Mapping Trends in Naturalizations: 

1980 to 2003 

John Simanski March 2006 

Every year hundreds of thousands of legal permanent 

residents (LPRs) become naturalized citizens. To

obtain citizenship, LPRs must fulfill certain age, 

residence, and admissions requirements. Once naturalized, they have nearly all of the same privileges, 

rights, and responsibilities as native-born citizens. 

Where do the newly naturalized live in the United 

States? The geographic distribution of persons 

naturalizing is concentrated in just six states, including 

California, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New

Jersey. Since 1980, the proportion of the total newly 

naturalized living in these six states has increased. In 

general, the residency pattern of persons naturalizing 

mirrors that of new LPRs but lags in time due to the five 

year residency requirement for naturalization for most 

LPRs. Additionally, the residence of new LPRs and 

new citizens will differ to some degree because the 

propensity to naturalize and the geographic distribution 

of LPRs vary by country of origin1

. This Office of 

Immigration Statistics Working Paper presents a visual 

analysis of the state of residence of newly naturalized 

citizens for the period 1980 to 2003. 

METHODS 

Data for this report were obtained from applications for 

naturalization (N-400), which are maintained in administrative case tracking systems of the Department of 

Homeland Security. Information on the state of residence comes from the mailing address provided by 

the applicants. 

Naturalization flows by state of residence were

tabulated for calendar years 1980 to 1989, 1990 to 

1999, and 2000 to 2003. These flows represent the 

total number of persons who naturalized during each 

time period, not the average population of naturalized 

citizens during each time period. The year 1980 was 

used as the starting point for the tabulations because 

 

1

 For more information on the trends in the geographic settlement 

patterns of new LPRs, see J. Simanski (2005), Mapping Trends in U.S.

Legal Immigration: 1980 to 2003. The report is available on the OIS

web site at http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/publications 

/TrendsRpt1980-2004.pdf. 

this was the beginning of the first full decade in which 

automated records for naturalizations were available. 

The analysis is based on the naturalization flow to the 

50 states and the District of Columbia. The percent of 

the total naturalization flow for each state and the District of Columbia was calculated for each time period. 

Map categories showing the naturalized percentage 

flow for each state were initially selected using the 

Natural Breaks method, also known as Jenks optimization. This procedure creates classes where the 

differences between categories are maximized while 

minimizing differences within classes. The maps were

then compared, and a standard set of proportional 

categories was selected to facilitate comparisons. 

RESULTS 

State Flows: 1980 to 2003 

Between 1980 and 1989, more than 2 million persons 

naturalized (see Table 1). Five states were home to 

almost 64 percent of the total naturalized flow (see

Table 2). The state with the highest percentage of naturalized citizens was California (28 percent), followed by

New York (17 percent), Florida (6.3 percent), New 

Jersey (6.1 percent), and Texas (6.0 percent). States 

ranked sixth through tenth in the number of persons 

naturalizing received 14 percent of the total flow and 

included Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, 

and Maryland. When combined, these ten states represented almost 78 percent of newly naturalized citizens. 

An additional 8 percent of the total flow was represented by states ranked 11th through 15th and included 

Michigan, Virginia, Washington, Ohio, and Connecticut. 

When combined, these 15 states accounted for 86 percent of the naturalization flow from 1980 to 1989. The 

map in Figure 1 shows the proportion of the flow of 

newly naturalized citizens for each state as a percent of 

the total flow from 1980 to 1989. 

Between 1990 and 1999, 4.7 million persons naturalized (see Table 1). This was more than double the 

number of LPRs who naturalized during the 1980s. The 

increase in naturalizations during the 1990s was due to 

several factors. A mandatory permanent resident card 

Office of

Immigration Statistics

Policy Directorate
Table 1. 

Naturalization Flow by State of Residence: 1980 to 1989, 1990 to 1999, and 

2000 to 2003

(Ranked by 1980 to 1989 data) 

1980 to 1989 1990 to 1999 2000 to 2003 

State of Residence Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ...................... 2,099,484 100.0 4,658,490 100.0 2,311,711 100.0

