The United States has long welcomed 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 nearly every country on earth.
The Pew Research Center regularly publishes surveys on U.S. immigration. Based on this survey, here are answers to some key questions about the U.S. immigrant population:
The Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to answer general questions about immigration to the United States and the nation’s immigrant population.
The data for this analysis are primarily compiled by the Center from Census Bureau microdata from the Decennial Census and American Community Survey (IPUMS USA). The analysis also includes estimates of the undocumented immigrant population in the U.S. The 2022 estimates presented in this study are the Center’s most recent.
How many immigrants are there in America?
The U.S. foreign-born population is set to hit a record high of 46.1 million in 2022. Growth accelerated after Congress made U.S. immigration laws more permissive in 1965. In 1970, the number of immigrants living in the U.S. was less than a quarter of what it is today.
Immigrants currently make up 13.8 percent of the U.S. population, nearly three times as many as the 4.7 percent in 1970. However, today’s share of the population is still below the record 14.8 percent recorded in 1890.
Where do American immigrants come from?
Mexico is the largest country of origin for immigrants to the U.S. In 2022, approximately 10.6 million immigrants living in the U.S. were born in Mexico, making up 23% of all U.S. immigrants. The next most common countries of origin were India (6%), China (5%), the Philippines (4%), and El Salvador (3%).
By place of origin, immigrants from Asia account for 28% of all immigrants, with lower proportions coming from other regions.
- Latin America (27%), excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (10%), Central America (9%) and South America (9%)
- Europe, Canada, and other North America (12%)
- Sub-Saharan Africa (5%)
- Middle East and North Africa (4%)
How have immigrants’ countries of origin changed in recent decades?
Prior to 1965, U.S. immigration laws favored immigrants from Northern and Western Europe and largely banned immigrants from Asia. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 opened the door to immigration from Asia and Latin America. The Immigration Act of 1990 further increased legal immigration, allowing immigrants from many more countries to enter the United States legally.
Since 1965, approximately 72 million immigrants have come to the United States from many more different countries than any previous immigrant population.
- Between 1840 and 1889, about 90% of immigrants to the United States came from Europe, about 70% of whom were from Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain.
- Nearly 90% of immigrants who arrived between 1890 and 1919 came from Europe, with almost 60% coming from Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia-Poland.
- Since 1965, about half of all immigrants to the United States have come from Latin America, about a quarter of them from Mexico. About a quarter of the remaining immigrants have come from Asia, with large numbers coming from China, India, the Philippines, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The most recent wave of immigration has dramatically changed each state’s immigrant population: in 1980, German immigrants were the largest group in 19 states, Canadian immigrants were the largest group in 11 states, and Mexican immigrants were the largest group in 10 states. By 2000, Mexican immigrants were the largest group in 31 states.
Currently, Mexico remains the largest country of origin for 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 declined from 29% in 2010 to 23% in 2022.
Where are the latest immigrants coming from?
In 2022, Mexico was the top country of origin for migrants arriving in the past year, with about 150,000 arrivals. India (about 145,000) and China (about 90,000) were the next largest countries of origin for migrants. Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil and Canada each saw about 50,000 to 60,000 new migrants arrive.
The primary source of immigration has changed twice in the 21st century. The first change was due to the Great Recession (2007-2009). Until 2007, the number of Hispanic immigrants entering the United States each year exceeded the number of Asian immigrants. From 2009 to 2018, the opposite was true.
Since 2019, immigration from Latin America, much of it illegal, has reversed the pattern again, with more Hispanics than Asians entering the U.S. each year.
What is the legal status of immigrants in the United States?
Most immigrants (77%) are in the country legally. As of 2022:
- 49% were naturalized U.S. citizens.
- 24% were legal permanent residents.
- 4% were legal temporary residents.
- 23% were illegal immigrants.
Between 1990 and 2007, the illegal immigrant population more than tripled, from 3.5 million to a record high of 12.2 million. The number has since declined gradually, to about 10.2 million in 2019.
In 2022, the number of illegal immigrants in the United States showed its first sustained increase since 2007, reaching 11 million.
As of 2022, about 4 million illegal immigrants in the United States are Mexican, the largest number by country of origin and more than one-third of all illegal immigrants. However, Mexico’s illegal immigrant population has declined from a peak of about 7 million in 2007, when Mexicans made up 57% of all illegal immigrants.
The decline in illegal immigration from Mexico has been partially offset by an increase from other parts of the world, particularly Asia and Latin America.
The illegal immigrant population estimate for 2022 is our latest composite estimate. Other partial data sources suggest continued growth in 2023 and 2024.
Who are illegal immigrants?
Nearly all of the illegal immigrants in the United States entered the country without lawful authorization or entered on non-permanent visas and stayed on after their visas expired.
