Mapping Trends in U.S. Legal Immigration: 

1980 to 2003 

John Simanski September 2005 

The residence of foreign nationals at the time they become legal permanent residents (LPRs) in the United 

States is concentrated in just six states. (For a definition of the term legal permanent resident, see Box 1.) 

These states include: California, New York, Texas, 

Florida, New Jersey, and Illinois. Despite this concentration, the LPR flow has become more dispersed. 

Virginia, Washington, Maryland, North Carolina, and 

Georgia have accounted for a larger share of the total 

LPR flow. LPRs settling in these states accounted for 

almost 6 percent of the total LPR flow in 1980, but over 

10 percent of the total flow in 2003. This Office of 

Immigration Statistics Working Paper presents a visual 

analysis of the state of residence of foreign nationals 

who became LPRs between calendar years 1980 

and 2003. 

METHODS 

Data for this report were obtained from applications for 

LPR status, 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 LPR applicants. 

For foreign nationals living abroad at the time of application, residence reflects their initial address in the 

United States. For foreign nationals already living in the 

United States, residence presumably reflects their address at the time they adjusted to LPR status. 

LPR 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 foreign 

nationals who were granted LPR status during each 

time period, not the average population of LPRs. The 

year 1980 was used as the starting point for the tabulations because this was the first full decade in which 

automated records for LPRs were available. The 

analysis is based on LPR flow to the fifty states and the 

District of Columbia. The percent of total LPR flow for 

each state and the District of Columbia was calculated 

for each time period. 

For the maps, categories showing the LPR 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 

Between 1980 and 1989, more than 6 million foreign 

nationals became LPRs (see Table 1). Five states were 

home to almost 69 percent of the total LPR flow during 

this time period (see Table 2). The state with the highest percentage of new LPRs was California1

. Almost 

32 percent of all new LPRs chose to reside in California 

between 1980 and 1989. This was followed by New

York (17 percent), Texas (8.7 percent), Florida 

(6.4 percent), and Illinois (5.2 percent). States ranked 

sixth through tenth in the number of new LPRs received 12 percent of the total flow and included New

Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and 

Maryland. When combined, these ten states represented 81 percent of new LPRs. The proportion of 

new LPRs in the states ranked 11th through 15th represented 6.5 percent of the total. These states included

Washington, Michigan, Hawaii, Connecticut, and 

 

1

 The 2.7 million foreign nationals legalized under the Immigration

Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 accounted for almost 57 percent of the total LPR flow between 1989 and 1991. Seventy-one percent of all new LPRs in California during this time period were legalized

under IRCA. By decade, foreign nationals legalized under IRCA represented 13 percent of the LPR flow between 1980 and 1989 and nearly

20 percent between 1990 and 1999. For California, IRCA accounted for

almost 24 percent of the LPR flow during 1980 and 1989 and nearly 

33 percent during the 1990s. 

Box 1. 

Defining “Legal Permanent Resident” 

A legal permanent resident (LPR) is a foreign 

national who has been granted lawful permanent 

residence in the United States. LPRs, more 

commonly known as “green card” recipients, are 

permitted to live and work anywhere in the United 

States, to own property, to attend public schools, 

to join certain branches of the Armed Forces, and 

may also apply to become U.S. citizens if they

meet certain eligibility requirements. 

Office of

Immigration Statistics

Management Directorate
Table 1. 

