Office of Immigration Statistics

POLICY DIRECTORATE

Characteristics of Persons Naturalizing 

in the United States Between 

1980 and 2008

JAMES LEE

The number of persons naturalizing in the United States 

increased from 2.1 million during the 1980s to 5.0 million during the 1990s and 6.1 million during 2000–

2008. This Office of Immigration Statistics Fact Sheet

provides information showing some of the changes in 

social, demographic, and economic composition of new 

citizens that accompanied the growth in their numbers 

during the 1980–2008 period.1

Data were obtained from applications for legal permanent resident (LPR) status and naturalization of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on persons who 

naturalized between 1980 and 2008 at ages 18 and over.2

Variables examined include age at naturalization, gender, 

region and country of birth, and years spent in LPR status 

prior to naturalization. Estimates of the educational attainment and median income of naturalized citizens from 

the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) of the U.S. 

Census Bureau are presented as supplemental information because DHS collects limited data on the socioeconomic characteristics of immigrants.3

 Since DHS and ACS 

data measure different components of the naturalized citizen population, they are not strictly comparable.4

FINDINGS

Tables 1 and 2 present the results of the analysis of DHS 

and ACS data. Key findings are highlighted as follows:5

•	 The	median	number	of	years	spent	in	LPR	status	by	all	

persons naturalizing ranges from seven to nine years 

across naturalization periods (see Table 1). Asian-born 

immigrants naturalizing in the 1980s and Africanborn immigrants naturalizing in 2000–2008 spent 

the least time as LPRs (6 years). Persons born in North 

America naturalizing in the 1980s and 2000–2008 

spent the most time in LPR status (11 years).

•	 The	median	age	at	naturalization	was	34	years	for	

persons naturalizing in the 1980s and increased to 39 

years for persons naturalizing in later periods.

•	 The	share	of	naturalizations	among	persons	born	in	

Asia declined from 49 percent in the 1980s to 38 percent in the 1990s and 2000–2008, while North 

American-born persons increased their share from 26 

percent in the 1980s to 40 percent in the 1990s and 

then decreased to 35 percent in 2000–2008. In the 

1990s, Mexico replaced the Philippines as the leading 

country of birth of new citizens.

•	 In	2008,	households	headed	by	persons	naturalized	in	

the 1980s had a higher median income than those 

headed by persons naturalizing later (see Table 2). 

Median incomes of families headed by naturalized 

citizens show a similar pattern.

•	 Persons	naturalized	in	the	1980s	were	more	likely	to	

hold a college degree than those naturalized in the 

1990s or 2000–2008. Over 40 percent of all naturalized citizens from each naturalization period had a 

high school education or less in 2008.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Visit the Office of Immigration Statistics web page at 

http://www.dhs.gov/immigrationstatistics.

1 In this publication, years refer to calendar years.

2 DHS data on persons who derived citizenship when they were under age 18 are 

incomplete.

3 Comparing DHS and ACS data by period of naturalization became possible 

beginning in 2008 with the addition of a question on year of naturalization in the 

ACS. ACS data are restricted to persons ages 18 and over at naturalization.

4 DHS data capture the “flow” of persons who naturalized during the 1980–2008 

period. ACS estimates are a population “stock” measure and include persons that 

naturalized in 1980 or later and resided in the United States as of 2008.

5 All comparisons using ACS estimates are statistically significant at the 90-percent 

confidence level.
Table 1. 

Characteristics of Persons Naturalized by Period of 

Naturalization: 1980 to 2008

(Countries ranked by 2000–2008 naturalization period)

Characteristic 1980–1989 1990–1999 2000–2008

 Total naturalizations ........ 2,139,598 5,040,769 6,104,325

Median years in legal permanent resident status 

(by region and country of birth)

 Region of birth

 All regions ............... 7 9 8

Africa .................... 7 7 6

Asia ..................... 6 7 7

Europe ................... 9 8 7

North America .............. 11 10 11

Oceania ................... 8 10 9

South America .............. 8 9 8

 Leading countries of birth

Mexico ................... 14 10 12

India ..................... 7 8 7

Philippines ................. 6 6 8

Vietnam ................... 6 7 7

China, People’s Republic ....... 7 7 7

Age at naturalization

Median age (years) ........... 34 39 39

Percent distribution

 Percent of total 

 naturalizations ........... 100.0 100.0 100.0

Age at naturalization

18 to 24 years .............. 15.1 10.0 10.2

25 to 34 years .............. 33.4 25.4 25.5

35 to 44 years .............. 25.3 26.8 28.4

45 to 54 years .............. 11.9 15.5 17.2

55 to 64 years .............. 6.4 10.3 10.8

65 years and over ........... 4.0 10.4 8.0

Unknown .................. 3.8 1.7 --

Gender

Male ..................... 47.6 44.7 45.0

Female ................... 51.2 50.9 54.0

Unknown .................. 1.2 4.4 1.1

Region of birth

Africa .................... 2.4 3.0 5.6

Asia ..................... 48.8 37.8 38.3

Europe ................... 15.7 11.4 13.4

North America .............. 26.2 39.7 34.6

Oceania ................... 0.4 0.4 0.5

South America .............. 6.3 7.3 7.5

Unknown .................. 0.2 0.3 0.2

Country of birth

Mexico ................... 8.4 18.9 16.3

India ..................... 4.2 4.0 6.2

Philippines ................. 11.2 6.8 5.7

Vietnam ................... 8.0 6.4 5.2

China, People’s Republic ....... 4.8 4.4 5.1

All other countries ........... 63.5 59.5 61.5

-- Figure rounds to 0.0.

Note: Includes only persons who naturalized at age 18 or over.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, N-400 naturalization data, 1980 to 2008.

Table 2. 

Median Income and Educational Attainment of Naturalized 

Citizens by Period of Naturalization: 2008

Income1 1980–1989 1990–1999 2000–2008

Median household income ........ $66,908 $59,372 $57,030

Median family income ............ $79,231 $65,177 $61,103

Education (aged 25 and over)

 Percent of total naturalized 

 citizens ................... 100.0 100.0 100.0

Not a high school graduate ........ 19.9 24.7 22.8

High school graduate ............ 20.8 21.4 22.1

Some college or associate degree ... 23.9 22.9 22.3

Bachelor’s degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.0 19.2 20.0

Graduate or professional degree .... 14.5 11.8 12.9

1 Income of naturalized citizen householders in the past 12 months in 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars.

Note: Includes only persons who naturalized at age 18 or over.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 American Community Survey.

2 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics