The United States has been the top destination for international migrants since at least 1960, with one-fifth of the world’s migrants living there as of 2017. Despite its long history of immigration, the United States has oscillated between perceiving immigration as a valuable resource and as a major challenge. The 2016 election and significant actions on immigration taken by the Trump administration have further raised the issue in political and public debates. Even more than before, immigration is closely tied to discussions about the U.S. economy and global competitiveness, national security, and the country’s role in humanitarian protection at a time of record global displacement.
Amid these conversations, informed public discussion and evidence-based policymaking require authoritative, unbiased, and timely information. This Spotlight offers in one accessible resource the most current data available about the nearly 44 million immigrants living in the United States in 2016. By compiling some of the most frequently requested facts and figures, this article provides answers to questions such as: How many people have immigrated to the United States, and through which channels? How many entered as refugees, and from which countries? Is Mexico still the top country of origin? Has the number of unauthorized immigrants changed in recent years? What jobs do immigrants tend to hold in the U.S. labor market? And how many U.S. residents are either immigrants or children of immigrants?
The article draws on resources from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI); the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 American Community Survey (ACS), 2017 Current Population Survey (CPS), and 2000 decennial census; the most recent data from the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and State; and Mexico’s National Population Council (CONAPO) and National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
Click on the bullet points for more information on each topic:
- Current and Historical Numbers and Shares
- Demographic, Educational, and Linguistic Characteristics
- Immigrant Population Change Over Time: Top States
- Mexican Immigrants
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Workforce Characteristics
- Children with Immigrant Parents
- Permanent Immigration
- Temporary Visas
- Refugees and Asylum Seekers
- Unauthorized Immigrants
- Immigration Enforcement
- Naturalization Trends
- Visa Backlogs
Current and Historical Numbers and Shares
How many immigrants reside in the United States?
More than 43.7 million immigrants resided in the United States in 2016, accounting for 13.5 percent of the total U.S. population of 323.1 million, according to American Community Survey (ACS) data. Between 2015 and 2016, the foreign-born population increased by about 449,000, or 1 percent, a rate slower than the 2.1 percent growth experienced between 2014 and 2015.
Immigrants and their U.S.-born children now number approximately 86.4 million people, or 27 percent of the overall U.S. population, according to the 2017 Current Population Survey (CPS).Check out the U.S. Immigrant Population and Share over Time, 1850-Present tool in MPI’s Data Hub to see fluctuations over time.
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