LPR 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 ....................... 6,246,921 100.0 9,315,744 100.00 3,667,847 100.0

California .................... 1,993,304 31.9 2,911,595 31.3 969,539 26.4

New York.................... 1,043,317 16.7 1,394,416 15.0 423,865 11.6

Texas ......................... 541,889 8.7 823,714 8.8 296,700 8.1

Florida ........................ 399,407 6.4 722,765 7.8 341,912 9.3

Illinois ......................... 322,475 5.2 453,971 4.9 163,621 4.5

New Jersey ................ 308,266 4.9 460,072 4.9 199,490 5.4

Massachusetts ........... 149,459 2.4 212,094 2.3 105,720 2.9

Virginia ....................... 104,946 1.7 178,819 1.9 93,651 2.6

Pennsylvania.............. 103,489 1.7 156,139 1.7 72,717 2.0

Maryland .................... 102,643 1.6 167,537 1.8 82,081 2.2

Washington ................ 102,110 1.6 182,863 2.0 84,571 2.3

Michigan..................... 85,213 1.4 143,370 1.5 73,194 2.0

Hawaii ........................ 75,389 1.2 73,634 0.8 22,132 0.6

Connecticut ................ 72,446 1.2 98,377 1.1 42,653 1.2

Arizona ....................... 68,759 1.1 133,701 1.4 58,349 1.6

Ohio............................ 64,858 1.0 87,543 0.9 48,431 1.3

Georgia ...................... 52,517 0.8 122,302 1.3 65,710 1.8

Minnesota................... 51,636 0.8 73,763 0.8 41,956 1.1

Colorado..................... 50,706 0.8 79,318 0.9 44,730 1.2

Oregon ....................... 42,423 0.7 82,055 0.9 37,861 1.0

Louisiana.................... 37,674 0.6 34,061 0.4 12,202 0.3

Wisconsin................... 32,862 0.5 43,829 0.5 24,690 0.7

North Carolina ............ 32,780 0.5 72,224 0.8 46,033 1.3

Nevada....................... 30,332 0.5 61,445 0.7 33,054 0.9

New Mexico................ 29,657 0.5 45,052 0.5 15,079 0.4

Oklahoma................... 29,378 0.5 33,714 0.4 14,221 0.4

Missouri...................... 28,400 0.5 43,137 0.5 28,596 0.8

District of Columbia .... 27,301 0.4 35,463 0.4 10,842 0.3

Rhode Island .............. 25,784 0.4 28,117 0.3 11,269 0.3

Indiana ....................... 24,826 0.4 38,935 0.4 22,586 0.6

Kansas ....................... 23,814 0.4 33,849 0.4 17,080 0.5

Utah............................ 22,175 0.4 34,594 0.4 17,216 0.5

Tennessee ................. 21,877 0.4 34,893 0.4 20,516 0.6

Iowa............................ 17,301 0.3 24,227 0.3 17,281 0.5

Alabama ..................... 14,787 0.2 18,698 0.2 8,475 0.2

South Carolina ........... 14,470 0.2 22,779 0.2 10,035 0.3

Kentucky .................... 11,882 0.2 18,756 0.2 15,677 0.4

Arkansas .................... 10,153 0.2 12,762 0.1 8,804 0.2

Nebraska.................... 9,136 0.1 18,547 0.2 12,844 0.4

Alaska ........................ 8,680 0.1 11,779 0.1 5,509 0.2

Idaho .......................... 8,564 0.1 20,564 0.2 8,269 0.2

New Hampshire.......... 7,919 0.1 12,114 0.1 9,581 0.3

Maine ......................... 7,286 0.1 8,484 0.1 4,624 0.1

Mississippi.................. 7,009 0.1 8,933 0.1 4,365 0.1

Delaware .................... 5,540 0.1 11,808 0.1 6,650 0.2

West Virginia .............. 5,529 0.1 5,635 0.1 2,438 0.1

Vermont...................... 3,769 0.1 6,086 0.1 3,393 0.1

Montana ..................... 3,739 0.1 4,503 -- 1,856 0.1

North Dakota .............. 3,517 0.1 5,126 0.1 2,121 0.1

Wyoming .................... 2,899 -- 2,952 -- 1,100 --

South Dakota ............. 2,629 -- 4,630 -- 2,558 0.1

-- Figure rounds to 0.0. Note: Percent column entries may not sum to total due to rounding. Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, administrative data (LPR application)

Arizona. When combined, these 15 states 

accounted for 88 percent of new LPRs. 

