American Community Survey Briefs

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

Nativity Status and Citizenship in 

the United States: 2009

Introduction

This report presents data on nativity status 

and citizenship at the national and state 

levels based on the 2009 American 

Community Survey (ACS). During the last 

four decades, both the native and foreignborn populations have increased in size.1

While the native-born population has 

remained the majority during this period, 

the foreign-born population has come 

to represent a greater share of the total 

population, increasing from 9.6 million 

or 4.7 percent in 1970, to 31.1 million or 

11.1 percent in 2000.2 According to the 

2009 ACS, 38.5 million of the 307 million 

residents in the United States were foreignborn, representing 12.5 percent of the total 

population (see Table 1).

Nativity Status and 

Citizenship

Historically, the majority of the population 

of the United States have been citizens—

either native-born or naturalized—and this 

has remained unchanged in recent decades. 

Since 1920, over 92 percent of the total 

population have been citizens.3 However, 

as the size of the foreign-born population 

has increased, the citizenship composition 

of this population has changed. In 1970, 

64 percent of the foreign-born population were naturalized citizens; by 2000, 

the percent naturalized had declined 

to 40 percent. In 2009, 44 percent of 

1 The terms native and native born are used interchangeably in this report. 2 Gibson, Campbell and Kay Jung. 2006. “Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population 

in the United States: 1850 to 2000.” U.S. Census 

Bureau: Population Division Working Paper, Number 

81. Available on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Web site at 

<www.census.gov/population/www/techpap.html>. 3 Note that information on citizenship was not 

collected in the 1960 census.

the foreign born were naturalized (see 

Figure 1). Of the 16.8 million naturalized 

U.S. citizens, 41 percent reported being 

naturalized in 2000 or later, while 59 percent reported naturalizing before 2000. 

Considerable variation in citizenship status 

is evident by region and country of birth 

(see Figure 2), as more recent migrants are 

less likely to be naturalized. For example, 

over 55 percent of the foreign born from 

Europe and Asia were naturalized citizens, 

while only 32 percent of the foreign born 

from Latin America (including Mexico and 

other Central American countries) were 

naturalized citizens. Similarly, less than 

one-fourth of the foreign born from Mexico 

were naturalized.

Issued October 2010

ACSBR/09-16

By

Thomas A. Gryn

Luke J. Larsen

Defining Nativity Status: 

Who Is Foreign Born?

Nativity status refers to whether a 

person is native or foreign born. 

The native-born population includes 

anyone who was a U.S. citizen or 

U.S. national at birth. Respondents 

who were born in the United States, 

Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area (U.S. 

Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

Samoa, or the Commonwealth of 

the Northern Mariana Islands), or 

abroad of a U.S. citizen parent or 

parents, are defined as native. The 

foreign-born population includes 

anyone who was not a U.S. citizen at birth, including those who 

have become U.S. citizens through 

naturalization.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

The states also exhibited notable 

differences in the percent of their 

foreign-born populations who have 

naturalized. States with the highest 

percent naturalized included Hawaii 

(58 percent), Vermont (57 percent), 

and Maine (55 percent), while states 

having among the lowest percent 

naturalized included Nebraska 

(30 percent), Mississippi (31 percent), North Carolina (31 percent), 

and Alabama (30 percent) (see 

Figure 3).4,5 In general, states in the 

Northeast and Midwest regions tend 

to have higher proportions of naturalized citizens in their foreign-born 

populations than states in the South.6

Texas had the lowest proportion 

naturalized (32 percent) among the 

four states with the largest foreignborn populations: California (9.9 

million), New York (4.2 million), Texas 

(4.0 million), and Florida (3.5 million).

California was the state with the 

largest foreign-born population, at 

almost 10 million, and also had the 

largest percent of any state’s total 

population who were foreign born, 

at 27 percent (see Table 2). Because 

of its large foreign-born population, 

California had the largest percentage of naturalized citizens in its 

total population (12 percent) of all 

states, as well as the highest proportion of noncitizens (15 percent). 

Other states with high proportions 

of naturalized citizens were New 

York (11 percent) and New Jersey 

(10 percent). 

4 The percents for Hawaii, Vermont, and 

Maine are not statistically different. 5 The percents for Nebraska, Mississippi, 

North Carolina, and Alabama are not statistically different. 6 The Northeast region includes 

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The South 

region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, 

the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, 

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, 

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, 

Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

The West region includes Alaska, Arizona, 

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, 

Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Midwest region 

includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North 

Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Table 1.

Population by Nativity Status and Citizenship: 2009

(Numbers in thousands. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Characteristic

Number

Margin 

of error1

(±) Percent

Margin 

of error1

(±)

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307,007 (X) 100.0 (X)

 Native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268,489 116 87.5 –

U.S. citizen, born in the 

United States. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264,367 119 86.1 –

U.S. citizen, born in Puerto Rico or 

U.S. Island Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,704 30 0.6 –

U.S. citizen, born abroad of 

American parent(s). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,418 28 0.8 –

 Foreign born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,517 116 12.5 –

U.S. citizen by naturalization. . . . . . . . 16,846 68 5.5 –

Not a U.S. citizen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,671 120 7.1 –

(X) Not applicable.

