Foreign-born Population: 1994, Current Population Reports   [open pdf - 80KB]

"In 1994, 8.7 percent of the population of the United States was foreign-born- nearly double the percent foreign-born in 1970 (4.8 percent). While the percent foreign-born is at its highest level since before World War II, much greater proportions of the U.S. population were foreign-born during the early part of this century. From a high of 14.7 percent in 1910, the percent foreign-born declined to a low of 4.8 percent in 1970. Since that time, the percent has steadily increased. The foreign-born population is not distributed evenly throughout the country. California is home to 7.7 million foreign-born persons- more than one-third of all immigrants to the U.S. and nearly one-quarter of all California residents. New York ranks second with 2.9 million and Florida ranks third with 2.1 million foreign-born. Three other States have over 1 million foreign-born residents- Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey."