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The Urban Institute Children of Immigrants Data Tool

Technical Appendix

Overview

The Urban Institute Children of Immigrants Data Tool generates tables with indicators on children from birth to age 17 for the United States, the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and metropolitan areas[1] using data from the 2005-22 US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS). The tool presents data on population groups of children defined by the nativity and citizenship of the child and the nativity, citizenship, and origin of the parents, such as children with at least one immigrant parent and US-citizen children with only noncitizen parents. Indicators are available about the well-being of the child (e.g., school enrollment), his or her parents (e.g., their English proficiency), and his or her family (e.g., their income).

Notes for Use

[1] Data for the United States and the 50 states and the District of Columbia are available for the 2005-2022 ACS. Data are available for the 100 largest metropolitan areas for the 2005-2022 ACS. See metropolitan area estimates for more information.

The tool has several sections:

  • Intro
  • Select Year
  • Select Geography
  • Select Populations
  • Select Data Type
  • Select Indicators
  • Results
  • Technical Appendix

To use this tool, start by clicking on "Begin" on the "Intro" page. Select time period on the "Select Year" page and click on "Next." On the "Select Geography" page, select the geography "Metro areas" or "United States, 50 States, and District of Columbia," and select the states or metro areas you'd like data for. On the "Select Populations" page, choose the population groups you'd like data for (e.g., US citizen with only noncitizen parents). On the "Select Data Type" page, choose whether you would like to see the data as a share (percentage) or number (count); select indicators (e.g., race and ethnicity) on the "Select Indicators" page; and click on "Next" to view the results of your options on the "Results" page.

Example:
When "2008" is selected on the "Select Year" page, "United States, 50 States, and District of Columbia" and "Alabama" are selected on the "Select Geography" page, "with at least one immigrant parent" is selected on the "Select Populations" page, "Share (percent of children)" is selected on the "Select Data Type" page, and "Age" is selected on the "Select Indicators" page, the Children of Immigrants Data Tool will generate charts and tables with the age distribution of children of immigrants in Alabama for the 2007–08 period, as estimates for each period are usually averaged across two years of ACS data to increase sample size for small geographies and populations (see below).

Limitations

  • Users may select one time period (e.g., 2007–08)
  • Users may select up to 5 indicators

Data Source

The primary data sources for the statistics in the Children of Immigrants Data Tool are the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) datasets (Ruggles et al. 2024). The IPUMS datasets are drawn from the 2005-22 ACS.

Estimates for each time period are averaged across two years of ACS data, except for 2021 due to the 2020 data quality issues noted in the next section:

  • 2006 estimates are averaged across 2005 and 2006 survey data
  • 2007 estimates are averaged across 2006 and 2007 survey data
  • 2008 estimates are averaged across 2007 and 2008 survey data
  • 2009 estimates are averaged across 2008 and 2009 survey data
  • 2010 estimates are averaged across 2009 and 2010 survey data
  • 2011 estimates are averaged across 2010 and 2011 survey data
  • 2012 estimates are averaged across 2011 and 2012 survey data
  • 2013 estimates are averaged across 2012 and 2013 survey data
  • 2014 estimates are averaged across 2013 and 2014 survey data
  • 2015 estimates are averaged across 2014 and 2015 survey data
  • 2016 estimates are averaged across 2015 and 2016 survey data
  • 2017 estimates are averaged across 2016 and 2017 survey data
  • 2018 estimates are averaged across 2017 and 2018 survey data
  • 2019 estimates are averaged across 2018 and 2019 survey data
  • 2020 estimates are averaged across 2019 and 2020 survey data
  • 2021 estimates reflect only 2021 survey data
  • 2022 estimates are averaged across 2021 and 2022 survey data

Population Estimates

Numbers displayed in the charts and tables represent population estimates based on weights in the American Community Survey. Estimates are averaged across two survey years, e.g., 2007 and 2008, to obtain a 2 percent sample of the nation's population for each time period. Estimates for 2021 are an exception as they are based on only 2021 survey data because of the 2020 ACS data quality issues described below.

