FLORIDA, Orlando – A new report issued Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that among the foreign-born population in the United States, over half resides in just four states: California, Texas, Florida, and New York. What's more, their numbers have become older and more educated over the previous twelve years.
Based on data collected from the American Community Survey, the expected number of foreign-born individuals in the United States in 2022 was 46.2 million, making up about 14% of the total population. The majority of states have experienced rises in this demographic of double digits over the past ten years.
More than 20% of the population in Florida, California, New Jersey, and New York was born outside of the country. Among U.S. states, their representation was the lowest at 1.8% in West Virginia.
Even though the demographics of Latin America's foreign-born population have changed over the last decade, with 2.1 million more people hailing from South and Central America and approximately 1 million less from Mexico, the region still accounts for half of the country's foreign-born population.
While the percentage of foreign-born Africans increased from 4% to 6%, the percentage of Asians decreased from over 25% to under 33% over that time.
As the Biden administration struggles to manage an unprecedented inflow of migrants at the Southwest border, immigration has become a key issue during the 2024 presidential race, prompting the publishing of the research. While Democrats attempt to out-Ryan Republicans and persuade voters that they can handle issues at the U.S.-Mexico border, immigration is influencing the midterms in a manner that could decide who controls Congress.
There were no estimations of illegal immigrants in the Census Bureau report. Naturalization rates vary by ethnicity, but the data reveal that over half of the foreign-born have become citizens. The highest rates of naturalization are among those born in Asia and Europe, where the percentage is about two-thirds. Pre-2010 immigration accounted for around 2/3 of the foreign-born population.
The median age of the foreign-born population has risen five years to 46.7 years, indicating that some individuals have lived longer in the U.S. over the past twelve years. Between 2010 and 2022, there was an increase in the percentage of foreign-born people with a high school diploma or equivalent, rising from over two-thirds to over three-quarters of the population.
stay turned for development