2010 American Community Survey and Census Data on the Foreign Born by State	Home > ACS and Census Data

While the immigrant population of the United States increased by 8.8 million between 2000 and 2010, the impact of this growth varied considerably from state to state in terms of population size and characteristics. To facilitate analysis of these differences, the interactive map below provides national and state-by-state data on immigrant populations from the 1990 and 2000 Decennial Censuses and the 2009 and 2010 American Community Surveys (ACS). Click the desired state to generate fact sheets about the demographic & social, language & education, workforce, and income & poverty characteristics.

A sampling of the types of data included in each of the four fact sheets for each state (based on the 2009 ACS):

• Demographic and Social: top countries of birth, geographic mobility, children in immigrant families;
• Language and Education: rates of limited English proficiency and levels of educational attainment, rates of linguistic isolation, and adult English literacy;
• Workforce: immigrants’ share among all, low-wage, and high-wage workers, top occupations and industries, skill underutilization of college-educated immigrants;
• Income and Poverty: average incomes, income distributions, poverty rates.

State Rankings (Updated with the 2010 ACS data)

• Number of Foreign Born by State (1990, 2000, and 2010)
• Percent Foreign Born by State (1990, 2000, and 2010)
• Numeric Difference in the Foreign Born by State (1990, 2000, and 2010)
• Percent Change in the Foreign Born by State (1990, 2000, and 2010)

Notes: The noticeable increase in the number and share of the foreign born between 2009 and 2010 is partly attributed to changes in population weights between the two years (with ACS data prior to 2010 weighted to the 2000 Census, while the 2010 ACS is weighted to the 2010 Census). Higher response rates associated with the increased marketing and visibility surrounding the Decennial Census 2010 year likely also contributed to the shifts between the 2009 and 2010 ACS.

To view the 2000 version of the data tool, click here.

This data tool is a project of MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. It was made possible with generous support from Carnegie Corporation of New York.