New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau this week shows that more than half of America’s foreign-born population lives in the country’s four most populous states -- California, Texas, Florida and New York.
The American Community Survey report also says the foreign-born population in the U.S. has also "grown considerably over the past 50 years in both size and share of the U.S. population," increasing from 9.6 million in 1970 (4.7%) to 46.2 million in 2022 (13.9%).
Here are some of the findings of the survey, which the Census Bureau says is "designed to provide communities with reliable and timely social, economic, housing, and demographic data for the nation, states, congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities."
1. California, Texas, Florida and New York have the highest foreign-born populations
The Census Bureau says in 2022, nearly a quarter of the entire foreign-born population in the U.S. lived in California, which has a total estimated population of nearly 39 million people.
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"Of the 46.2 million foreign-born in the United States, 10.4 million lived in California. Another 5.2 million resided in Texas, followed by 4.8 million in Florida and 4.5 million in New York," the American Community Survey report says.
2. These states had the highest and lowest percentages of foreign-born residents
The report says in California, New Jersey, New York and Florida, foreign-born individuals made up more than 20 percent of their populations.
But "in the Midwest, only Illinois had more than 10 percent foreign-born" while "West Virginia had the smallest percentage of foreign-born in 2022, at 1.8 percent of its population," according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
"In 34 states, including those in northern New England, the northern Great Plains, and parts of Appalachia and the South, the foreign-born comprised 10 percent or less, and in some cases 5 percent or less, of the state’s population," the report also said.
3. Where foreign-born populations are rising the fastest in the U.S.
The American Community Survey says the foreign-born populations in nearly all states were larger in 2022 compared to 2010.
"In Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia, the foreign-born populations grew by 40 percent or more," it says.
Forty-two states and the District of Columbia experienced percentage increases of 10 percent or more," it added, noting that overall, the "U.S. foreign-born population increased by 15.6 percent."
4. Where are the foreign-born residents coming from?
The U.S. Census Bureau says the data indicates that half of America’s foreign-born population is from Latin America, but by 2022, "the number of foreign-born from South America and Other Central America increased by 2.1 million, while the count of those born in Mexico decreased by about 1.0 million.
"The shares of foreign-born from Asia and Africa increased between 2010 and 2022," it also said. "The Asian-born population rose from 28.2 percent to 31.1 percent of the foreign-born population, while the African-born share grew from 4.0 percent to 6.0 percent."
Overall, nearly a third of America’s foreign-born came to the U.S. in 2010 or later, the report revealed.
5. How many foreign-born residents have been naturalized?
The American Community Survey didn’t provide numbers on illegal immigration, but said more than half of the foreign-born population in the U.S. has become naturalized.
"European- and Asian-born were the most likely to be U.S. citizens, with naturalization rates of 67.4 percent and 62.8 percent, respectively," it said. "Naturalization rates were lowest among the foreign-born from Oceania and Latin America."
