Approximately 200 people wave American flags after being sworn in during a naturalization ceremony in Boston on April 17, 2024 (Daniel Parhizkaran/Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The United States has long had more immigrants than any other country. In fact, the United States is home to one-fifth of the world’s international immigrants. These immigrants come from almost every country in the world.
Pew Research Center regularly publishes research on U.S. immigration. Based on this research, here are answers to some important questions about the U.S. immigrant population.
Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to answer common questions about immigration to the United States and the U.S. immigrant population.
2023 data is based on the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey. The remaining data for this analysis comes primarily from the Census Bureau’s microdata, the American Community Surveys (IPUMS) Center Aggregates and Decennial Census historical data.
This analysis also includes an estimated size of the U.S. illegal immigrant population. The 2022 estimates presented in this study are the center’s most recent. Estimates of annual change in the foreign-born population are based on the 1994-2023 Current Population Survey and the 2001-2022 American Community Survey (IPUMS) and reflect changes in the Bureau’s survey methodology over time. It has been adjusted.
How many immigrants are in America?
The foreign-born population of the United States will reach 47.8 million in 2023, an increase of 1.6 million from the previous year. This is the largest annual increase in more than 20 years since 2000.
In 1970, there were about one-fifth as many immigrants living in the United States as there are today. This population growth accelerated after Congress made changes to U.S. immigration law in 1965.
Immigrants now make up 14.3% of the U.S. population, nearly tripling from 4.7% in 1970. Today’s immigrant share of the population is the highest since 1910, but still below the record 14.8% in 1890.
(As of mid-September 2024, only limited data from the 2023 American Community Survey has been published, so the remainder of this post will focus on 2022 data.)
Where do U.S. immigrants come from?
Mexico is the top country of origin for U.S. immigrants. In 2022, approximately 10.6 million immigrants living in the United States will be born in the United States, representing 23% of all U.S. immigrants. The next most common country of origin groups were India (6%), China (5%), Philippines (4%), and El Salvador (3%).
By place of birth, immigrants from Asia accounted for 28% of all immigrants. The share of other regions will be smaller.
Latin America (27%), Caribbean excluding Mexico (10%), Central America (9%) and South America (9%) Europe, Canada and the rest of North America (12%) Sub-Saharan Africa (5%) Middle East and North Africa (4%) How have the countries of origin of immigrants changed in recent decades?
Before 1965, U.S. immigration laws favored immigrants from northern and western Europe and largely prohibited immigration from Asia. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 admitted immigrants from Asia and Latin America. The Immigration Act of 1990 further increased legal immigration, allowing immigrants from more countries to legally enter the United States.
Since 1965, approximately 72 million immigrants have come to the United States from more countries than any of our predecessors.
From 1840 to 1889, approximately 90 percent of U.S. immigrants came from Europe, including approximately 70 percent from Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain. Almost 90% of the immigrants arriving between 1890 and 1919 came from Europe. Nearly 60% came from Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Poland. Since 1965, about half of all U.S. immigrants have come from Latin America, with Mexico alone accounting for about a quarter. About a quarter of the rest comes from Asia. Many come from China, India, the Philippines, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The latest wave of immigration has dramatically changed each state’s immigrant population. In 1980, German immigrants were the largest in 19 states, Canadians were the largest in 11 states, and Mexicans were the largest in 10 states. By 2000, Mexicans were the largest group in 31 states.
Mexico remains the largest source of immigrants to the United States. However, immigration from Mexico has slowed since 2007, and the Mexican-born population in the United States has declined. The share of Mexicans in the U.S. immigrant population has fallen from 29% in 2010 to 23% in 2022.
Where do recent immigrants come from?
As of 2022, Mexico had about 150,000 people, making it the top country of origin for migrants arriving last year. The next largest sources of immigration were India (about 145,000 people) and China (about 90,000 people). Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil, and Canada each received about 50,000 to 60,000 new immigrants.
The main sources of immigration have changed twice in the 21st century. The first was caused by the Great Recession (2007-2009). Until 2007, more Hispanics than Asians arrived in the United States each year. From 2009 to 2018, the opposite was true.
Since 2019, immigration from Latin America, many of them unauthorized, has reversed the pattern again. More Hispanics than Asians come each year.
What is the legal status of immigrants in the United States?
Most immigrants (77%) enter the country legally. As of 2022:
49% were naturalized U.S. citizens. 24% were lawful permanent residents. 4% were legal temporary residents. 23% were illegal immigrants.
From 1990 to 2007, the illegal immigrant population more than tripled, from 3.5 million to a record high of 12.2 million. Since then, the number has gradually decreased to about 10.2 million in 2019.
In 2022, the number of illegal immigrants in the United States will show sustained growth for the first time since 2007, reaching 11 million.
As of 2022, there will be approximately 4 million illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States. This is the largest number among countries of origin and represents more than a third of all illegal immigrants. However, Mexico’s illegal immigrant population has declined from its peak of about 7 million in 2007, when Mexicans accounted for 57% of all illegal immigrants.
The decline in illegal immigration from Mexico has been partially offset by increases from other parts of the world, particularly Asia and Latin America.