– Represents or rounds to zero.

1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error 

is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size 

of the estimates, the less reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the 

estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent confidence interval.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009.

Figure 1. 

The Foreign-Born Population by Citizenship Status, 

Showing Year of Naturalization for Naturalized 

Citizens: 2009

(Percent distribution. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality 

protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

www.census.gov/acs/www)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009.

Not a 

U.S. citizen

56.3

U.S. citizen by 

naturalization

43.7

Naturalized 

2000 or later

41.4

 Naturalized 

before 1980 

16.0

Naturalized 

1980 to 1989

14.6

Naturalized 

1990 to 1999

28.0
U.S. Census Bureau 3

Source and Accuracy

Data presented in this report are 

based on people and households 

that responded to the ACS in 2009. 

The resulting estimates are representative of the entire population. 

All comparisons presented in this 

report have taken sampling error 

into account and are significant 

at the 90 percent confidence level 

unless otherwise noted. Due to 

rounding, some details may not 

sum to totals. For information on 

sampling and estimation methods, 

confidentiality protection, and 

sampling and nonsampling errors, 

see the “ACS Accuracy of the Data 

(2009)” document located at 

<www.census.gov/acs/www

/Downloads/data_documentation

/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of

_Data_2009.pdf>.

What is the American 

Community Survey?

The American Community Survey 

(ACS) is a nationwide survey 

designed to provide communities 

with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and 

housing data for the nation, states, 

congressional districts, counties, 

places, and other localities every 

year. It has an annual sample size 

of about 3 million addresses across 

the United States and Puerto Rico 

and includes both housing units 

and group quarters (e.g., nursing 

facilities and prisons). The ACS is 

conducted in every county throughout the nation and every municipio 

in Puerto Rico, where it is called 

the Puerto Rico Community Survey. 

Beginning in 2006, ACS data for 

2005 were released for geographic 

areas with populations of 65,000 

and greater. For information on the 

ACS sample design and other topics, visit <www.census.gov/acs

/www>.

Additional information about the 

foreign-born population is available 

on the Census Bureau’s Web site at 

<www.census.gov/population

/www/socdemo/foreign/index

.html>.

Figure 2. 

Percentage of the Foreign-Born Population 

Who Are Naturalized by Place of Birth: 2009

(Percent distribution. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection,

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Note: Latin America consists of the subcategories Caribbean, Mexico,

Other Central America, and South America.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Northern Oceania

America

South Africa

America

Other

Central 

America

Latin Caribbean Mexico

America

Europe Asia

Percent
4 U.S. Census Bureau

MT ME

AK

NM

OR MN

KS

SD

ND

MO

WA

FL

IL IN

WI NY

PA

MI

OH

IA

MA

CT 

AZ

NV

TX

CA CO

WY

UT

ID

NE

OK

GA

AR

AL

NC

MS

LA

TN

KY

VA

SC

WV

RI 

DE 

MD 

DC 

NJ 

Figure 3.

Percentage of the Foreign-Born Population Who Are 

Naturalized, by State: 2009 

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

VT

HI

NH

United States = 43.7 percent

Percentage naturalized

50.0 and higher

43.0 to 49.9

37.0 to 42.9

33.5 to 36.9

Lower than 33.5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009.

PR
U.S. Census Bureau 5

Table 2.

Population by Nativity and Citizenship Status for States and Puerto Rico: 2009

(Numbers in thousands. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, 

and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Area

Total 

population

Native Foreign born

Total Naturalized U.S. citizen Not a U.S. citizen

Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±)

 United States . . 307,007 87.5 – 12.5 – 5.5 – 7.1 –

Alabama. . . . . . . . . . . 4,709 96.9 0.1 3.1 0.1 0.9 0.1 2.2 0.1

Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . 698 93.0 0.5 7.0 0.5 3.7 0.4 3.3 0.5

Arizona. . . . . . . . . . . . 6,596 86.0 0.3 14.0 0.3 4.5 0.2 9.5 0.3

Arkansas. . . . . . . . . . . 2,889 95.8 0.2 4.2 0.2 1.3 0.1 2.9 0.2

California. . . . . . . . . . . 36,962 73.1 0.1 26.9 0.1 12.3 0.1 14.6 0.1

Colorado. . . . . . . . . . . 5,025 90.3 0.3 9.7 0.3 3.2 0.1 6.5 0.3

Connecticut. . . . . . . . . 3,518 86.9 0.3 13.1 0.3 6.0 0.2 7.1 0.3

Delaware. . . . . . . . . . . 885 91.6 0.6 8.4 0.6 3.5 0.4 4.8 0.5

District of Columbia. . . 600 88.0 0.8 12.0 0.8 4.6 0.4 7.4 0.7

Florida. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,538 81.2 0.2 18.8 0.2 9.1 0.1 9.7 0.2

