Latest statistics on immigration to the US published in annual data-rich article

WASHINGTON —The Migration Policy Institute’s online journal, the Migration Information Source, today published its annual compilation of some of the most frequently sought-after current and historical U.S. immigration statistics, including a detailed look at the nation’s 43.3 million immigrants.

This accessible, comprehensive resource, Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States, compiles data from MPI, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and State, and other sources.

The article answers questions such as: How does the current immigrant share of the U.S. population compare to earlier eras? How many green cards are issued annually? What are the top countries of origin for refugees and asylum seekers? How many children live in families with an immigrant parent? Have Mexican emigration rates changed? Are immigrants as likely as the U.S. born to have health care coverage?

Among other findings, the article reports that:

• While the overall immigrant population is at a numerical high, reaching 43.3 million people in 2015, the foreign-born share of the U.S. population (13.5 percent) remains below the 14.8 percent high recorded in 1890.
• Immigrants represented nearly 17 percent of the total civilian workforce in 2015. Of employed foreign-born workers, the largest share (31 percent) worked in management, professional and related occupations.
• While 29 percent of the immigrant population ages 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2015, educational attainment is rising for recent arrivals, with 48 percent of those entering between 2011 and 2015 having a college education.
• Nearly 18 million children under age 18 lived with at least one immigrant parent in 2015, accounting for 26 percent of the 69.9 million children in the United States. Approximately 5.1 million of these children—4.1 million of them U.S. citizens—lived with an unauthorized immigrant parent during the 2009-2013 period.
• Between 2000 and 2015, the five states with the largest percentage growth in the immigrant population were North Dakota (137 percent), Tennessee (109 percent), South Dakota (106 percent), South Carolina (101 percent) and Wyoming (96 percent).
• Since implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2014, health insurance coverage has improved for both immigrants and the U.S. born. From 2013 to 2015, the immigrant uninsured rate fell from 32 percent to 22 percent, and the rate for the native born fell from 12 percent to 7 percent.
• Sixteen percent of immigrants have entered the United States since 2010, 28 percent between 2000-2009 and the remainder prior to 2000.

The article is available in the Migration Information Source, which provides fresh analysis and data from top researchers on U.S. and international migration trends. Click here to sign up for the free Source newsletter, which includes a monthly feature on U.S. immigration policy developments, data-rich profiles of major immigrant populations in the United States and other articles on international and U.S. migration developments.

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank in Washington, DC dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national and international levels.