US Immigrant Population, Both Documented and Undocumented, at 44.4 Million

The United States has more than 44 million immigrants, more than any other country in the world. The US immigrant population accounted for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants in 2017, statistics released by Pew Research Center indicate.

The US population of people born outside the country reach 44.4 million in 2017, a new record, and today immigrants account for 13.6% of the US population.

77% of the 44.4 million immigrants are in the US legally. 27% of immigrants were permanent residents in 2017, 5% were temporary residents (such as those on student or tourist visas), while 23% were unauthorized immigrants, Pew data shows. In total, there were 10.5 million unauthorized in 2017, down from a record high of 12.2 million in 2007.

Mexico has the highest number of immigrants living in the US. In 2017, 11.2 million immigrants in the US came from Mexico - accounting for 25% of all immigrants in the US. China, India, the Philippines and El Salvador followed with 6%, 6%, 5%, and 3% respectively of the immigrants living in the US.

According to Pew Research, 45% of all 44.4 million immigrants live in three states; California, Texas, and New York. A total of 10.6 million immigrants lived in California in 2017, roughly 24% of the state’s 39.4 million residents in 2017.

While immigrants as a whole have lower levels of education than US-born citizens, immigrants from South and East Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa were more likely than US-born citizens to have a bachelor’s or an advanced degree.

In terms of labor force, immigrants made up some 17% of the total civilian labor force in the United States.