Note regarding the 2020 data: the Census Bureau did not release its standard one-year estimates for the 2020 American Community Survey because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted data collection efforts. Instead, the bureau released experimental estimates that use a modified weighting procedure to help address data quality issues. The Census Bureau recommends against directly comparing 2020 data with other years. Also, because the experimental weighting procedure was designed primarily to produce experimental estimates for states, the bureau urges caution when interpreting substate (i.e., PUMA-based) estimates, which were the basis for our 2020 metro-area estimates.

For more information about the American Community Survey and population estimates please refer to the ACS Handbook, A Compass for Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data (US Census Bureau 2008).

Data Availability

Data are available for the United States, the 50 states and District of Columbia, and the 100 largest metropolitan areas. Data are not provided for indicators for certain populations in states with a small number of children sampled in this population (i.e., where there are data on fewer than 90 children included in the survey sample). Estimates for some small populations (e.g., local geographies) may be volatile due to small survey sample sizes, and differences between estimates derived from small sample sizes will often not be statistically significant.

Metropolitan Areas Estimates

The metropolitan-level estimates were derived using the Missouri Census Data Center's MABLE/Geocorr2K online application (http://mcdc.missouri.edu/applications/geocorr2000.html), which generates crosswalks between US Census 2000 and 2010 geographic areas. The MABLE/Geocorr2K online application was used to crosswalk the Census 2000 and 2010 Primary Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), the smallest level of geography available in the public use microdata, to the November 2013 Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) definitions. Metropolitan-level estimates are presented for the 100 largest metropolitan areas. See table 2 for a list of metropolitan areas.

Definitions

Child-Parent Relationship

The IPUMS data identify one or both parents of the child if the parent or parents are living in the household. The child-parent relationship in the IPUMS data is biological and social. For example, stepfathers and adoptive fathers are identified in addition to biological fathers. In some cases, the child-parent relationship has been imputed using information about all household members. For example, the cohabitating partner of an individual that is directly identified as the parent of a child in the ACS data is also identified as a parent (for more information on the child-parent relationship in the IPUMS data, see the IPUMS documentation on Family Interrelationships at http://usa.ipums.org/usa/chapter5/chapter5.shtml).

In 2017, IPUMS made updates to the way they construct family relationship variables to improve consistency over time, capture a wider array of family structures (including same-sex and cohabiting partners), and provide details on how links are made. Decennial census and ACS data from 1970 and later have been revised to include both cohabiting and same-sex partners and to identify parent-child social relationships based on these new couples, which has slightly increased the number and share of children of immigrants identified.

These revisions by IPUMS also minimized the use of household record order to infer family relationships; it now only serves as a 'tiebreaker' when marital status, age, and sex are not enough on their own to uniquely identify a probable relationship. Before 2017, parent-child relationships were erroneously identified in part based on the order of household records. Record order does not convey useful information on these relationships in the US Census Bureau's public-use release of the microdata. The 2017 IPUMS update, which uses new rules to determine relationships, has led to the identification of a different mother or father in around 1 percent of ACS respondents. This IPUMS change led to a more significant increase in the number of children identified as children of immigrants nationally (an increase of over 300,000 in the 2013-14 data, the last year in which estimates were computed using the old relationship variables) than did the inclusion of same-sex and cohabiting partner relationships. For more details on changes to how family relationships are determined in IPUMS, see 'New Family Interrelationship Variables in IPUMS USA' (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/chapter5/NewfamilyinterrelationshipvariablesinIPUMSUSA.shtml).

The child-parent relationship is not defined in the data for a small number of children who are not living in the same households as their parent(s). When the child is identified as a grandchild of the household head, the immigration status of the grandparent is used to determine the immigration status, citizenship, and region of birth of the parent (for about 2 percent of children in the sample). This leaves about 3 percent of children in the sample for which the immigration status of the parents has not been determined.

For the purpose of describing the education, limited-English-proficiency status, employment, work effort, and race/ethnicity of the parents, the household head and/or spouse information are used when the child-parent relationship has not been determined.

