Last updated: 2026-10-19

US Immigration Statistics 2026: Population, Origins and Net Migration

The United States had about 50.2 million foreign-born residents (14.8% of the population) in the 2024 American Community Survey (CRS), and Pew's monthly-survey series peaked at a record 53.3 million in January 2025 (Pew). Unauthorized-population estimates range from 13.5 million to 15.8 million depending on the estimator and date. Estimates of net migration for 2025 range from negative (Brookings) to positive 1.3 million (Census, July 2024 to June 2025), because sources measure different periods and use different methods.

Last updated 19 October 2026. This page reports figures from government agencies and independent researchers side by side. No official DHS estimate of the unauthorized population for 2025 or 2026 was located.

Key figures

How many immigrants are in the US in 2026?

The most recent official benchmark is the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS), which counted 50.2 million foreign-born residents, about 14.8% of the population (CRS). No 2025 or 2026 ACS figure had been confirmed for publication as of this date.

"Foreign-born" covers naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, temporary visa holders and unauthorized immigrants. The Census Bureau does not ask whether a person is authorized to be in the country, so it does not publish an unauthorized count (CRS).

California is the largest state, with about 10.9 million foreign-born residents, or 27.6% of its population, in the 2024 ACS (CRS).

Has the US immigrant population fallen since 2025?

Two survey-based analyses say yes, but both carry caveats. Pew's tabulation of the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) shows the immigrant population reaching a record 53.3 million (15.8% of residents) in January 2025, then falling 2.6% to 51.9 million (15.4%) by June 2025. Pew describes this as the first decline since the 1960s (Pew).

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a research group that favours lower immigration levels, reported on 3 September 2026 that the foreign-born population fell by 2.9 million between January 2025 and July 2026, also using the CPS. CIS states a margin of error of about plus or minus 1.04 million on the foreign-born total at 90% confidence (CIS report; release). An earlier CIS estimate put the fall at 2.2 million between January and July 2025, including about 1.6 million unauthorized immigrants (CBS News).

Several caveats apply:

• Pew notes that part of the apparent fall may reflect lower survey response from immigrants rather than departures alone (Pew).
• A Migration Policy Institute demographer has said some households may now be reluctant to disclose non-citizen status, according to coverage of the CIS analysis (GlobeNewswire coverage).
• Researchers told CBS in 2025 that it was too early to call the change a mass exodus (CBS News).
• Survey data cannot separate removals, voluntary departures, fewer new arrivals and lower response rates from one another.

How many unauthorized immigrants are in the US?

Estimates range from 13.5 million to 15.8 million, depending on who is counting and for what date. No official DHS estimate for 2025 or 2026 was located. Estimates differ because they use different methods and data sources, such as the ACS residual method versus the CPS.

Details from the individual estimators:

• Of Pew's 14 million for 2023, about 6 million (just over 40%) had some temporary protection from deportation and about 8 million had neither status nor protection. About 10 million unauthorized immigrants were in the labor force (Pew).
• MPI said up to 40% of its 15.8 million held a "liminal" status in mid-2024, meaning some form of temporary or pending protection (MPI).
• Pew's view for 2025 is that the unauthorized population has probably begun to fall but likely remained above 2023 levels as of mid-2025 (Pew).

The Dallas Fed estimated that net unauthorized immigration averaged about -55,000 a month in the second half of 2025 (Fortune summary).

Where do US immigrants come from?

Mexico is the largest country of origin, with more than 11 million people, or 22% of the foreign-born population in mid-2023 (Pew). The table shows the five largest origin countries in Pew's mid-2023 data.

Source: Pew, mid-2023.

Among recent arrivals (2021 to 2023), Pew lists Mexico at 11%, India at 8%, Venezuela at 7%, Cuba at 6% and Colombia at 5% (Pew).

These figures describe national origin only. They say nothing about the characteristics of any individual.

Which states have the most immigrants?

California has the most, with 11.3 million foreign-born residents (28.4% of its residents) in 2023, according to Pew (Pew). Texas followed with more than 6 million, Florida with 5.4 million and New York with 5.0 million. By metropolitan area, New York City held 13% of all US immigrants, Los Angeles 9% and Miami 6% (Pew).

The ACS gives a slightly different California figure (about 10.9 million, 27.6%, for 2024) because it uses a different survey and year (CRS).

What is net international migration in 2025 and 2026?

Estimates for 2025 range from about negative 295,000 to positive 1.3 million, depending on the source and period. The Census Bureau, CBO and Brookings are measuring different things.

The sources conflict on the sign of the 2025 figure. CBO and Census show positive net immigration; Brookings, the Dallas Fed and CIS estimate negative or near-zero flows. Differences reflect the period covered (fiscal versus calendar year, mid-year versus full year) and how unauthorized exits are treated. CBO's figures here come from search-result summaries of its documents, because CBO pages could not be opened during research.

What did the Census Bureau report?

Census Vintage 2025 estimates, released 27 January 2026, show net international migration fell to 1.3 million for July 2024 to June 2025, from 2.7 million the year before, a 53.8% drop. The US population grew by 1.8 million (0.5%) over the year to July 2025, the slowest rate since the early pandemic. The Bureau said net international migration would fall to roughly 321,000 in 2026 if current trends continue, and cautioned that the estimate year spans two very different policy periods (Census press release; Census blog).

Net international migration fell in every state and the District of Columbia between 2024 and 2025. California's estimate dropped from 312,761 to 109,278. The five highest states (Florida, Texas, California, New York and New Jersey) held 47.9% of the national total (KTVU/Fox syndication of Census data).

What does CBO project for immigration and population?

CBO's January 2026 Demographic Outlook projects the US population rising from 349 million in 2026 to 364 million in 2056, with net immigration averaging 1.2 million a year from 2037 to 2056 (CBO; CBO).

CBO projects that deaths will exceed births from 2030. After that, net immigration is the only source of population growth, and without it the population would begin to shrink in 2030. CBO describes its fertility, mortality and immigration projections as highly uncertain (CBO).

What are the economic and fiscal effects of immigration?

Researchers report that lower immigration is changing labor-force growth, and CBO has estimated that the earlier surge in immigration reduced deficits, but no estimate of the net fiscal cost of the 2025-2026 reduction was located.

Fiscal estimates

• CBO's earlier analysis estimated that the 2021-2026 immigration surge (8.7 million net) would reduce deficits by about $0.9 trillion over 2024-2034, because added revenue exceeded added mandatory spending and interest (CBO immigration topic page).
• A reduction in immigration reverses part of that baseline effect. CBO's January 2026 deficit baseline of $1.9 trillion for fiscal 2026 does not break out immigration separately (CBO).
• CBO has also stated that research generally finds immigration raises state and local costs by more than it raises their revenues (CBO topic page).
• Direct enforcement spending under the 2025 reconciliation law totals $170.7 billion through fiscal 2029, according to the American Immigration Council (AIC). Other tallies differ by what they include; see Border and deportations.

Labor force and jobs

• Pew counted immigrants as 19% of US workers in June 2025, down from 20%, with more than 750,000 fewer immigrant workers than in January (Pew).
• "Breakeven" job growth is the monthly pace needed to hold the unemployment rate steady. The St. Louis Fed's 2026 range is 15,000 to 87,000 (St. Louis Fed). Goldman Sachs sees it falling from about 70,000 to 50,000 by the end of 2026 (Fortune).
• Brookings estimated breakeven growth of 20,000 to 50,000 for the second half of 2025, possibly turning negative in 2026, and the Dallas Fed found it negative in summer and fall 2025 (Fortune).
• The practical implication, per the same summary, is that weak payroll figures may overstate labor-market weakness, because slower labor-force growth lowers the number of jobs needed to keep unemployment flat.

What do Americans think about immigration?

Gallup found 73% of Americans in 2026 say immigration is good for the country, down from a record 79% in 2025 (Latin Times on Gallup; ADN/AP). The 73% figure was relayed by a secondary outlet; the Gallup immigration-levels question below was read from Gallup's own topline.

Question wording matters, and results vary across pollsters. Poll numbers describe opinion at the time of the survey and are not endorsements of any position.

Why do immigration statistics disagree?

Different sources count different populations over different periods using different surveys. The main differences are:

1. Different surveys. The ACS (used by CRS for 2024) and the monthly CPS (used by Pew and CIS) produce different totals, and CIS states a margin of error of about 1.04 million on its CPS-based figure (CRS; CIS).
2. Residual methods. The Census Bureau does not collect legal status. Unauthorized estimates subtract an estimate of the legal foreign-born from the total, so they depend on assumptions (CRS).
3. Response rates. If immigrant households answer surveys less often, counts fall even when the underlying population has not (Pew).
4. Reference periods. Census measures July to June; Brookings and CBO measure the calendar year; border agencies use a fiscal year that begins on 1 October.
5. Policy transition. The Census Bureau noted that its 2025 estimate year spans two very different policy periods (Census).

The next official ACS release is expected to provide the next benchmark for the foreign-born population, though its publication date was not confirmed at the time of writing.

Related pages

• US border encounters, ICE arrests and deportations
• US immigration policy and court rulings: travel bans, TPS, birthright citizenship
• ICE protests and unrest
• Somali communities
• World immigration overview
• Frequently asked questions