Mexicans represent the largest group of immigrants in the United States, making up about 23% of the 47.8 million foreign-born residents as of 2023. Although the population peaked at 11.7 million in 2010 and then declined to 10.7 million in 2022, it has started to grow again, reaching 10.9 million in 2023.
The United States remains the most popular destination for Mexican migrants globally. Mexicans are also the largest group of new U.S. green-card holders and naturalized citizens. However, between 2005 and 2014, more Mexicans left the United States than arrived, influenced by factors such as the 2008-09 global financial crisis, a stronger Mexican economy, and increased U.S. immigration enforcement. From 2013 to 2021, India and China surpassed Mexico as the top sources of new immigrants. The recent slight increase in the Mexican immigrant population may be partly due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico.
Mexicans also constitute the largest group of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., accounting for 45% of the 11.3 million people without legal status as of mid-2022, according to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). However, the number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants has been decreasing for over 15 years, dropping by 34% from 7.7 million in 2007 to 5.1 million in 2022. Additionally, the proportion of Mexicans crossing the U.S.-Mexico border irregularly has decreased from 90% in fiscal year (FY) 2003 to 29% in FY 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
Nearly 60% of Mexican immigrants live in California or Texas. Unlike the overall foreign-born population, most Mexican immigrants are not U.S. citizens, although they tend to have lived in the U.S. longer. Those who obtained a green card in FY 2023 were more likely to do so through family sponsorship. Compared to the overall foreign- and U.S.-born populations, Mexican immigrants generally have lower educational attainment and household incomes but are more likely to be part of the labor force.
Definitions
The U.S. Census Bureau defines the “foreign born” as individuals without U.S. citizenship at birth. This population includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, legal nonimmigrants (such as those on student or work visas), and unauthorized residents. The terms “foreign born” and “immigrant” are used interchangeably to refer to those born in another country who later migrated to the United States.
Size of Immigrant Population over Time
The Mexican immigrant population grew steadily until 2010, roughly doubling in the 1980s and 1990s and peaking at over 11.7 million in 2010. After a decline from 2010 to 2022, the population increased again in 2023, returning to the pre-pandemic level of about 10.9 million.
Figure 1. Immigrant Population from Mexico in the United States, 1980-2023
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Surveys (ACS) from 2010 and 2023, as well as Campbell J. Gibson and Kay Jung’s “Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000” working paper, more than half of all Mexican immigrants in the U.S. resided in California (36%) or Texas (22%) from 2018 to 2022.
Illinois and Arizona each accounted for less than 10% of the population, with around 6% and 5%, respectively. Additionally, six other states—Florida, Washington, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, and New York—accounted for a combined total of 13%.
The top three counties of residence, which were home to 19% of all Mexican immigrants, were Los Angeles County, California; Harris County, Texas; and Cook County, Illinois.
Figure 2. Top States of Residence for Mexican Immigrants in the United States, 2018-22
According to the Migration Policy Institute’s tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s pooled 2018-22 ACS, five cities were home to more than one-third of all Mexican immigrants in the nation.
The top metropolitan destinations for Mexican immigrants in these cities were:
* The greater Los Angeles area (14 percent)
* Chicago (6 percent)
* Houston, Dallas, and Riverside (about 5 percent each)
In addition, one in ten residents of the greater Los Angeles and Riverside areas were born in Mexico.
The greater McAllen, Texas area had a population where one-quarter of its residents were born in Mexico.
Notes: The 2018-2022 pooled ACS data were used to obtain statistically valid estimates at the metropolitan statistical area level for smaller-population geographies. Alaska and Hawaii’s populations are not shown. For further information, visit MPI’s Migration Data Hub to view an interactive map illustrating the geographic distribution of immigrants by metro area, available online.
Source: MPI tabulation of pooled 2018–22 ACS data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Click here for a link to an interactive map that highlights the metro areas with the most immigrants from Mexico or another country.
Table 1. Top U.S. Metropolitan Areas of Residence for Mexican Immigrants, 2018-22
Source: MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau pooled 2018-22 ACS.
Mexican immigrants are less proficient in English compared to the general US immigrant population. According to data from 2023, around 65 percent of Mexican immigrants aged five or older reported speaking English less than “very well,” whereas approximately 47 percent of all immigrants did so. In contrast, about six percent of Mexicans spoke only English at home, which was fewer than the 17 percent of the overall foreign-born population that shared this characteristic.
Age, Education, and Employment
In 2023, the median age of Mexican immigrants (47 years) was identical to that of the general immigrant population. However, they were older than the U.S.-born population (37). The majority of Mexican immigrants belonged to the working-age group (18-64; see Figure 4), similar to the native-born and overall immigrant populations.
Figure 4. Age Distribution of the U.S. Population by Origin, 2023
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 as they are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Source: MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 ACS.
Mexican adults have lower educational attainment rates than both the native- and overall immigrant populations. According to data from 2023, around 50 percent of Mexican immigrants aged twenty-five or older lacked a high school diploma or equivalent, compared to approximately 25 percent of all foreign-born adults and just seven percent of U.S.-born adults. In contrast, about nine percent of Mexican immigrants reported having a bachelor’s degree or higher, which was lower than the rates for immigrant (35%) and native-born adults (36%).
Figure 5. Educational Attainment of the U.S. Population (ages 25 and older), by Origin, 2023
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 as they are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Source: MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2023 ACS.
According to the Institute of International Education, approximately 15,000 Mexican students studying abroad in the United States attended U.S. higher education institutions during the 2022-23 school year, which accounted for a relatively small proportion of the total 1.1 million international students in the country. Mexico ranked twelfth among countries sending students to the United States and was the second-largest source of international students from Latin America and the Caribbean (following Brazil), with about 18 percent of the region’s 82,000 students studying in the United States.
Mexican immigrants participate in the labor force at higher rates than both immigrant adults overall and U.S. natives. According to data from 2023, approximately 68 percent of Mexican immigrants aged sixteen or older were part of the civilian labor force, compared to about 67 percent of all foreign-born individuals and 63 percent of native-born Americans. In comparison to these two groups, Mexicans were more likely to work in service; natural resources, construction, and maintenance; and production, transportation, and material moving occupations (see Figure 6).
Figure 6. Employed Workers in the Civilian Labor Force (ages 16 and older), by Occupation and Origin, 2023
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 as they are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Source: MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 ACS.
Mexican households have lower incomes compared to both immigrant and native-born households. According to data from 2023, households headed by Mexican immigrants had a median annual income of approximately $64,500, which was lower than that of U.S.-born households ($77,600) and all immigrant households ($78,700).
In addition, in 2023, Mexican immigrants were more likely to live below the poverty line (16 percent) than both immigrant overall (14 percent) and native-born populations (12 percent). The US Census Bureau defines poverty as having an annual income of less than $30,900 for a family of four in 2023.
Immigration Pathways and Naturalization
Mexicans are less likely than other immigrants to become naturalized U.S. citizens. In 2023, only 34% of Mexican immigrants were U.S. citizens, whereas 52% of all immigrants became citizens. Despite this, they remained the largest group to obtain citizenship that year, accounting for 13% of the total number of new citizens (878,500) in FY 2023. Immigrants from India and the Philippines ranked second and third, respectively.
Mexicans, similar to Canadians, took the longest time as lawful permanent residents before becoming U.S. citizens: about 10.4 years on average. In comparison to all immigrants, a greater proportion of Mexicans arrived in the United States before 2010 – 53% came prior to 2000, whereas 21% have arrived since 2010 (see Figure 7), compared to 35% for all immigrant populations.
In FY 2023, Mexico was the leading country of origin for lawful permanent residents, with approximately 180,500 Mexicans receiving legal permanent residence. This represents 15% of the total number of new green-card holders that year, which was 1.2 million.
Mexico surpassed Cuba and India, the second and third countries of origin, by a significant margin (see Figure 8). Eighty-five percent of new Mexican LPRs in FY 2023 obtained their status through family connections to U.S. citizens or green-card holders, a much higher percentage than the overall average of 64% for all new LPRs.
The Diversity Visa lottery was introduced by the Immigration Act of 1990 to provide entry for immigrants from countries with low immigration rates to the United States. Each fiscal year, a total of 55,000 diversity visas are made available. However, individuals born in Mexico were not eligible for the 2025 lottery.
Statistics: MPI’s tabulation of data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS), “Table 10: Persons Obtaining Lawful Permanent Resident Status by Broad Class of Admission and Region and Country of Birth: Fiscal Year 2023,” updated September 16, 2024.
Unauthorized Immigrant Population
MPI estimates that approximately 5.1 million (45%) of the 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States as of mid-2022 were from Mexico. While the overall number of unauthorized immigrants has been increasing over recent years, the number of those born in Mexico has decreased for more than 15 years.
In 2007, Mexicans accounted for 64% of the total unauthorized immigrant population. For an overview of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States as of mid-2022, click here.
Mexican immigrants are predominantly participating in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary deportation relief and work authorization to unauthorized immigrants who arrived as children and meet education and other eligibility criteria. As of June 2024, about 433,800 unauthorized immigrants from Mexico held DACA status, representing 81% of the 535,000 DACA participants.
Health Coverage
Mexicans have lower health insurance coverage rates compared to all immigrants and the U.S. born. In 2023, 34% of immigrants from Mexico were uninsured, compared to 18% of the entire foreign-born population and 6% of the U.S. born (see Figure 9).
The Mexican diaspora is estimated to comprise around 38.8 million U.S. residents who were either born in Mexico or reported having Mexican ancestry or origin, according to MPI’s tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey.
This makes the Mexican diaspora the second largest in the country, after the German diaspora.
Top Global Destinations
The United States is by far the most popular destination for Mexicans living abroad, accounting for 97% of all Mexican emigrants, according to 2020 estimates from the United Nations Population Division (UNPD). In fact, approximately 8% of all individuals born in Mexico lived in the United States as of 2020.
Canada was home to the next largest population of Mexicans (87,000), followed by Spain (61,000), Germany (20,000), and Guatemala (19,000) as per more recent UNPD estimates.
Remittances
More than $66.2 billion in remittances were sent to Mexico via formal channels in 2023, according to the World Bank, with the vast majority coming from the United States.
Remittances have grown rapidly since the Great Recession in 2007-09, especially during the pandemic. Global remittances represented just under 4% of Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023.
Source: Migratory Policy