The 2022 Illegal Immigrant Population Estimates are our latest comprehensive estimates. Other partial data sources suggest continued growth in 2023 and 2024.
Who are illegal immigrants?
Virtually all illegal immigrants in the United States either entered the country without legal authorization or arrived on nonpermanent visas and remained after their expiration dates.
A growing number of undocumented immigrants are allowed to live and work in the United States and receive temporary protection from deportation. In 2022, approximately 3 million illegal immigrants were under these temporary legal protections. These immigrants are divided into several groups.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS): As of July 2022, approximately 650,000 immigrants have TPS. TPS is provided to individuals who cannot safely return to their home country due to civil unrest, violence, natural disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary circumstances. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Approximately 600,000 immigrants are DACA beneficiaries. This program allows individuals brought to the United States as children before 2007 to remain in the United States as asylum seekers. As of mid-2022, approximately 1.6 million immigrants have pending asylum claims in the United States due to the dangers they face in their home countries. These immigrants can remain in the United States legally while they await a decision in their case. Other protections: Hundreds of thousands of people apply for special visas to become legal immigrants. These types of visas are provided to victims of human trafficking and certain other criminal activities.
In addition, approximately 500,000 immigrants will be transferred to the United States by the end of 2023 under programs created for Ukrainians (U4U or Unity for Ukraine) and people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV Parole). arrived at. These migrants are not counted in the 2022 estimates, mainly because they arrived too late, but they may be included in future estimates.
Do all legal immigrants choose to become U.S. citizens?
Immigrants who are lawful permanent residents can apply to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements. In fiscal year 2022, nearly 1 million legal immigrants became U.S. citizens through naturalization. This is only slightly below the previous highs set in 1996 and 2008.
Most immigrants eligible for naturalization apply for citizenship, but not all do so. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center study, top reasons for not applying include language and personal barriers, lack of interest, and lack of financial means.
Where do most US immigrants live?
In 2022, most of the nation’s 46.1 million immigrants will come from California (10.4 million or 23% of the nation’s total), Texas (5.2 million or 11%), Florida (4.8 million or 10%), and New York (45,000). people) lived in four states. million or 10%).
Most immigrants lived in the South (35%) and West (33%). Another 21% lived in the Northeast and 11% lived in the Midwest.
In 2022, more than 29 million immigrants, representing 63% of the country’s foreign-born population, lived in just 20 major metropolitan areas. The largest populations were in the New York, Los Angeles, and Miami metropolitan areas. Most of the country’s illegal immigrant population (60%) also lived in these metropolitan areas.
How many immigrants work in America?
In 2022, more than 30 million immigrants were in the U.S. workforce. Legal immigrants made up the majority of the immigrant labor force, amounting to 22.2 million people. An additional 8.3 million people are unauthorized migrant workers. This is a notable increase compared to 2019, but about the same as 2007.
The proportion of workers who are immigrants increased slightly from 17% in 2007 to 18% in 2022. In contrast, the share of unauthorized immigrant workers has declined from a peak of 5.4% in 2007 to 4.8% in 2022. Migrants and their children Between 2015 and 2035, the working-age population is projected to grow by approximately 18 million people. This will offset the decline in the working-age population due to the retirement of baby boomers.
How educated are immigrants compared to the U.S. population as a whole?
On average, U.S. immigrants have lower levels of education than the U.S.-born population. In 2022, immigrants age 25 and older will be nearly three times more likely to be born in the United States and have not completed high school (25% vs. 7%). However, just as many immigrants as Americans are born with a bachelor’s degree or higher (35% vs. 36%).
The educational background of immigrants varies depending on their place of origin. About half (51%) of Mexican immigrants did not graduate high school, as did 46% of Central American immigrants and 21% of Caribbean immigrants. Immigrants from these three regions were also less likely to be born with a bachelor’s degree or higher than those in the United States.
Immigrants from all other regions, on the other hand, were about as likely or more likely to be born with at least a bachelor’s degree than those in the United States. Immigrants from South Asia were most likely to have a bachelor’s degree or higher (72%).
How well can immigrants speak English?
About half (54%) of immigrants over the age of five are fluent in English, and they either speak English very well (37%) or only speak English at home (17%).
Immigrants from Canada (97%), Oceania (82%), sub-Saharan Africa (76%), Europe (75%), and South Asia (73%) have the highest English proficiency.
Immigrants from Mexico (36%) and Central America (35%) have the lowest proficiency rates.
Immigrants who have lived in the United States longer are somewhat more likely to be fluent in English. Approximately 45% of immigrants who have lived in the United States for five years or less are skilled, compared to 56% of immigrants who have lived in the United States for more than 20 years.
Spanish is the most commonly spoken language among US immigrants. Approximately 4 in 10 (41%) immigrants speak Spanish at home. Besides Spanish, the top languages spoken at home by immigrants are English only (17%), Chinese (6%), Filipino/Tagalog (4%), French or Haitian Creole (3%), and Vietnamese. (2%).
Note: This is an update of a post originally published on May 3, 2017.
