The Migration Policy Institute has published an updated data profile covering the number of immigrants in the United States and their share of the total population every year from 1850 through 2024. The dataset, released on the institute's online data hub, gives researchers, policymakers and journalists a single authoritative series spanning 174 years of U.S. immigration history.

The profile does not announce a rule change or a new programme. Instead, it updates the benchmark figures that nearly every U.S. immigration debate leans on: how many foreign-born people live in the country, and what fraction of the whole population they represent.

What does the dataset cover?

The MPI series answers two questions for each benchmark year since 1850:

• The total number of immigrants residing in the United States;
• Immigrants' share of the total U.S. population.

The institute draws the historical series from U.S. Census Bureau data, the standard source for foreign-born population counts in the United States. Users can read the figures directly on the Migration Policy Institute's website, which hosts the table under its immigration data hub.

Why does a 174-year series matter?

Long-run data of this kind anchors current policy arguments in verifiable numbers. Debates over admission caps, border enforcement and integration policy routinely cite the immigrant share of the population, and MPI's table provides the reference series for those claims.

The 1850 starting point is not arbitrary. That year's census was the first to record place of birth for every respondent, which lets historians and statisticians count the foreign-born population consistently from that date forward.

Who uses these figures?

MPI's immigration data hub serves a broad audience:

• Researchers comparing historical and current immigration levels;
• Journalists fact-checking population claims;
• Policymakers and their staff assessing demographic context for legislation;
• Educators teaching U.S. immigration history.

The institute publishes the table alongside its wider collection of U.S. and state-level demographic data.

What does this change for readers?

For anyone who cites U.S. immigration statistics, the update means the current reference series now runs through 2024. Figures pulled from older compilations may lag behind the newest benchmark year, so users should verify counts against the institute's latest table.

The Migration Policy Institute does not provide legal advice through the dataset. It presents population statistics only; readers with questions about individual immigration status should consult official government sources or a licensed practitioner.

Readers can access the full table, "Number of Immigrants and Their Share of the Total U.S. Population, 1850-2024," on the Migration Policy Institute's website.