Mexican Immigrants in the United States

Mexicans are the largest immigrant group in the United States, accounting for 22 percent of the total 50.2 million immigrants as of 2024. Over the past four and a half decades, the size of the Mexican-born population increased fivefold, from 2.2 million in 1980 to an estimated 11.1 million in 2024. However, the number has declined slightly, from a peak of more than 11.7 million in 2007. 

Future declines in the Mexican immigrant population may accelerate due to heightened immigration enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border and within the U.S. interior. Authorities’ encounters of migrants of all nationalities crossing the southern border without authorization fell to about 238,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2025—the lowest level in 55 years and a sharp departure from post-2021 patterns in which annual encounters consistently exceeded 1 million.1 Mexicans represented 47 percent of those FY 2025 unauthorized crossings, epitomizing the significant diversification in flows arriving at the border since the early 2000s, before which Mexican crossings dominated.2 

Compared to immigrants overall, Mexican immigrants in the United States are more likely to:

• obtain a green card through family-based immigration pathways; 
• have arrived before 2010; and
• be a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides protection to unauthorized immigrants who arrived as children.

This Spotlight provides information on the Mexican immigrant population in the United States, capturing its size, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics. Data in this article come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) unless otherwise indicated.3

How Has Mexican Immigration to the United States Evolved Over Time?

In 1980, about 2.2 million Mexican immigrants lived in the United States. This population nearly doubled by 1990, to 4.3 million, and more than doubled again by 2000, reaching 9.2 million (see Figure 1). Still, the number of Mexican immigrants decreased by 5 percent between 2010 and 2024, even as the total U.S. immigrant population increased by 26 percent.

Which States, Cities, and Counties Are the Top Destinations for Mexican Immigrants?

The top states of residence for Mexicans in the United States were California and Texas, which were home to 35 percent and 22 percent of all Mexican immigrants in the country, respectively, as of the 2020-24 period. Other top states of residence were Illinois (6 percent), Arizona (5 percent), and Florida (2 percent). Collectively these five states were home to 70 percent of all Mexicans residing in the United States.

During the same period, close to 35 percent of Mexican immigrants lived in one of five greater metropolitan areas: Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Riverside (see Figure 2). Nearly one-quarter of all residents of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area in Texas were born in Mexico, as were 12 percent of residents of the Riverside, California metro area and 11 percent of people living in the greater Los Angeles area.

These five counties were collectively home to 24 percent of Mexican immigrants in the United States:

• Los Angeles County, California
• Harris County, Texas
• Cook County, Illinois
• Maricopa County, Arizona
• Riverside County, California

Who Are Mexican Immigrants? Age, Education, and English Proficiency

In 2024, the median age of Mexican immigrants was 47, which equaled that of the overall foreign-born population but was higher than that of the U.S. born (37). Mexican immigrants were more likely to be of working age (between ages 18 and 64) than the overall immigrant population—82 percent and 76 percent, respectively—and both were far more likely than the U.S. born (58 percent; see Figure 3).

Mexican immigrants have relatively low rates of educational attainment compared to both the overall foreign- and U.S.-born populations. In 2024, just 10 percent of Mexican immigrant adults (ages 25 and older) held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 36 percent of all immigrants and 37 percent of the U.S. born. Meanwhile, 49 percent of Mexican immigrant adults lacked a high school diploma (see Figure 4).

During the 2024-25 school year, about 15,700 Mexican students were enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions, according to the Institute of International Education.4 They represented about 1 percent of the nearly 1.2 million international students enrolled that school year and were the second largest student population from Latin America, behind Brazil (17,300) and ahead of Colombia (10,200).

English Proficiency

Mexican immigrants are less likely to be proficient in English than the overall U.S. foreign-born population. About 65 percent of Mexican immigrants ages 5 and older reported speaking English less than “very well” as of 2024, compared to 47 percent of all immigrants. At the same time, 6 percent of Mexicans reported speaking only English at home, compared to 16 percent of the total foreign-born population.

Where Do Mexican Immigrants Work and What Are Their Income and Poverty Levels?

Mexican immigrants had a civilian labor-force participation rate of 68 percent in 2024, equal to that of the overall foreign-born population and higher than the U.S. born (63 percent). Mexican immigrants were primarily working in service occupations (26 percent) followed by natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (25 percent; see Figure 5).

Mexican immigrants had a median household income of $68,700 in 2024, below the median incomes of immigrant households overall ($82,400) and U.S.-born-led households ($81,400).

Approximately 16 percent of Mexican immigrants were in poverty, slightly higher than rates for the overall foreign-born population (14 percent) and the U.S. born (12 percent). (The U.S. Census Bureau defined poverty as having an income below $32,100 for a family of four in 2024.5)

What Share of Mexican Immigrants Have Health Coverage?

