How many immigrants live in the U.S.?
Answering the question as a part of: “Immigrants and the economy,” Economic Policy Institute. Just how many migrants and immigrants are living in the United States?
There were 47.8 million migrants and immigrants who resided in the United States as of 2023 (see Figure A), which includes all foreign-born persons of any immigration status and those who lack a status.
This estimate is based on American Community Survey (ACS) data, a commonly used source for the size of the immigrant population. Because the latest ACS data only run through 2023, we also show more recent data based on the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS counts 51.2 million foreign-born persons residing in the United States in 2024.
While the absolute number of foreign-born persons in the United States has increased by about 17 to 21 million since 2000, and by about 8 to 13 million since 2010, they make up just a slightly higher share of the total U.S. population today.
As Figure B shows, about 11.1% of the U.S. population were foreign-born in 2000 according to the ACS, and this figure increased by almost 2 percentage points a decade later (with immigrants making up 12.9% of the total U.S. population in 2010) and then rose to 14.3% in 2023. According to the Current Population Survey, the immigrant population has increased its share by less than 5 percentage points between 2000 and 2024.1
As the figures above suggest, 2023 and 2024 saw an increase in immigration, but there is some uncertainty about the exact size of that increase.2
Notes
1. EPI analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 1-Year 2022 microdata and Current Population Surveys.
2. See for example, Congressional Budget Office, “The Demographic Outlook: 2024 to 2054,” January 2024; Wendy Edelberg and Tara Watson, New Immigration Estimates Help Make Sense of the Pace of Employment, The Hamilton Project, The Brookings Institution, March 2024; Justin Fox, “Illegal US Border Crossings Aren’t Really Breaking Records,” Bloomberg, March 20, 2024.
I guess that depends on how you count them, aeh?
There is some validity to the whities argument that throughout history a stronger other has always pushed out the staid originals, if only as a genetic memory of Neanderthal and it doesn’t fly right over their pinheads
They call it “progress” …
Ten Bears:
Since they do twice the work of white America, perhaps they should count as 1+ natural born White Amercian in voting? When I was in the Corps, we had every nationality and color one could imagine. This included native Americans also. I wonder what Tr_mp is afraid of as he is aging out.