California has more immigrants than any other state.

• California is home to 10.6 million immigrants—22% of the foreign-born population nationwide.
• In 2023, the most current year of data, 27% 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 (12%).
• Almost half (45%) 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 (52%) of all foreign-born Californians are in this age group.

Immigration flows have increased since the pandemic.

• California’s immigrant population increased only 5% (by about 500,000) from 2010 to 2023, compared to a 14% (or 1.27 million) increase from 2000 to 2010, and a 37% (or 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 immigration to California rose to 134,370 from July 2023 to July 2024, according to Department of Finance estimates. Between July 2020 and July 2021, it was at its lowest point (523) in three decades—due to the pandemic and policies that limited travel. Between 2010 and 2019, net immigration averaged 138,000; between 2000 and 2010 it averaged 167,000. (Net immigration is the difference between those moving to the state and those moving abroad.)

The vast majority of immigrants in California are documented residents.

• More than half (55%) of California’s immigrants were naturalized US citizens in 2023. This share has increased consistently since 1990, when only 31% of immigrants were naturalized.
• The Pew Research Center estimates that 1.8 million immigrants in California were undocumented in 2022, down from 2.8 million in 2007; that is, the undocumented share fell to 17% from 28%.
• In 2022, 83% of immigrants were either citizens or had some other legal residency status.

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

• Immigrants are concentrated in the state’s large coastal counties. In 2023, foreign-born residents represented at least one-third of the population in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, San Francisco, and Los Angeles 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 (3.8 million), the Philippines (821,136), China (795,450), India (574,498), and Vietnam (525,455).
• Among immigrants who arrived between 2014 and 2023, 46% were born in Asia, while 38% were born in Latin America.

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, 48% of California’s immigrants have no more than a high school diploma, compared with 28% of US-born Californians. A third (34%) of foreign-born residents have at least bachelor’s degrees, compared to 41% of US-born residents.
• However, slightly under half (49%) of immigrants who came to the state between 2014 and 2023—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 immigrants in California report speaking English very well or well, 23% speak English but not well, and 11% speak no English. Among recent immigrants—those in the US for five years or less—55% report speaking English well or very well, while 21% speak no English.
• Most immigrants speak a language other than English at home; Spanish (51.5%), Chinese (10.6%), Hindi (5.3%), Tagalog (7.6%), Vietnamese (4.6%), and Korean (2.9%) are most commonly spoken.

Californians have a favorable view of immigrants, but opinions have shifted recently.

• When asked in February 2024 whether immigrants are a benefit to California because of their hard work and job skills or a burden because they use public services, 60% of Californians say immigrants are a benefit—down from 66% in June 2023 and 78% in February 2021.
• Four in ten Californians say the border situation has reached a crisis level. Two-thirds of residents think border policy should focus on ensuring the process for who is admitted is more efficient, while about a third say it should focus on blocking migrants crossing the border.