California .................... 592,859 28.2 1,610,933 34.6 741,939 31.8

New York.................... 358,863 17.1 747,162 16.0 387,116 16.6

Florida ........................ 132,002 6.3 411,465 8.8 197,383 8.5

New Jersey ................ 128,737 6.1 227,704 4.9 106,283 4.6

Texas ......................... 126,905 6.0 332,534 7.1 162,934 7.0

Illinois ......................... 102,289 4.9 227,749 4.9 122,740 5.3

Massachusetts ........... 57,427 2.7 110,690 2.4 67,944 2.9

Pennsylvania.............. 48,104 2.3 79,867 1.7 40,318 1.7

Hawaii ........................ 45,721 2.2 46,820 1.0 11,126 0.5

Maryland .................... 41,731 2.0 67,349 1.4 39,189 1.7

Michigan..................... 40,584 1.9 68,820 1.5 36,391 1.6

Virginia ....................... 36,904 1.8 82,194 1.8 40,668 1.7

Washington ................ 36,610 1.7 86,862 1.9 44,468 1.9

Ohio............................ 32,398 1.5 40,716 0.9 18,483 0.8

Connecticut ................ 30,110 1.4 63,513 1.4 22,201 1.0

Arizona ....................... 22,714 1.1 42,372 0.9 31,281 1.3

Colorado..................... 19,213 0.9 35,848 0.8 20,798 0.9

Minnesota................... 18,420 0.9 24,925 0.5 22,429 1.0

Georgia ...................... 18,353 0.9 53,789 1.2 37,878 1.6

Louisiana.................... 15,654 0.7 22,010 0.5 5,953 0.3

Oregon ....................... 14,654 0.7 21,149 0.5 17,177 0.7

North Carolina ............ 13,739 0.7 21,721 0.5 25,100 1.1

Missouri...................... 13,014 0.6 14,582 0.3 11,575 0.5

Wisconsin................... 11,832 0.6 10,631 0.2 13,481 0.6

Nevada....................... 11,109 0.5 25,540 0.5 12,925 0.6

Indiana ....................... 11,085 0.5 15,339 0.3 10,569 0.5

Oklahoma................... 10,815 0.5 12,251 0.3 5,882 0.3

Kansas ....................... 10,794 0.5 13,290 0.3 7,803 0.3

Rhode Island .............. 10,705 0.5 17,528 0.4 4,709 0.2

Utah............................ 8,274 0.4 11,951 0.3 6,675 0.3

Tennessee ................. 7,556 0.4 11,306 0.2 7,901 0.3

South Carolina ........... 6,983 0.3 9,473 0.2 4,234 0.2

New Mexico................ 6,473 0.3 5,904 0.1 3,229 0.1

Iowa............................ 5,846 0.3 4,146 0.1 4,576 0.2

Alabama ..................... 5,754 0.3 8,099 0.2 4,208 0.2

Alaska ........................ 5,505 0.3 5,892 0.1 3,082 0.1

Kentucky .................... 5,038 0.2 5,606 0.1 4,794 0.2

District of Columbia .... 4,672 0.2 11,068 0.2 4,027 0.2

Nebraska.................... 3,903 0.2 14,014 0.3 5,136 0.2

Arkansas .................... 3,663 0.2 3,700 0.1 1,786 0.1

New Hampshire.......... 3,023 0.1 5,456 0.1 2,960 0.1

Mississippi.................. 2,804 0.1 3,919 0.1 1,704 0.1

Maine ......................... 2,710 0.1 3,962 0.1 1,719 0.1

Delaware .................... 2,705 0.1 5,462 0.1 3,136 0.1

Idaho .......................... 2,497 0.1 4,237 0.1 912 - 

West Virginia .............. 2,326 0.1 2,017 - 980 - 

North Dakota .............. 1,671 0.1 1,304 - 774 - 

Vermont...................... 1,484 0.1 2,508 0.1 1,524 0.1

Montana ..................... 1,209 0.1 1,172 - 248 - 

Wyoming .................... 1,050 0.1 1,024 - 531 - 

South Dakota ............. 993 - 917 - 832 - 

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, administrative data (N-400 Naturalization Application) 

(“green card”) replacement program led 

some LPRs to naturalize rather than remain in LPR status. Additionally, beginning 

in 1994, the first of the 2.7 million immigrants legalized under the Immigration 

Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 

became eligible to naturalize. Legislative 

efforts during the mid-1990s restricting 

public benefits for non-citizens also led 

LPRs to naturalize. 

Seventy-one percent of the 4.7 million 

newly naturalized citizens were concentrated in just five states (see Table 2). 

These five states were California 

(35 percent), New York (16 percent), 

Florida (8.8 percent), Texas (7.1 percent), 

and Illinois (4.9 percent). States ranked

sixth through tenth received almost 

13 percent of the total flow. These states 

included New Jersey, Massachusetts, 

Washington, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. 

When combined, these ten states represented 84 percent of the total flow. States 

ranked 11th through 15th accounted for 

6 percent of newly naturalized citizens. 

These states included Michigan, Maryland, 

Connecticut, Georgia, and Hawaii. These 

15 states accounted for 90 percent of the 

total flow between 1990 and 1999. The 

map in Figure 2 shows the proportion of 

the newly naturalized citizen flow for each 

state as a percent of the total flow from 

1990 to 1999. 

Of the 2.3 million persons who naturalized

between 2000 and 2003, 69 percent 

resided in just five states (see Table 2). 

California was the leading state of 

residence, receiving almost 32 percent of 

the total flow. New York (17 percent), 

Florida (8.5 percent), Texas (7.0 percent), 

and Illinois (5.3 percent) were the next 

highest ranked states. States ranked sixth 

through tenth received almost 13 percent 

of newly naturalized citizens and included 

New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, 

Virginia, and Pennsylvania. When 

combined, these ten states accounted for 

almost 82 percent of the total flow. States 

ranked 11th through 15th were home to 

7.3 percent of the total flow and included 

Maryland, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, 

and North Carolina. The top 15 states 

accounted for 89 percent of all newly 

 

2 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics
Table 2. 

