Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

2014, Foreign-Born Population in the United States Statistical Portrait

*Visit the most recent data.

There were a record 42.2 million immigrants living in the U.S. in 2014, making up 13.2% of the nation’s population. This represents a fourfold increase since 1960, when only 9.7 million immigrants lived in the U.S., accounting for just 5.4% of the total U.S. population. Click on any of the bold headings below in the summary table to see detailed tables for each.

Click here for a PDF of all the tables below and read the accompanying report. Download the Excel workbook.

For a statistical portrait of the Hispanic population in the United States, click here.

 

Characteristics of the U.S. Foreign-born Population: 2014
% of the foreign-born population, unless otherwise noted
Population/Region of Birth/Nativity/Language Use/Race/Years in the U.S.
Population (#) 42,235,749
Born in Mexico 27.7
Citizen 47.3
Speaking English at least very well (ages 5 and older) 50.4
White alone, not Hispanic 18.1
Age/Gender/Marital Status/Fertility
Median age (in years) 43
Female 51.3
Married (ages 18 and older) 59.7
Women ages 15-44 giving birth in past year 7.5
Educational Attainment and Enrollment (highest degree completed, ages 25 and older)
High school graduate or less 52.4
Two-year degree/Some college 19.0
Bachelor’s degree or more 28.6
Work/Earnings/Income (ages 16 and older)
In labor force (among civilian population) 66.3
Median annual personal earnings (in 2014 dollars, among those with earnings) $26,000
Median annual household income (in 2014 dollars) $49,071
Poverty/Health Care
Living in poverty 17.7
Uninsured 26.6
Homeownership and Household Characteristics
In family households 86.4
Region and Top Five States of Residence in 2014
West 34.8
California 24.8
South 32.7
Texas 10.6
Florida 9.4
Northeast 21.4
New York 10.6
New Jersey 4.6
Midwest 11.1
Source: Pew Research Center tabulations of 2014 American Community Survey (1% IPUMS)

 

Click on each heading below to expand and see detailed tables.

How we did this

Population/Region of Birth/Nativity/Language Use/Race/Years in the U.S.

Population, by Nativity and Citizenship Status: 2014
Foreign Born, by Region of Birth: 2014
Population, by Nativity, Race and Ethnicity: 2014
Racial Self-Identification, by Nativity: 2014
Country of Birth: 2014
Foreign Born, by Region of Birth and Years in the U.S.: 2014
Language Spoken at Home and English-Speaking Ability, by Age, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Language Spoken at Home and English-Speaking Ability Among Foreign Born, by Years in the U.S. and Age: 2014

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How we did this

Age/Gender/Marital Status/Fertility

Median Age in Years, by Sex, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Generations, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Nativity, by Sex and Age: 2014
Age and Gender Distributions for Nativity Groups: 2014
Marital Status, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Fertility in the Past Year, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Fertility in the Past Year, by Marital Status, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014

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How we did this

Educational Attainment and Enrollment

Educational Attainment, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
School Enrollment, by Nativity: 2014
High School Dropouts, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
College Enrollment, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014

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How we did this

Work/Earnings/Income

Employment Status, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Occupation, by Nativity: 2014
Occupation, by Region of Birth: 2014
Detailed Occupation, by Nativity: 2014
Detailed Occupation, by Region of Birth: 2014
Industry, by Nativity: 2014
Industry, by Region of Birth: 2014
Detailed Industry, by Nativity: 2014
Detailed Industry, by Region of Birth: 2014
Persons, by Personal Earnings, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Median Personal Earnings, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Full-time, Year-round Workers, by Personal Earnings, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Median Personal Earnings for Full-time, Year-round Workers, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Households, by Income, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Median Household Income, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014

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How we did this

Poverty/Health Care

Poverty, by Age, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Persons Without Health Insurance, by Age, Nativity and Citizenship: 2014
Type of Health Insurance, by Nativity and Citizenship: 2014

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How we did this

Homeownership and Household Characteristics

Housing Tenure, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Homeownership Among Foreign-born Heads of Households, by Years in U.S.: 2014
Persons, by Household Type, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Households, by Type, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Households, by Family Size, Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014
Living Arrangements of Children, by Nativity and Region of Birth: 2014

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How we did this

Region and Top Five States of Residence in 2014

Foreign-born Population, by Region: 2014
Nativity, by State: 2014
Foreign Born, by State and Region of Birth: 2014
Share of Foreign Born, by State and Region of Birth: 2014

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