11.1%
2000 (latest)
FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION, DECENNIAL CENSUS
percent · 1850–2000 · neither direction is "better" · U.S. Census Bureau, Working Paper 81, Table 1
9.7%
1850
14.8%
high · 1890
4.7%
low · 1970
+1.4 pts
since 1850
┊ dashed lines mark 1979 Oil shock & inflation peak · 1987 Black Monday crash · 1991 Gulf War recession
Method & caveats. Sixteen decennial observations from 1850–2000, not annual ACS. Published percentage in the foreign-born column. For 1850/1860 the source assumes enslaved people were native-born; 1890 excludes certain Indian Territory/reservation populations. 1970 uses the 15-percent sample. Breaks: Alaska and Hawaii included from 1960; historical geography and nativity coverage vary.
Sources
Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:
- https://www2.census.gov/library/working-papers/2006/demo/pop-twps0081/tab01.xls
- https://github.com/danielmiessler/substrate/tree/main/Data/US-Family-And-Society
Data
| Year | Foreign-born population, decennial census | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 11.1% | +3.2 pts |
| 1990 | 7.9% | +1.7 pts |
| 1980 | 6.2% | +1.5 pts |
| 1970 | 4.7% | −0.7 pts |
| 1960 | 5.4% | −1.5 pts |
| 1950 | 6.9% | −1.9 pts |
| 1940 | 8.8% | −2.8 pts |
| 1930 | 11.6% | −1.6 pts |
| 1920 | 13.2% | −1.5 pts |
| 1910 | 14.7% | +1.1 pts |
| 1900 | 13.6% | −1.2 pts |
| 1890 | 14.8% | +1.5 pts |
| 1880 | 13.3% | −1.1 pts |
| 1870 | 14.4% | +1.2 pts |
| 1860 | 13.2% | +3.5 pts |
| 1850 | 9.7% | — |
Also in Family & Society