Georgia. . . . . . . . . . . . 9,829 90.6 0.2 9.4 0.2 3.2 0.1 6.1 0.2

Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,295 82.7 0.7 17.3 0.7 10.0 0.5 7.3 0.5

Idaho. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,546 93.7 0.4 6.3 0.4 2.1 0.2 4.2 0.3

Illinois. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,910 86.5 0.2 13.5 0.2 6.1 0.1 7.4 0.2

Indiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,423 95.6 0.1 4.4 0.1 1.5 0.1 2.8 0.1

Iowa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,008 96.1 0.1 3.9 0.1 1.4 0.1 2.5 0.2

Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,819 93.9 0.2 6.1 0.2 1.9 0.1 4.2 0.2

Kentucky. . . . . . . . . . . 4,314 97.0 0.1 3.0 0.1 0.9 0.1 2.0 0.2

Louisiana. . . . . . . . . . . 4,492 96.6 0.2 3.4 0.2 1.5 0.1 1.9 0.2

Maine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,318 96.7 0.3 3.3 0.3 1.8 0.2 1.5 0.2

Maryland. . . . . . . . . . . 5,699 87.2 0.2 12.8 0.2 5.8 0.2 7.0 0.2

Massachusetts. . . . . . . 6,594 85.7 0.3 14.3 0.3 7.0 0.2 7.3 0.2

Michigan. . . . . . . . . . . 9,970 93.8 0.1 6.2 0.1 3.0 0.1 3.2 0.1

Minnesota. . . . . . . . . . 5,266 93.2 0.2 6.8 0.2 3.0 0.1 3.8 0.2

Mississippi. . . . . . . . . . 2,952 98.0 0.2 2.0 0.2 0.6 0.1 1.4 0.2

Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . . 5,988 96.4 0.1 3.6 0.1 1.5 0.1 2.0 0.1

Montana. . . . . . . . . . . . 975 98.0 0.3 2.0 0.3 1.0 0.1 0.9 0.2

Nebraska. . . . . . . . . . . 1,797 94.1 0.2 5.9 0.2 1.8 0.2 4.1 0.2

Nevada. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,643 80.8 0.4 19.2 0.4 7.6 0.3 11.6 0.5

New Hampshire. . . . . . 1,325 94.8 0.4 5.2 0.4 2.7 0.3 2.5 0.2

New Jersey. . . . . . . . . 8,708 79.8 0.3 20.2 0.3 10.1 0.2 10.1 0.2

New Mexico. . . . . . . . . 2,010 90.2 0.5 9.8 0.5 3.3 0.2 6.4 0.4

New York. . . . . . . . . . . 19,541 78.6 0.2 21.4 0.2 11.2 0.1 10.2 0.2

North Carolina. . . . . . . 9,381 92.9 0.1 7.1 0.1 2.2 0.1 4.9 0.1

North Dakota. . . . . . . . 647 97.6 0.3 2.4 0.3 0.9 0.2 1.5 0.3

Ohio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,543 96.2 0.1 3.8 0.1 1.9 0.1 1.9 0.1

Oklahoma. . . . . . . . . . 3,687 94.9 0.2 5.1 0.2 1.8 0.1 3.4 0.2

Oregon. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,826 90.4 0.3 9.6 0.3 3.5 0.2 6.1 0.3

Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . 12,605 94.5 0.1 5.5 0.1 2.8 0.1 2.7 0.1

Rhode Island. . . . . . . . 1,053 87.3 0.7 12.7 0.7 6.0 0.4 6.6 0.6

South Carolina. . . . . . . 4,561 95.5 0.2 4.5 0.2 1.5 0.1 3.0 0.2

South Dakota. . . . . . . . 812 97.3 0.4 2.7 0.4 1.0 0.2 1.6 0.3

Tennessee. . . . . . . . . . 6,296 95.8 0.2 4.2 0.2 1.5 0.1 2.7 0.1

Texas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,782 83.9 0.1 16.1 0.1 5.1 0.1 10.9 0.1

Utah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,785 92.2 0.3 7.8 0.3 2.6 0.2 5.2 0.2

Vermont. . . . . . . . . . . . 622 96.7 0.4 3.3 0.4 1.9 0.2 1.4 0.3

Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,883 89.8 0.2 10.2 0.2 4.6 0.1 5.6 0.2

Washington. . . . . . . . . 6,664 87.8 0.2 12.2 0.2 5.4 0.2 6.7 0.2

West Virginia. . . . . . . . 1,820 98.7 0.1 1.3 0.1 0.6 0.1 0.7 0.1

Wisconsin. . . . . . . . . . 5,655 95.5 0.2 4.5 0.2 1.9 0.1 2.6 0.1

Wyoming. . . . . . . . . . . 544 96.9 0.4 3.1 0.4 1.1 0.2 2.0 0.4

Puerto Rico. . . . . . . . . 3,967 97.3 0.2 2.7 0.2 1.0 0.1 1.7 0.1

– Represents or rounds to zero.

1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error 

in relation to the size of the estimates, the less reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent 

confidence interval.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009.