The way child-parent relationships are defined here may differ from the definitions employed in other analyses, which could result in small differences in estimates for certain subgroups. For instance, estimates of uninsurance published by the Urban Institute's Health Policy Center (HPC) may use a more narrow definition of family that aligns with rules for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility (for more information, see Lynch et al. 2011 and Haley et al. 2018).

Immigrants

"Immigrants" or "foreign-born" people are born outside the United States and its territories. Those born in Puerto Rico and other territories or born abroad to US-citizen parents are considered US born. Immigrants include both legal and unauthorized immigrants, though the latter are somewhat undercounted in the official Census and ACS data. Demographers have estimated that the unauthorized are undercounted by about 10 percent in these data sources (Passel 2006).

Parental Origin

"Parental origin" is defined by grouping countries based on geography, languages, the refugee shares of all immigrants, and available sample sizes. Countries are grouped in eight origin groups: (1) Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand; (2) Mexico; (3) rest of Central America or the Spanish-speaking Caribbean; (4) South America; (5) Southeast Asia; (6) East Asia or the Pacific; (7) the Middle East or South Asia; and (8) Africa or the West Indies, in most of which English is spoken. For a child with parents from different regions of birth, the child is assigned the region of birth of the primary parent.

Family

"Family" includes the household head and all individuals living with the household head and related to him or her by birth, marriage, or adoption, as well as the unmarried partner of the household head and foster children living in the household. This definition of the family is more inclusive than the definition used by the ACS, where the family includes the household head and those related to him or her by birth, marriage, or adoption but excludes unmarried partners and foster children.

The way family is defined here may differ from the definitions employed in other analyses, which could result in small differences in estimates for certain subgroups. For instance, estimates of uninsurance published by the Urban Institute's Health Policy Center (HPC) may use a more narrow definition of family that aligns with rules for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility (for more information, see Lynch et al. 2011 and Haley et al. 2018).

Glossary

A
Africa or the West Indies: see Children with parents from Africa or the West Indies.

African-American: see Black.

Asian or non-Hispanic Asian: a person who identified him- or herself as Asian or Pacific Islander and did not identify him- or herself as ethnically Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino or any other race when responding to the survey. The Asian racial/ethnic category and the other racial/ethnic groups (Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Native American, and other or multiracial) are mutually exclusive. The census survey allows respondents to select more than one racial/ethnic group. Non-Hispanic Asians are those who reported they were Asian or Pacific Islander and did not report they were of Hispanic ethnicity or any other racial group.

B
Black or non-Hispanic Black: a person who identified him- or herself as black or African American and did not identify him- or herself as ethnically Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino or any other race when responding to the survey. The black racial/ethnic category and the other racial/ethnic groups (Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, Asian, Native American, and other or multiracial) are mutually exclusive. The Census survey allows respondents to select more than one racial/ethnic group. Non-Hispanic blacks are all those who reported they were black or African American and did not report they were of Hispanic ethnicity or in any other racial group.

Burdened by housing and utility costs: A family is housing cost burdened if costs exceed 30 percent of their household income and severely housing cost burdened if costs exceed 50 percent. Because housing cost burden is measured at the household level, it is only calculated and reported for families (see definition of family) who include the household head. The total cost of renting or owning housing is divided by total household income. Total cost includes mortgage payments, property taxes, property insurance, condo fees, mobile home fees, and utilities for homeowners, and rent and utilities are included for renters. Household income includes income from all members of the household and is not restricted to family income.

C
(Rest of) Central America or the Spanish Caribbean: see Children with parents from the rest of Central America or the Spanish Caribbean.

Children in low-income families with substantial work hours and at least one immigrant parent: see Low-income families with substantial work hours.

Children in low-income families with substantial work hours and only US-born parents: see Low-income families with substantial work hours.

Children of US citizens: children with at least one parent who is a US-born or naturalized US citizen.

Children of immigrants or Children with at least one immigrant parent: children with at least one foreign-born parent (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). A foreign-born person is someone born outside the United States and its territories and whose parents were not US citizens at the time of their birth.