The number of illegal immigrants who have been granted permission to live and work in the United States and are temporarily protected from deportation is growing. In 2022, approximately 3 million illegal immigrants were receiving these temporary legal protections. These immigrants fall into several groups:
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS): Approximately 650,000 immigrants are using TPS as of July 2022. TPS is provided to individuals who cannot safely return to their home countries due to civil unrest, violence, natural disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary circumstances.
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): About 600,000 immigrants are recipients of DACA, a program that allows individuals brought to the U.S. as children before 2007 to remain in the country.
- Asylum seekers: As of mid-2022, there are approximately 1.6 million migrants with pending asylum applications in the United States because they faced danger in their home countries. These migrants can remain in the United States legally while they await the adjudication of their cases.
- Additional protections: Hundreds of thousands of people apply for special visas to become legal immigrants. These types of visas are offered to victims of human trafficking and other specific criminal activities.
In addition, approximately 500,000 migrants arrived in the United States by the end of 2023 under programs created for Ukrainians (U4U or Uniting for Ukraine) and people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV Parole). These migrants primarily arrived late enough to not be counted in the 2022 estimates, but may be included in future estimates.
Will all legal immigrants choose to become U.S. citizens?
Immigrants who are lawful permanent residents can apply for U.S. citizenship if they meet certain requirements. Nearly 1 million legal immigrants obtained U.S. citizenship through naturalization in fiscal year 2022, just below the record highs of 1996 and 2008.
While most immigrants who are eligible to naturalize do apply for citizenship, not all do: The main reasons for not applying include language or personal barriers, lack of interest, or financial inability to afford it, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center study.
Where do most immigrants in America live?
In 2022, the majority of the United States’ 46.1 million immigrants lived in just four states: California (10.4 million, 23% of the national total), Texas (5.2 million, 11%), Florida (4.8 million, 10%), and New York (4.5 million, 10%).
Most immigrants lived in the South (35%) and West (33%), with an additional 21% living in the Northeast and 11% living in the Midwest.
In 2022, more than 29 million immigrants (63% of the U.S. foreign-born population) lived in just 20 metropolitan areas. The most populous were the New York, Los Angeles, and Miami metropolitan areas. The majority of the U.S. illegal immigrant population (60%) also lived in these metropolitan areas.
How many immigrants work in the United States?
In 2022, there were more than 30 million immigrants in the U.S. workforce. 22.2 million were legal immigrants, making up the majority of the immigrant workforce. An additional 8.3 million immigrant workers were illegal. This is a notable increase from 2019, but roughly the same as in 2007.
The share of immigrant workers increased slightly from 17% in 2007 to 18% in 2022. In contrast, the share of illegal immigrant workers decreased from a peak of 5.4% in 2007 to 4.8% in 2022. Immigrants and their children are projected to increase the working-age population by about 18 million between 2015 and 2035. This will offset the decline in the working-age population due to the retirement of the baby boomer generation.
How educated are immigrants compared to the overall U.S. population?
On average, immigrants in the United States have lower educational levels than the U.S.-born population. In 2022, immigrants aged 25 and over were nearly three times as likely as U.S.-born people to have not completed high school (25% vs. 7%). However, immigrants were just as likely as U.S.-born people to have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher (35% vs. 36%).
Immigrants’ educational background varies by place of origin. Nearly half (51%) of immigrants from Mexico had not completed high school, as did 46% of immigrants from Central America and 21% of immigrants from the Caribbean. Immigrants from these three regions were also less likely to have a bachelor’s degree or higher than their U.S.-born counterparts.
On the other hand, immigrants from other regions Almost as likely or more likely More immigrants have earned at least a bachelor’s degree than those born in the United States, and immigrants of South Asian origin (72%) are the most likely to have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
How well do immigrants speak English?
Nearly half (54%) of immigrants age 5 and older are fluent in English, either speaking it very well (37%) or speaking English exclusively at home (17%).
Immigrants from Canada (97%), Oceania (82%), sub-Saharan Africa (76%), Europe (75%) and South Asia (73%) have the highest rates of English proficiency.
Immigrants from Mexico (36%) and Central America (35%) have the lowest proficiency levels.
Immigrants who have lived in the U.S. longer are somewhat more likely to be fluent in English: About 45% of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for five years or less are fluent in English, compared with 56% of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for 20 years or more.
Spanish is the most commonly spoken language among U.S. immigrants. Nearly one in four immigrants (41%) speak Spanish at home. Besides Spanish, the top languages spoken by immigrants at home are English only (17%), Chinese (6%), Filipino/Tagalog (4%), French or Haitian Creole (3%), and Vietnamese (2%).
Note: This is an updated version of a post originally published on May 3, 2017.