Naturalization Flow by Rank: 1980 to 1989, 1990 to 1999, and 2000 to 2003 

1980 to 1989 1990 to 1999 2000 to 2003 

State 

ranking States 

Number of

naturalizations

Percent of 

total 

naturalizations States 

Number of

naturalizations

Percent of 

total 

naturalizations States 

Number of 

naturalizations

Percent of 

total 

naturalizations

1 to 5 ......... CA, NY, FL, 

NJ, TX 

1,339,366 63.8 CA, NY, FL, 

TX, IL 

3,329,843 71.5 CA, NY, FL, 

TX, IL 

1,612,112 69.1

6 to 10 ....... IL, MA, PA, 

HI, MD 

295,272 14.1 NJ, MA, WA, 

VA, PA 

587,317 12.6 NJ, MA, WA, 

VA, PA 

299,681 12.9

11 to 15 ..... MI, VA, WA, 

OH, CT

176,606 8.4 MI, MD, CT, 

GA, HI 

300,291 6.4 MD, GA, MI, 

AZ, NC 

169,839 7.3

16 to 20 ..... AZ, CO, MN, 

GA, LA

94,354 4.5 AZ, OH, CO, 

NV, MN 

169,401 3.6 MN, CT, 

CO, OH, OR 

101,088 4.3

21 to 51 ..... All other 

states 

193,886 9.2 All other 

states 

271,638 5.8 All other 

states 

148,991 6.4

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, administrative data (N-400 Naturalization Application)

naturalized citizens. The map in Figure 3 

shows the proportion of the flow of newly 

naturalized citizens for each state as a 

percent of the total flow from 2000 

to 2003. 

NEXT STEPS 

Future analysis will examine trends in immigrant flows by metropolitan area as well 

as update the trends of naturalization 

flows. 

  

FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Visit the Office of Immigration Statistics 

Web page at http://www.dhs.gov/immigrationstatistics or http://uscis.gov/graphics/ 

shared/statistics. 

DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 3 
DE

DC

TX

CA

MT

AZ

ID

NV

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CO

IL

OR

UT

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WY

IA

NE

SD

MN

ND

OK

FL

WI

MO

AL

WA

GA

AR

LA

MI

IN

NC

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NY

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TN

KY

VA

OH

SC

ME

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VT

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NJ

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Office of

Immigration Statistics

Figure 1. Persons Naturalizing by State of Residence: 1980 to 1989

AK

HI

Hawaii is located

2,400 miles southwest

of mainland U.S.

Alaska is located 750 miles

northwest of mainland U.S.

and borders Canada.

0 100 miles

0100 miles

0 100 miles

D

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Statistics 4

Projection: Albers

Equal Area Conic

LEGEND

Naturalization flow

as a percent of

total flow

Source: U.S. Department

of Homeland Security,

administrative data

(N-400 Naturalization

Application)

1.00 to 2.99

3.00 to 9.99

10.00 to 19.99

0.05 to 0.99

20.00 to 28.24
DE

DC

TX

CA

MT

AZ

ID

NV

NM

CO

IL

OR

UT

KS

WY

IA

NE

SD

MN

ND

OK

FL

WI

MO

AL

WA

GA

AR

LA

MI

IN

NC

PA

NY

MS

TN

KY

VA

OH

SC

ME

WV

VT

NH

MD

NJ

MA

CT

RI

Office of

Immigration Statistics

Figure 2. Persons Naturalizing by State of Residence: 1990 to 1999

AK

HI

Hawaii is located

2,400 miles southwest

of mainland U.S.

Alaska is located 750 miles

northwest of mainland U.S.

and borders Canada.

0 100 miles

0100 miles

0 100 miles

D

H

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Statistics 5

Projection: Albers

Equal Area Conic

LEGEND

Naturalization flow

as a percent of

total flow

Source: U.S. Department

of Homeland Security,

administrative data

(N-400 Naturalization

Application)

1.00 to 2.99

3.00 to 9.99

10.00 to 19.99

0.02 to 0.99

20.00 to 34.58
DE

DC

TX

CA

MT

AZ

ID

NV

NM

CO

IL

OR

UT

KS

WY

IA

NE

SD

MN

ND

OK

FL

WI

MO

AL

WA

GA

AR

LA

MI

IN

NC

PA

NY

MS

TN

KY

VA

OH

SC

ME

WV

VT

NH

MD

NJ

MA

CT

RI

Office of

Immigration Statistics

Figure 3. Persons Naturalizing by State of Residence: 2000 to 2003

AK

HI

Hawaii is located

2,400 miles southwest

of mainland U.S.

Alaska is located 750 miles

northwest of mainland U.S.

and borders Canada.

0 100 miles

0100 miles

0 100 miles

D

H

S

Office of Im

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Statistics 6

Projection: Albers

Equal Area Conic

LEGEND

Naturalization flow

as a percent of

total flow

Source: U.S. Department

of Homeland Security,

administrative data

(N-400 Naturalization

Application)

1.00 to 2.99

3.00 to 9.99

10.00 to 19.99

0.01 to 0.99

20.00 to 31.82