Children of only US-born parents: children who only have US-born parents. Children living with a single parent who is US born are included in this group (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). A person born in the United States, Puerto Rico, and other US territories or born abroad to US-citizen parents is US born.

Children with parents from Africa or the West Indies: children with parents who were born in Africa or the non-Spanish-speaking Caribbean (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). When parents are from different regions of birth, the child is assigned the region of birth of the primary parent. See table 1 for a list of countries in Africa or the West Indies.

Children with parents from East Asia or the Pacific: children with parents who were born in East Asia or the Pacific, excluding Australia and New Zealand (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). When parents are from different regions of birth, the child is assigned the region of birth of the primary parent. See table 1 for a list of countries in East Asia or the Pacific.

Children with parents from Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand: children with parents who were born in Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). When parents are from different regions of birth, the child is assigned the region of birth of the primary parent. See table 1 for a list of countries in Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Children with parents from Mexico: children with parents who were born in Mexico (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). When parents are from different regions of birth, the child is assigned the region of birth of the primary parent.

Children with parents from South America: children with parents who were born in South America (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). When parents are from different regions of birth, the child is assigned the region of birth of the primary parent. See table 1 for a list of countries in South America.

Children with parents from Southeast Asia: children with parents who were born in Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, or Vietnam (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). When parents are from different regions of birth, the child is assigned the region of birth of the primary parent. See table 1 for a list of countries in Southeast Asia.

Children with parents from the Middle East or South Asia: children with parents who were born in the Middle East or South Asia (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). When parents are from different regions of birth, the child is assigned the region of birth of the primary parent. See table 1 for a list of countries in the Middle East and South Asia.

Children with parents from the rest of Central America or the Spanish-speaking Caribbean: children with parents who were born in Central America (other than Mexico) or the Spanish-speaking Caribbean (Cuba and the Dominican Republic; see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). When parents are from different regions of birth, the child is assigned the region of birth of the primary parent. See table 1 for a list of countries in Central America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

D
Disability: a functional limitation self-reported by an individual. A functional limitation is a cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, independent living, or sensory difficulty. Specifically, the ACS asks the following questions:

  • Cognitive: "Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have a serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?"
  • Ambulatory: "Does this person have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs?"
  • Self-care: "Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing?"
  • Independent living: "Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor's office or shopping?"
  • Vision: "Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?"
  • Hearing: "Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing?"

This does not include military service-connected disabilities.

E
East Asia or the Pacific: see Children with parents from East Asia or the Pacific.

English proficient: those who responded to the survey that they speak English at home or that they speak another language at home but also speak English very well.

Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand: see Children with parents from Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.

F
Family: includes the household head and all individuals living with the household head and related to him or her by birth, marriage, or adoption, as well as the unmarried partner of the household head and foster children living in the household. This definition of the family is more inclusive than the definition employed by the ACS, where family includes the household head and those related to him or her by birth, marriage, or adoption. The way family is defined here may differ from the definitions employed in other analyses, which could result in small differences in estimates for certain subgroups. For instance, estimates of uninsurance published by the Urban Institute's Health Policy Center (HPC) may use a more narrow definition of family that aligns with rules for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility (for more information, see Lynch et al. 2011 and Haley et al. 2018).

Families who do not work a substantial number of hours: families that have low work effort or that do not have any working adults. Family work effort is classified as high if any adult reports at least 1,800 hours of work in the prior year (approximately equal to 35 hours of work a week for 52 weeks a year); as medium (a) if adults average at least 1,000 hours or (b) if the total hours worked is at least 1,800 hours but no adult reports 1,800 hours of work in the prior year; and as low (including non-working) if neither criteria is met (Acs and Nichols 2005). See Family for definition of who is included in the family.

Families who work a substantial number of hours: families that have high or moderate work effort. Family work effort is classified as high if any adult reports at least 1,800 hours of work in the prior year (approximately equal to 35 hours of work a week for 52 weeks a year); as medium (a) if adults average at least 1,000 hours or (b) if the total hours worked is at least 1,800 hours but no adult reports 1,800 hours of work in the prior year; and as low (including non-working) if neither criteria is met (Acs and Nichols 2005). See Family for definition of who is included in the family.

Food stamps receipt: households where one or more individuals report receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits (formerly known as Food Stamps) in the last 12 months. Note: The Food Stamp data available in these tools has not been corrected for benefits underreporting, which makes the reported number and share of individuals in households that receive Food Stamps lower than they would be otherwise (see: https://www.urban.org/research/data-methods/data-analysis/quantitative-data-analysis/microsimulation/transfer-income-model-trim for additional information).

Foreign-born: a person born outside the United States and its territories. Those born in Puerto Rico and other territories or born abroad to US-citizen parents are US born.

H
Health insurance: Employer-provided insurance; privately purchased insurance; Medicare, Medicaid, or other governmental insurance; TRICARE or other military care; or insurance provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The ACS collects data throughout the calendar year so the coverage estimates represent the average as of June. Health insurance coverage figures reflect logical microdata edits developed by the Urban Institute's Health Policy Center to improve the accuracy of health insurance information in the ACS (Lynch et al. 2011). This information is available from 2008-09 to 2018-19 as the question it is drawn from was first asked in the 2008 ACS and data incorporating coverage edits was not yet available for 2020, 2021, and 2022 as of publication. The health insurance coverage estimates presented in this tool may differ from those in other publications by HPC due to differences in how time periods, age groups, family relationships, and other factors are defined (for more information, see the Overview, Population Estimates, Child-Parent Relationship, and Family discussions, above, as well as Lynch et al. 2011 and Haley et al. 2018).

High work effort: see Families who work a substantial number of hours or Low-income families with substantial work hours.

Hispanic: a person who identified him- or herself as ethnically Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino when responding to the survey. People of Hispanic origin may report that they are of any one or multiple races. The Hispanic racial/ethnic category and the other racial/ethnic groups (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Asian, Native American, and other or multiracial) are mutually exclusive.

I
Immigrant: a person born outside the United States or its territories. Those born in Puerto Rico and other territories or born abroad to US-citizen parents are US born.

Immigrant children: see Immigrant.

L
Limited English proficient: those who responded to the survey that they speak a language other than English at home and that they speak English well, not well, or not at all (see Wilson 2014 for the rationale behind this definition). Those speaking English at home or speaking another language at home but also speaking English very well are considered English proficient.

Linguistically isolated households: households in which no person age 14 and older is proficient in English (either speaks only English at home or speaks a language other than English at home and also speaks English very well). All members of such a household are considered linguistically isolated, even though children under 14 who speak only English may live there.

Low-income (family): having total family income below 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold. In 2022, the federal poverty level was $29,950 for a family of four, slightly higher for larger families, and slightly lower for smaller families. See Family for definition of who is included in the family.

Low-income families with substantial work hours: families with total family income below 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold that have high or medium work effort. Family work effort is classified as high if any adult reports at least 1,800 hours of work in the prior year (approximately equal to 35 hours of work a week for 52 weeks a year); as medium (a) if adults average at least 1,000 hours of work in the prior year or (b) if the total hours worked is at least 1,800 but no adult reports 1,800 hours of work; and as low (including non-working) if neither criteria is met (Acs and Nichols 2005). See Family for definition of who is included in the family.

Low work effort: see Families who work a substantial number of hours or Low-income families with substantial work hours.

M
Medium work effort: see Families who work a substantial number of hours or Low-income families with substantial work hours.

Mexico: see Children with parents from Mexico.

Middle East or South Asia: see Children with parents from the Middle East or South Asia.

N
Native American: a person who identified him- or herself as American Indian or Alaska Native and did not identify him- or herself as ethnically Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino or any other race when responding to the survey. The Native American racial/ethnic category and the other racial/ethnic groups (Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Asian, and other or multiracial) are mutually exclusive. The census survey allows respondents to select more than one racial/ethnic group. Native Americans are those who reported they were American Indian/Alaska Native and did not report they were of Hispanic ethnicity or in any other racial group.

