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The United States is home to the largest immigrant population in the world in absolute numbers. According to the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, approximately 51.6 million foreign-born individuals resided in American territory, equivalent to roughly 15.2% of the total population. This figure already surpasses levels observed in recent decades and approaches the historical peaks of the early twentieth century, when the foreign-born share reached 14.8% in 1890.
Understanding who these immigrants are, where they come from, where they settle, and how they participate in the economy is essential for anyone considering a move to the United States. Today’s demographic profile helps anticipate support communities, receptive labor markets, and regions with infrastructure adapted for newcomers. This overview draws on official data from the Census Bureau, the Migration Policy Institute, the Pew Research Center, and the American Immigration Council, organized to provide a strategic reading of the American immigration landscape in 2026.
How Many Immigrants Live in the US Today
The number of foreign-born residents in the United States has grown consistently over recent decades. In 2010, there were approximately 40 million; in 2020, 44.1 million; and in 2024, 51.6 million according to preliminary ACS estimates. The pace accelerated between 2022 and 2024, reflecting post-pandemic recovery, the arrival of Ukrainian refugees under the Uniting for Ukraine program, Venezuelan, Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Haitian parolees under CHNV (suspended in October 2024), and the resumption of regular consular processing.
The current 15.2% of the total population includes naturalized citizens (approximately 24.5 million), lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders), temporary residents on work or student visas, and undocumented immigrants. The largest category remains naturalized citizens, who account for approximately 47% of the total immigrant population.
Immigration Status and Composition
The Migration Policy Institute estimates that approximately 11.7 million immigrants were in an undocumented status in 2023, a number that may have fluctuated in subsequent years due to border enforcement measures. This group represents approximately 22% to 23% of the total immigrant population and includes individuals who entered without inspection, overstayed their visas, or whose humanitarian statuses expired.
The vast majority, however, have regular status. Employment-based immigrant visas (EB-1 through EB-5) and family-based visas, humanitarian programs such as TPS, refugee status, and asylum, long-term nonimmigrant visas such as H-1B, L-1, F-1, and J-1, and the DV-1 diversity lottery program make up the universe of authorized entries each year.
Top Countries of Origin
Diversity of origins is a hallmark of contemporary American immigration. The leading countries of birth among foreign-born residents are, in descending order of magnitude:
- Mexico: approximately 10.5 million, maintaining its position as the largest immigrant community despite a relative decline over the past decade
- India: approximately 3.2 million, with strong concentration in technology, engineering, medicine, and academic research occupations
- China: approximately 2.5 million, including Hong Kong and Taiwan in some tabulations
- Philippines: approximately 2.1 million, historically tied to healthcare professions
- El Salvador: approximately 1.4 million
- Venezuela: approximately 770,000, a community that has grown substantially over the past five years
- Brazil: approximately 530,000, with accelerating growth in the Southeast and Massachusetts
- South Korea: approximately 1 million
Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and Cuba also rank among the 15 most common countries of origin.
Where Immigrants Settle
The geography of American immigration is concentrated in coastal states and large metropolitan areas. Five states account for approximately 60% of the entire immigrant population in the country.
States with the Highest Share
- California: approximately 27% of the state’s population was born abroad, with more than 10.5 million immigrants
- New Jersey: approximately 24%
- New York: approximately 23%
- Florida: approximately 22%, with strong recent growth
- Nevada: approximately 19%
Texas, Massachusetts, Washington, and Illinois also show proportions above the national average.
Major Immigrant Metropolitan Areas
The Miami–Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area leads the ranking, with approximately 41% of residents born abroad. Greater New York concentrates approximately 36%, while Los Angeles, San Francisco–San Jose, Houston, and Washington, D.C. round out the group of urban areas with the highest immigrant density. These metropolises offer diversified labor markets, established ethnic networks, and bilingual service infrastructure, factors that ease the friction of adjustment.
Workforce Participation
Immigrants account for approximately 18.6% of the civilian labor force according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a figure higher than their share of the total population. This overrepresentation reflects the group’s younger age structure and high rates of economic participation, especially among working-age men.
Sectors with a Decisive Presence
- Agriculture: approximately 70% of agricultural workers are immigrants, according to USDA surveys, with a strong concentration of Mexican and Central American origin
- Construction: approximately 25% of the sector’s workforce
- Hospitality and food services: approximately 22% of workers
- Healthcare: immigrants hold 18% of positions, with overrepresentation among physicians (28%), nurses (16%), and home health workers
- STEM: approximately 25% of scientists and engineers are immigrants, a figure that rises to 45% in doctoral research occupations
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Immigrants start new businesses at roughly twice the rate of native-born individuals. Studies from the Center for American Entrepreneurship indicate that 46% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children, including giants such as Google, Tesla, eBay, Zoom, and Moderna. In local communities, immigrant-run restaurants, markets, repair shops, and neighborhood services are pillars of commercial vitality in traditionally declining neighborhoods that have been revitalized by the arrival of new residents.
Fiscal and Social Security Contributions
The American Immigration Council estimates that immigrant households contributed approximately $651 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2023 and generated approximately $1.7 trillion in purchasing power. Even undocumented immigrants paid approximately $96.7 billion in taxes that same year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, including contributions to Social Security and Medicare from which they cannot benefit.
With the American fertility rate below replacement level (1.62 children per woman in 2024) and the aging of baby boomers, immigration has become the primary driver of demographic renewal. Without continued net immigration, the Congressional Budget Office projects that the working-age population would begin to contract within the next decade, undermining the sustainability of Social Security and the productive capacity of the economy.
Political and Regulatory Trends
The regulatory landscape has undergone significant changes since 2024. The federal administration has intensified interior enforcement measures, expanded detention capacity, and reduced the use of humanitarian parole programs. At the same time, demand for skilled workers in STEM, healthcare, and agriculture continues to drive pressure for reforms that would expand legal pathways, particularly the employment-based Green Card cap, which has been frozen at 140,000 per year since 1990.
For those planning to immigrate, three trends deserve attention: longer consular processing times at some posts, stricter scrutiny of financial and professional documentation, and the expansion of Premium Processing to more immigrant petition categories. Monitoring the monthly Visa Bulletin and updates to the USCIS Policy Manual is essential for long-term strategies.
What These Numbers Mean for Those Looking to Immigrate
The demographic landscape points to practical pathways. Brazilians looking to settle in the United States will find robust communities in Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Georgia, with Portuguese-language service infrastructure, churches, markets, and established professional networks. Technology professionals benefit from the hubs in California, Washington, Texas, and New York. Healthcare professionals find demand in virtually every state, with critical shortages in rural areas that enable programs such as J-1 waiver and Conrad 30. The choice of destination within the United States is as strategic as the choice of visa category, and demographic data offer the initial map for that decision.
Victoria Harper
Editor-in-Chief
Leading journalism and editorial content at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps make immigration topics clear, trustworthy, and easy to understand. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.
