The once-tiny population of Vietnamese immigrants in the United States has grown to become the country’s sixth largest foreign-born group in the span of several decades, with the first wave beginning at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This data profile examines the Vietnamese immigrant population by size, recency of arrival, top states and cities of settlement, college education, sending of remittances, and much more.

Reports
August 2014

DACA at the Two-Year Mark: A National and State Profile of Youth Eligible and Applying for Deferred Action

Fifty-five percent of the 1.2 million unauthorized immigrant youth immediately eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program launched in 2012 had applied as of July 20, 2014. This report provides the most up-to-date estimates available for the size, countries of origin, educational attainment, employment, English proficiency, age, gender, and poverty rates for the DACA population nationally and for key states.

Fact Sheets
July 2014

Select Diaspora Populations in the United States

MPI has produced profiles of 15 diaspora communities in the United States, gathering in one place key demographic data and analysis on diasporas from Bangladesh, Colombia, El Salvador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The profiles examine population size, educational attainment, household income, employment patterns, geographic distribution, and remittance volume.

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