Noncitizen: a foreign-born person that does not have US citizenship.

Noncitizen children with only noncitizen parents: Noncitizen children that live in families where no parent is a US citizen (US-born or naturalized).

Noncitizen parents: no parent is a US citizen.

O
Other or multiracial: a person who identified him- or herself either as a race other than white, black or African American, Asian, Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native or as more than one of these racial categories and did not identify him- or herself as ethnically Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino when responding to the survey. The other or multiracial racial/ethnic category and the other racial/ethnic groups (Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Asian, and Native American) are mutually exclusive. The census survey allows respondents to select more than one racial/ethnic group. Other or multiracial individuals are those who did not report they were of Hispanic ethnicity and did report they were either in more than one racial group or in a single racial group other than white, black or African American, Asian, Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native.

P
Parent: see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above.

Parental education: the highest educational attainment level reached by any of the child's parents.

Poor (family): having total family income below 100 percent of the federal poverty threshold. In 2022, the federal poverty level was $29,950 for a family of four, slightly higher for larger families, and slightly lower for smaller families. See Family for definition of who is included in the family.

Primary parent: the only parent in single-parent families, the mother in families with two opposite-sex parents, and the first parent listed in IPUMS USA data for families with two same-sex parents (for more information. see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above).

S
South America: see Children with parents from South America.

Southeast Asia: see Children with parents from Southeast Asia.

U
US-born: a person born in the United States, Puerto Rico, and other US territories or born abroad to US-citizen parents.

US-born children: see US-born.

US-born children with at least one immigrant parent: children that are US born and have at least one foreign-born parent (see Child-Parent Relationship discussion, above, for the definition of a parent). A foreign-born person is someone born outside the United States and its territories and whose parents were not US citizens at the time of their birth. A US-born person is born in the United States, Puerto Rico, or other US territories or born abroad to US-citizen parents.

US citizen: a person who is US born (see US-born) or a naturalized US citizen.

US-citizen children with at least one citizen parent: US-citizen children with at least one parent who is a US-born or naturalized US citizen.

US-citizen children with only noncitizen parents : US-citizen children with no parent who is a US-born or naturalized US citizen.

V
Vehicles available: one or more cars, vans, or small trucks reported as being located at home for use by members of the household.

Veteran: individual age 17 or older who reported currently or previously serving as active-duty members of the US armed forces. Active-duty members of the US Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard are considered veterans, while National Guard or military Reserves members are not considered veterans unless they are called to active duty (i.e., training and weekly meetings are not considered active-duty service).

W
White or non-Hispanic white: a person who identified him- or herself as white and did not identify him- or herself as ethnically Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino or any other race when responding to the survey. The white racial/ethnic category and the other racial/ethnic groups (Hispanic, non-Hispanic black, Asian, Native American, and other or multiracial) are mutually exclusive. The census survey allows respondents to select more than one racial/ethnic group. Non-Hispanic whites are those who reported they were white and did not report they were of Hispanic ethnicity or in any other racial group.

Y
Years immigrant parent(s) have been in the US: The number of years since a child's foreign-born parent(s) immigrated to the US. In two-parent families, this reflects the parent that has immigrated to the US most recently. US-born parents are not considered as they did not immigrate to the US.

References

Acs, Greg, and Austin Nichols. 2005. "Working to Make Ends Meet: Understanding the Income and Expenses of America's Low-Income Families." Low-Income Working Families Paper 2. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/working-make-ends-meet.

Haley, Jennifer M., Genevieve M. Kenney, Robin Wang, Clare Wang Pan, Victoria Lynch, and Matthew Buettgens. 2018. Uninsurance and Medicaid/CHIP Participation Among Children and Parents: Variation in 2016 and Recent Trends. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/uninsurance-and-medicaidchip-participation-among-children-and-parents-variation-2016-and-recent-trends.

