US Historical Immigration Trends	Home > US Historical Immigration Trends

From its inception, the United States has been a country of immigrants. These charts focus on immigration patterns and characteristics of the immigrant population through time. By placing immigration to the United States in its broader historic context, the characteristics of today's migration flows and the immigrant communities they establish can be better understood.

• Immigration to the United States: A Historical Perspective
• Immigrants' Countries and Regions of Birth
• Immigrants in the US Labor Force
• Children in Immigrant Families
• Limited English Proficient (LEP)
• Geographic Mobility
• Age and Sex Distribution

Immigration to the United States: A Historical Perspective

• Annual Legal Immigration
  • Annual Number of Legal Permanent Residents, 1820 to 2010
  • By Country of Origin, 1986 to 2010
• New US Citizens
  • Annual Number of New Citizens, 1920 to 2010
  • By Country of Former Nationality, 1987 to 2010
• Refugees
  • Refugee Admissions: 1980 to 2010
  • Refugee, Amerasian, and "Entrant" Populations Admitted to the United States Between 1983 and 2007
    • Top Ten States of Initial Resettlement
    • Top Ten Sending Countries
• Immigrants Residing in the United States
  • Number and Share of the Total US Population, 1850 to 2010
  • Change by Decade, 1850 to 2010
  • Number and Share of the Total Population by State, 1990, 2000, and 2010
  • Mexican Immigrants: Number and Share of the Total Immigrant Population, 1850 to 2010

Immigrants' Countries and Regions of Birth

• Immigrant Population by Country of Birth Residing in the United States, 1960 to 2010
• Top Ten Countries of Immigration: 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010
• Top 15 Diaspora Groups, 2010
• Region of Birth, 1960 to 2010 (in millions)
• Region of Birth as a Percentage of the Total Immigrant Population, 1960 to 2010
• Region of Birth (Numbers and Shares), 1960 to 2010 (an interactive chart)

Immigrants in the US Labor Force

• Immigrants as a Percentage of the Total Population and of the Civilian Labor Force, 1970 to 2010
• Monthly Estimates of the Total Foreign-Born and Mexican/Central American-Born Labor Force, January 2000 to December 2010
• Unemployment Rates by Selected Demographic Characteristics, January 2000 to December 2010 (not seasonally adjusted)

Children Under 18 in Immigrant Families

• Number and Share of Children of Immigrants, 1990 to 2010
• Children in Immigrant and Native Families by State, 1990 to 2010
• Children in Immigrant Families by Age (0-17, 0-5, and 6-17) by State, 2010
• Children of Immigrants Under 18 in Poor and Low-Income Families by State, 2010

Limited English Proficient (LEP)

• LEP Adults (Age 18 and Older) by US Citizenship Status, by State, 2010
• Total LEP Population (Age 5 and Older): Number, Share, and Linguistic Diversity, by State

Geographic Mobility

• Geographic Mobility by Nativity, US Citizenship Status, and Hispanic Origin Between 2010 and 2011
• Reasons Why People Moved Between 2010 and 2011

Immigrants' Age and Sex Distribution

• Age-Sex Pyramids of the Native and Immigrant Populations, Including the Five Largest Immigrants Groups: 2000 and 2010
• Age Distribution of the Immigrant Population, 1870 to 2010
• Median Age of the Immigrant Population, 1870 to 2010
• Males per 100 Females Ratio Among the Immigrant Population, 1870 to 2010