One of every four children in the US has at least one foreign-born parent. These children of immigrants, who are a growing number of America’s kids, will help make up the next generation of workers and taxpayers. Ensuring they have access to early education and other public supports so they can reach their full potential is essential to the future of the US and each state.
These fact sheets present characteristics about children of immigrants and their parents, families, and households for all 50 states, DC, and the nation as a whole, using data from the 2005–18 US Census Bureau American Community Survey.
Across states, children of immigrants and their families tend to have deep US ties: the vast majority are US citizens, most have parents who have been in the US a decade or longer, and the majority have at least one US-citizen parent. Despite high rates of employment, however, children of immigrants’ families tend to have relatively low incomes. Public investments like tax credits, affordable housing, health insurance, education, and nutrition programs can help mitigate the effects of poverty, ensure a level playing field, and have positive economic payoffs.
More Information about Children of Immigrants
- Download a print version of the fact sheets for every state, DC, and the US
- Visualizing Trends for Children of Immigrants: explore characteristics of children of immigrants over time and across state and local geographies
- Children of Immigrants Data Tool: download and explore data on children of immigrants and other children
- Technical appendix: find information about our data and methods
Acknowledgments
This project was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation through the Urban Institute’s Low-Income Working Families initiative, a multiyear effort that focuses on the private- and public-sector contexts for families’ well-being. We thank the foundation for its support. Special thanks as well to Rebecca Ullrich and Wendy Cervantes at the Center for Law and Social Policy, Esubalew Dadi and Marisa Kirk-Epstein at Share Our Strength, Emily Ruskin at UnidosUS, Ann Morse at the National Conference of State Legislatures, and Dede Hill at the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy for providing guidance and feedback on the content and design of the fact sheets. We also appreciate the advice, input, and assistance of our Urban Institute colleagues Gina Adams, Hamutal Bernstein, Aaron Williams, Jerry Ta, Raymond Copsey, Serena Lei, David Hinson, and Liza Hagerman.
Please send any inquiries regarding this project to Urban’s external affairs team at [email protected].