The map in Figure 1 shows the LPR flow

for each state as a percent of the total 

LPR flow from 1980 to 1989. 

Between 1990 and 1999, more than 

9 million persons became LPRs. Sixtyeight percent of all new LPRs resided in 

just five states (see Table 2). The top five 

states were California (31 percent), New

York (15 percent), Texas (8.8 percent), 

Florida (7.8 percent), and New Jersey 

(4.9 percent) (see Table 1). Thirteen 

percent of new LPRs during the 1990s 

resided in the states ranked sixth through 

tenth and included Illinois, Massachusetts, 

Washington, Virginia, and Maryland. When 

combined, these ten states represented 

almost 81 percent of all new LPRs. The 

proportion of new LPRs in the states 

ranked 11th through 15th represented 

7 percent of the total. These states included Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, 

Georgia, and Connecticut. The top 15 

states represented nearly 88 percent of 

new LPRs. The map in Figure 2 shows the 

proportion of the LPR flow for each state 

as a percent of the total LPR flow from 

1990 to 1999. 

Between 2000 and 2003, nearly 3.7 million 

persons became LPRs. Sixty-one percent 

of all new LPRs during this time period 

resided in just five states. These states 

included California (26 percent), New York 

(12 percent), Florida (9.3 percent), Texas 

(8.1 percent), and New Jersey (5.4 percent) (see Table 1). States ranked sixth 

through tenth received 14 percent of the 

total flow. These states included Illinois, 

Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington, and 

Maryland. When combined, these ten 

states represented 75 percent of all new

LPRs. States ranked 11th through 15th

accounted for almost 9 percent of new

LPRs. These states included Michigan, 

Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Ohio. 

Eighty-four percent of new LPRs resided 

in these 15 states. The map in Figure 3 

shows the proportion of LPR flow for each 

state as a percent of the total LPR flow

from 2000 to 2003. 

 

2 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics
Table 2. 

LPR 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 

LPRs 

Percent 

of total 

LPRs States

Number of 

LPRs

Percent 

of total 

LPRs States 

Number of 

LPRs 

Percent 

of total 

LPRs 

1 to 5 ............ CA, NY, TX, FL, IL 4,300,392 68.8 CA, NY, TX, FL, NJ 6,312,562 67.8 CA, NY, FL, TX, NJ 2,231,506 60.8

6 to 10 .......... NJ, MA, VA, PA, MD 768,803 12.3 IL, MA, WA, VA, MD 1,195,284 12.8 IL, MA, VA, WA, MD 529,644 14.4

11 to 15 ........ WA, MI, HI, CT, AZ 403,917 6.5 PA, MI, AZ, GA, CT 653,889 7.0 MI, PA, GA, AZ, OH 318,401 8.7

16 to 20 ........ OH, GA, MN, CO, OR 262,140 4.2 OH, OR, CO, MN, HI 396,313 4.3 NC, CO, CT, MN, OR 213,233 5.8

21 to 51 ........All other states 511,669 8.2 All other states 757,696 8.1 All other states 375,063 10.2

Note: Percent column entries may not sum to total due to rounding. Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, administrative data (LPR application)

Overall, state trends suggest that although

the relative rankings of the top 15 states 

have not changed dramatically since 1980, 

the concentration of new LPRs living in

these states has begun to change. Generally, leading states of immigration such as 

California and New York are home to a 

declining percentage of new LPRs, 

whereas secondary destination states 

are home to a growing proportion of 

new LPRs. 

Next Steps 

Future analysis will examine trends in 

LPR flows by metropolitan area as well 

as country of birth and other immigrant 

characteristics. 

  

FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Visit the Office of Immigration Statistics 

Web page at uscis.gov/graphics/shared 

/statistics. 

DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 3 
 

4 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 5 
 

6 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics