The nation’s foreign-born population increased by 15.6% from 2010 to 2022. According to a new report, The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2022, released by the U.S. Census Bureau today, the foreign-born population was 46.2 million (13.9% of the total population) in 2022, compared to 40.0 million (12.9% of the total population) in 2010.
The report compares the 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates to provide insight into the changing composition of the foreign-born population in the United States. The foreign-born population consists of anyone living in the United States who was not a U.S. citizen at birth, including naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (immigrants), temporary migrants such as foreign students, humanitarian migrants (for example, refugees and asylees), and unauthorized migrants.
Other highlights from the report:
• The total foreign-born population increased by 15.6% from 2010 to 2022. In Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia, the foreign-born populations grew by 40% or more.
• From 2010 to 2022, the median age of the foreign-born population increased by over five years (from 41.4 to 46.7), while the median age of the native population rose by only one year (from 35.9 to 36.9).
• In 2022 (75.1%), a higher percentage of foreign-born individuals completed high school or higher than in 2010 (68.3%).
The Census Bureau also released a data visualization, Highlights of the Foreign-Born Population, and a related America Counts story, Where Do Immigrants Live? How Immigrants Have Dispersed Throughout the Country. These products feature 2018-2022 ACS 5-year estimates on the foreign-born population at various geographic levels (national, state, and county).
Highlights from the data visualization:
• Immigrants make up over one-fifth of the population in four states: California (26.5%), New Jersey (23.2%), New York (22.6%) and Florida (21.1%).
• Almost one-half (49.1%) of all immigrants in the United States entered the country before 2000.
• An estimated 63.5% of the foreign-born population (16 years and older) was employed, with over one-third of the civilian employed foreign-born population (16 years and older) in management, business, science, and arts occupations.
The American Community Survey provides a wide range of statistics about the nation’s people and housing, such as language spoken at home, education, commuting, employment, mortgage status and rent, income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. It is the only source of local estimates for most of the 40-plus topics it covers.
Further information can be found at www.census.gov.
