American Community Survey Shows Record Size and Growth in Foreign-Born Population in 2023
Other Census Bureau data shows growth is even larger
By Steven A. Camarota on September 12, 2024
The Census Bureau today released the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS), which shows a total foreign-born or immigrant population (legal and illegal) of 47.83 million in July 2023 — an increase of 1.65 million compared to the 2022 ACS. The size of the foreign-born population and the year-over-year increase are the largest the survey has ever shown.1 At 14.3 percent of the total U.S. population, the share is also a record in the ACS.
The bureau also released on Tuesday, September 10, the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey (ASEC CPS), which shows a foreign-born population of 51.26 million as of March 2024 — an increase of 2.48 million over March 2023. The ASEC CPS shows the foreign-born were 15.5 percent of the total U.S. population.2 As with the ACS, the total size, single-year increase, and share of the U.S. population that is foreign- born in the 2024 ASEC CPS are all new record highs for the survey.3
(The likely reasons for the differing numbers are differing methodologies as well as the fact that the ASEC CPS is more recent, reporting March 2024 numbers, rather than the ACS's July 2023.)
The Census Bureau is clear that illegal immigrants are included in their survey data. As record-setting as these results are, the numbers may still significantly understate the scale of immigration to the United States, particularly in the ACS. For one thing, there is monthly data collected by the Census Bureau that shows even higher numbers, which the Center for Immigration Studies has reported on over the last two years. But even on their own terms, the new ACS and ASEC CPS show unprecedented levels of growth.
In interpreting the estimates below, please note that the margin of error for the foreign-born population in the ACS is ±191,000 in 2023, and ±575,000 for the 2024 ASEC CPS.
https://cis.org/Camarota/American-Community-Survey-Shows-Record-Size-and-Growth-ForeignBorn-Population-2023