Mexican immigrants were more likely than immigrants overall and the U.S. born to lack health insurance as of 2024: 32 percent of Mexicans were uninsured, versus 18 percent and 7 percent, respectively (see Figure 6). They were also less likely to hold private health insurance (41 percent versus 57 percent of all immigrants and 69 percent of the U.S. born).

How Did Mexican Immigrants Arrive and What Are Their Legal Statuses?

As of 2024, about 34 percent of Mexican immigrants were U.S. citizens, compared to 51 percent of immigrants overall.

About 77 percent of Mexicans arrived in the United States prior to 2010, making this a long-settled population (see Figure 7).

About 202,600 Mexican immigrants became lawful permanent residents (LPRs, also known as green-card holders) in FY 2024, representing 15 percent of the 1.4 million new LPRs.6 Family reunification was the primary pathway to obtain permanent residence, with about 90 percent of Mexicans becoming green-card holders through this route, compared to 63 percent of all new LPRs. About 4 percent of Mexican immigrants who became green-card holders in 2024 did so through employment-based pathways and less than 1 percent arrived as refugees or asylees.

Unauthorized Immigrant Population

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates that about 5.5 million unauthorized immigrants were from Mexico as of mid-2023, accounting for 40 percent of all 13.7 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States.7 Mexico is the largest country of origin for unauthorized immigrants.

As of December 2025, about 402,900 Mexicans were beneficiaries of the DACA program, which provides temporary deportation relief and work authorization to unauthorized immigrants who arrived as children and met the program’s education and other eligibility criteria.8 Mexicans comprised 81 percent of the 495,300 active DACA recipients as of December 2025.

How Many U.S. Residents Have Mexican Ancestry?

Combining individuals born in Mexico with people of Mexican descent who were born in the United States or elsewhere (whom together comprise the diaspora), an estimated 40.5 million U.S. residents traced their ancestry or heritage to Mexico, according to MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey.9 More U.S. residents traced their ancestry to Mexico than any other country except Germany.

What Are Other Major Destinations Globally for Mexican Migrants?

Globally, approximately 11.6 million Mexicans resided outside their country of birth, according to mid-2024 estimates by the United Nations Population Division.10 After the United States, the largest concentrations were in:

• Canada (home to 104,000 Mexican migrants)
• Spain (78,000)
• Guatemala (21,000)
• Bolivia (12,000)
• Italy (11,000)
• Australia and Panama (about 9,000 apiece).

How Much Money Do Mexican-Origin Communities Remit to Support the Homeland?

Migrants and other individuals worldwide sent approximately $68.2 billion in remittances to Mexico via formal channels in 2024, up from $66.2 billion in 2023.11 Remittance flows to Mexico have grown steadily over time, tripling from $22.8 billion in 2010 (see Figure 9). Remittances represented approximately 4 percent of Mexico's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024.

Sources

Gelatt, Julia, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, and James D. Bachmeier. 2025. Changing Origins, Rising Numbers: Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute (MPI).

Gibson, Campbell J. and Kay Jung. 2006. Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850–2000. Working Paper no. 81, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

Gramlich, John. 2026. Migrant Encounters at the U.S.-Mexico Border Are at Their Lowest Level in More than 50 Years. Short read, Pew Research Center, February 2, 2026.

Institute of International Education (IIE). N.d. International Students: All Places of Origin. Accessed May 22, 2026.

Migration Policy Institute (MPI), Migration Data Hub. 2026. U.S. Immigrant Population by Metropolitan Area. Accessed May 22, 2026.

---. N.d. DACA Recipients and Eligible Population, by Country of Origin. Accessed July 1, 2026.

Ratha, Dilip, Sonia Plaza, and Eung Ju Kim. 2024. In 2024, Remittance Flows to Low- and Middle-Income Countries Are Expected to Reach $685 Billion, Larger than FDI and ODA Combined. World Bank blog post, December 18, 2024.

Ruiz Soto, Ariel G. 2025. A New Era of Immigration Enforcement Unfolds in the U.S. Interior and at the Border under Trump 2.0. Short read, MPI, October 2025.

UN Population Division. 2024. International Migrant Stock 2024 by Destination and Origin.

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2024. Press release, September 9, 2025.

---. N.d. 2024 American Community Survey — Advanced Search: S0201 Selected Population Profile in the United States. Accessed May 22, 2026.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). 2026. Active DACA Recipients – (Fiscal Year 2026, Quarter 1) . June 30, 2026.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 2026. Nationwide Encounters. Updated April 9, 2026.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 2025. Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, More than 2.5 Million Illegal Aliens Left the U.S. Press release, December 10, 2025.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS). 2024. Table 3: Persons Obtaining Lawful Permanent Resident Status by Region and Country of Birth: Fiscal Years 2014 to 2024. June 2026.