California has more immigrants than any other state.

• California is home to 10.9 million immigrants—22% of the foreign-born population nationwide.
• In 2024, the most current year of data, 28% of California’s population was foreign-born, the highest share of any state and more than double the share in the rest of the country (13%).
• Almost half (44%) of California children have at least one immigrant parent.
• A third (34%) of prime-working-age adults—those 25 to 54—are foreign born; half (51%) of all foreign-born Californians are in this age group.

Immigration flows have slowed over time.

• California’s immigrant population increased only 8% (about 800,000) from 2010 to 2024, compared to a 14% (1.24 million) increase from 2000 to 2010, and a 37% (2.4 million) rise in the 1990s.
• This fall-off in international immigration has contributed to the slowdown of California’s overall population growth in recent decades.
• Net international migration amounted to 126,500 in fiscal year 2025, about half the number in the previous fiscal year (260,000), according to California Department of Finance estimates. The termination of many humanitarian migration programs was a main driver of this decline. Between 2010 and 2019 net international migration averaged 138,000 per year; between 2000 and 2010 it averaged 167,000. (Net immigration is the difference between those moving to the state and those moving abroad.)

The documented share of California immigrants is very high but has fallen recently.

• More than half (54%) of California’s immigrants were naturalized US citizens in 2024. This share has increased since 1990, when only 31% of immigrants were naturalized. About 80% of immigrants were either citizens or had some other legal residency status in 2023, down from 83% in 2022.
• About 2.25 million immigrants in California were undocumented in 2023, according to the Pew Research Center, down from a peak of 2.8 million in 2007.
• California saw a sharp increase of 400,000 undocumented immigrants between 2021 and 2023—mainly concentrated among those with some protection from deportation, such as asylum seekers.
• California has more undocumented immigrants than any other state, but its share has fallen from 23% to 16%. Texas is now a close second (2.05 million). Florida has seen the largest increase in recent years, from 0.9 million in 2021 to 1.6 million in 2023.

California’s immigrant population is concentrated in coastal metropolitan areas.

• Immigrants are concentrated in the state’s large coastal counties. In 2024, foreign-born residents represented at least one-third of the population in Santa Clara (42.3%), San Mateo (36.1%), Alameda (35.7%), San Francisco (35.1%), and Los Angeles (33.6%) Counties.
• Meanwhile, in most of the far northern and Sierra Nevada counties, foreign-born residents make up a very small share of the population.

Almost half of immigrants are from Latin America, but a higher share of recent arrivals are from Asia.

• The vast majority of California’s immigrants were born in Latin America (49%) or Asia (41%).
• Immigrants in California come from dozens of countries; the leading countries of origin are Mexico (3.95 million), the Philippines (855,575), China (822,928), India (626,214), Vietnam (513,532), and El Salvador (456,336).
• Among immigrants who arrived between 2023 and 2024, 46% were from Asia and 36% were from Latin America. Between 2021 and 2024, new entrants from Mexico increased notably, reaching 50,600 in 2024—the highest level since 2008.

California’s immigrants have varying levels of education.

• Foreign-born residents account for 70% of those age 25 to 64 without a high school diploma and 32% of those with at least a bachelor’s degree.
• Overall, 47% of California’s immigrants have no more than a high school diploma, compared with 28% of US-born Californians. A third (35%) of foreign-born residents have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to 42% of US-born residents.
• Slightly under half (49%) of immigrants who came to the state between 2015 and 2024—and 66% of those who were born in Asia—have at least a bachelor’s degree.

Most of California’s immigrants speak at least some English.

• Two-thirds of California’s immigrants report speaking English very well or well, 22% speak English but not well, and 12% speak no English. Among recent immigrants—those in the US for five years or less—54% report speaking English well or very well, while 22% speak no English.
• Most immigrants speak a language other than English at home (88%); Spanish (51.4%), Chinese (10.1%), Tagalog/Filipino (7.4%), Hindi (5.6%), Vietnamese (4.2%), and Korean (2.8%) are most commonly spoken.

California’s have a favorable view of immigrants, but opinions have shifted recently.

• When asked whether immigrants are a benefit to California because of their hard work and job skills or a burden because they use public services, 73% of Californians said immigrants are a benefit in October 2025—up from 60% in February 2024 but down from 78% in February 2021.
• Overwhelming majorities (74%) today think there should be a way for undocumented immigrants who live in the US to stay in the country legally if certain requirements are met. This preference has been widely held since PPIC first asked this question in 2016.