Abstract
The number and share of children with at least one immigrant parent, the percentage of children of immigrants who are U.S. citizens, and the share of children of immigrants vs. children with native parents who are poor are just some of the data this snapshot (in English and Spanish) provides.
Contact: Stu Kantor, (202) 261-5283, skantor@urban.org
Simona Combi, (202) 261-5709, scombi@urban.org
More than 38 million adults in the United States were born in another country. What do we know about their children?
These statistics are drawn from “Children of Immigrants: National and State Characteristics,” by Karina Fortuny, Randy Capps, Margaret Simms, and Ajay Chaudry. The Urban Institute report complements a new interactive online data tool that allows easy comparisons of groups and characteristics and creates customized charts showing the results.
Number of children in 2005–06 (most recent data) with at least one immigrant parent: 16 million
Number of children in 1990 with at least one immigrant parent: 8 million
Percentage of all kids who are children of immigrants: 23
State with largest share of children with an immigrant parent: California, 49%
State with smallest share of children with an immigrant parent: West Virginia, 2%
State with sharpest increase in number of children of immigrants, 1990–2006: North Carolina, 394%
State with least increase in number of children of immigrants, 1990–2006: Louisiana, 11%
Number of states in which children of immigrants are more than 10 percent of all kids: 29
States that together are home to two-thirds of all children of immigrants: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey
Percentage of children 5 and under with immigrant parents: 24
Percentage of children 6 to 17 with immigrant parents: 21
Percentage of children of immigrants who are U.S. citizens: 86
Percentage of children of immigrants who are poor: 22
Percentage of children of natives who are poor: 16
Percentage of children of immigrants who are low-income (less than twice the poverty level): 51
Percentage of children of natives who are low-income: 35
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