Lynch, Victoria, Genevieve M. Kenney, Jennifer Haley, and Dean M. Resnick. 2011. "Improving the Validity of the Medicaid/CHIP Estimates on the American Community Survey: The Role of Logical Coverage Edits." Washington, DC: Urban Institute (submitted to the Census Bureau). https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2011/demo/improving-the-validity-of-the-medicaid-chip-estimates-on-the-acs.pdf.

Passel, Jeffrey S. 2006. The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.: Estimates Based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.

Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Matthew Sobek, Daniel Backman, Annie Chen, Grace Cooper, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rodgers, and Megan Schouweiler. IPUMS USA: Version 15.0 [dataset] (accessed January 30, 2024). Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2024. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V15.0.

US Census Bureau. 2008. A Compass for Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data: What General Data Users Need to Know. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2008/acs/ACSGeneralHandbook.pdf.

Wilson, Jill H. 2014. Investing in English Skills: The Limited English Proficient Workforce in U.S. Metropolitan Areas. Immigration Facts Series. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. Available at https://www.brookings.edu/research/investing-in-english-skills-the-limited-english-proficient-workforce-in-u-s-metropolitan-areas/.

Table 1: Region and Country of Birth of Immigrants

Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
Albania
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Czechoslovakia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Macedonia
Moldova
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom
USSR
Uzbekistan
Yugoslavia

Bermuda
Canada

Australia
New Zealand

Rest of Central America and the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean
Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama

Cuba
Dominican Republic

East Asia and the Pacific
China
Fiji
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Malaysia
Micronesia
Philippines
Samoa
Singapore
Taiwan
Tonga

The Middle East and South Asia
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
India
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Nepal
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Sri Lanka
Syria
Turkey
Yemen

Southeast Asia
Cambodia
Laos
Myanmar
Thailand
Vietnam

Mexico
Mexico

South America
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela

Africa and the West Indies
Algeria
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Ghana
Guinea
Kenya
Liberia
Morocco
Nigeria
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Tanzania
Uganda
Zimbabwe

Antigua & Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Dominica
Grenada
Haiti
Jamaica
St Vincent & The Grenadines
St. Kitts-Nevis
St. Lucia
Trinidad & Tobago

Table 2: Metropolitan Areas

1. Akron, OH
2. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
3. Albuquerque, NM
4. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
5. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
6. Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
7. Austin-Round Rock, TX
8. Bakersfield, CA
9. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
10. Baton Rouge, LA
11. Birmingham-Hoover, AL
12. Boise City, ID
13. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
14. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
15. Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY
16. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
17. Charleston-North Charleston, SC
18. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
19. Chattanooga, TN-GA
20. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
21. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
22. Cleveland-Elyria, OH
23. Colorado Springs, CO
24. Columbia, SC
25. Columbus, OH
26. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
27. Dayton, OH
28. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL
29. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
30. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
31. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
32. El Paso, TX
33. Fresno, CA
34. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
35. Greensboro-High Point, NC
36. Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC
37. Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
38. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
39. Urban Honolulu, HI
40. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
41. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN
42. Jackson, MS
43. Jacksonville, FL
44. Kansas City, MO-KS
45. Knoxville, TN
46. Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
47. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV
48. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
48. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
49. Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN
51. Madison, WI
52. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
53. Memphis, TN-MS-AR
54. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
55. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
56. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
57. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN
58. New Haven-Milford, CT
59. New Orleans-Metairie, LA
62. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
61. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL
62. Ogden-Clearfield, UT
63. Oklahoma City, OK
64. Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
65. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
66. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA
67. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
68. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
69. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
70. Pittsburgh, PA
71. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
72. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
73. Provo-Orem, UT
74. Raleigh, NC
75. Richmond, VA
76. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
77. Rochester, NY
78. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA
79. Salt Lake City, UT
80. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
81. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
82. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
83. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
84. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA
85. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
86. Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA
87. Springfield, MA
88. St. Louis, MO-IL
89. Stockton-Lodi, CA
99. Syracuse, NY
91. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
92. Toledo, OH
93. Tucson, AZ
94. Tulsa, OK
95. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
96. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
97. Wichita, KS
98. Winston-Salem, NC
99. Worcester, MA-CT
100. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA