The Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) provides the public, academics, and policy-makers with tailored analysis of U.S. Census data through its Immigration Data on Demand (iDod) service.
In recent months, the IIR iDod team worked on several iDod reports on interesting immigrant groups and geographies. This included a national-level analysis of immigrants from Asia and South Asia and state-level analyses of all the immigrants in Florida and Virginia.
Asian Immigrants in the United States
The share of Asian immigrants in the immigrant population has been increasing in the current century, and they comprised about one-third of the immigrant population in 2020. Contrary to the common perception, Asian immigrants make up a significant portion of the immigrant population in most parts of the country, not just the East and West coasts.
Asian Immigrants in the United States at the County Level
We find that Asian immigrants are relatively more educated compared to all other immigrants, and more than half of the Asian immigrants (54%) have a Bachelor's or higher education. The rate is not only higher than non-Asian immigrants (23%) but also higher than the native-born population (33%). Our detailed fact sheet shows that Asian immigrants are quite different from all other immigrants both in terms of demography and labor market outcomes.
South Asian Immigrants in the United States
South Asian immigrants comprise about 8 percent of the immigrants in the United States. This immigrant community is one of the fastest growing immigrant communities in the United States. More than two-thirds of the South Asian immigrants arrived after 2000, compared to less than half for the immigrants born outside of South Asia. The top three states by percentage of South Asian immigrants out of the total state immigrant population are Ohio (18%), Michigan (16%), and Virginia (15%).
South Asian Immigrants in the United States at the County Level
South Asian immigrants, 72 percent of whom have a Bachelor's degree or higher, on average earn significantly higher than immigrants from elsewhere.
Educational Attainment among South Asians and all other Immigrants (Ages 25+)
View the full fact sheet about South Asian immigrants in the United States.
Immigrants in Florida
About one-fifth of the state population in Florida are immigrants, which makes it one of the top five states in terms of the percentage of immigrants in the state population. Florida has traditionally been home to many Cuban immigrants due to its geographical proximity. The most recent American Community Survey (ACS) data shows that one out of five immigrants in Florida were from Cuba.
The majority of immigrants (55%) in Florida speak Spanish at home and it is higher than the percentage of Spanish speakers at the national level (42%). Despite the higher share of Spanish speakers, Florida immigrants are similar in terms of English proficiency. View the full fact sheet about immigrants in Florida.
Countries of Birth Among Immigrants in Florida
Immigrants in Virginia
Virginia, with 13 percent of its population being immigrants, is similar to the rest of the United States (14%) regarding the percentage of immigrants in the total population. Within Virginia, counties closer to Washington, D.C. typically have a higher fraction of immigrants in the total county population. Immigrants in Virginia are more diverse than the rest of the United States in terms of country of origin and languages spoken. View the full fact sheet about immigrants in Virginia.
Top Five Languages Spoken at Home
About iDod
Immigration Data on Demand (iDod) fact sheets demonstrate how immigrants contribute to the economy and society of the United States. Ultimately, the goal of iDod is to connect people with accurate data on immigrant populations.
In addition to providing a service to the community, iDod offers Graduate Research Assistants at the IIR the opportunity to refine their quantitative and geospatial research skills thorough fulfilling tailored data requests. In this way, the iDod service plays a key role in the IIR's goal to train and equip graduate students with the conceptual and methodological tools to be the next generation of migration researchers.
Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to support our work in training the next generation of migration researchers and continuing to offer our iDod service free of charge to the community.
Click here to learn about iDod methodology.
Data Source: All analyses in iDod reports are based on source data from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.
You can search and view our most recent fact sheets on our website. Opportunities to request a customized fact sheet will resume on September 15, 2024.
August 13, 2024