This report presents data on the foreign-born population at the national and state levels based on the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS). During the last four decades, the foreign-born population of the United States has continued to increase in size and as a percent of the total population: from 9.6 million or 4.7 percent in 1970, to 14.1 million or 6.2 percent in 1980, 19.8 million or 7.9 percent in 1990, and 31.1 million or 11.1 percent in 2000.¹ According to the 2009 ACS, there were 38.5 million foreign-born residents, representing 12.5 percent of the total population.² While the number of foreign born represents a historical high, the proportion of the total population is lower than during the great migration of the late 1800s and early 1900s, when it fluctuated between 13 percent and 15 percent.³ But more notable than the growth of the foreign-born population is the change in the distribution of origin countries over time.

In 1960, 75 percent of the foreign born were from countries in Europe. By 2009, over 80 percent of the foreign born were from countries in Latin America and Asia. Also since 1960, the foreign born increasingly have settled in states beyond the traditional gateway states of New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois. This report will discuss the size, country of origin, and distribution of the foreign-born population in 2009.

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¹ Gibson, Campbell and Kay Jung. 2006. “Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 1850 to 2000.” U.S. Census Bureau: Population Division Working Paper, Number 81 available on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Web site at <www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2006/demo/POP-twps0081.html>.
² In addition, since 1970, as the foreign-born population increased in size, it also became, on average, a younger population. In 1970, the median age of the foreign-born population was 52 years; by 2009, it was 41 years (Campbell and Jung, 2006; 2009 American Community Survey).
³ The foreign-born population represented 13.3 percent of the total population in 1880, 14.8 percent in 1890, 13.6 percent in 1900, 14.7 percent in 1910, and 13.2 percent in 1920. See Campbell and Jung, 2006.