The 2.1 million immigrants from the Philippines living in the United States as of 2023 accounted for 4 percent of the 47.8 million total U.S. immigrant population, making Filipinos the fourth-largest origin group after Mexicans, Indians and Chinese. Nearly one in seven Asian-born immigrants in the United States came from the Philippines.

These figures come from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), whose updated Spotlight draws on U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Homeland Security and World Bank data through 2024.

How Large Is the Population and Where Do Filipinos Live?

The Filipino immigrant population nearly doubled between 1980 and 1990, then grew more slowly. Between 2010 and 2023 it rose 15 percent — below the 20 percent growth of the overall U.S. immigrant population.

Filipino immigrants cluster heavily in the West:

• California: 41 percent, as of the 2019-23 period
• Hawaii: 6 percent
• Texas, Nevada and Illinois: 5 percent each

The top counties were Los Angeles and San Diego in California, Honolulu in Hawaii and Clark County in Nevada — together home to nearly one-quarter of all Filipino immigrants. The Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, San Diego and Chicago metro areas housed 38 percent.

What Sets the Group Apart Demographically?

Filipinos outperform both the U.S.-born and overall immigrant populations on several measures. In 2023:

• 53 percent of Filipino adults ages 25 and older held at least a bachelor's degree, versus 36 percent of U.S.-born and 35 percent of all immigrant adults
• Only 6 percent lacked a high school diploma, compared with 25 percent of all immigrants
• Median age was 53 years, against 47 for all immigrants and 37 for the U.S.-born; 27 percent were 65 or older
• 29 percent of Filipinos ages 5 and over spoke English less than "very well," versus 47 percent of all immigrants, reflecting English's status as an official Philippine language

Median household income for Filipino-led households reached $112,600 in 2023, well above $78,700 for all immigrant-led households and $77,600 for U.S.-born-headed ones. Only 7 percent lived in poverty, compared with 14 percent of the foreign-born and 12 percent of the U.S.-born. Five percent were uninsured, versus 18 percent of all immigrants.

Labor force participation stood at 65 percent for Filipinos 16 and older, close to 67 percent for immigrants overall, with most working in management, business, science and arts occupations. About 4,100 Philippine students enrolled in U.S. higher education in 2023-24 — 8 percent of the 53,600 students from Southeast Asia.

How Do Filipinos Obtain Status and Citizenship?

Filipinos are a long-settled population: half arrived in or before 2000, versus 44 percent of all immigrants. As a result, 76 percent are naturalized U.S. citizens, against 52 percent of immigrants overall.

In fiscal year 2023, about 49,200 Filipinos became lawful permanent residents — 4 percent of the 1.2 million new green cards issued that year. Two-thirds obtained status through family sponsorship and one-third through an employer; virtually none came through the asylum or refugee pathway.

MPI estimates that about 294,000 of the 13.7 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States as of mid-2023 were Filipino — 2 percent, the same share as in 2010, when the estimate was 189,000. Roughly 2,460 Filipinos participated in DACA as of December 2024, under 1 percent of all 533,000 recipients.

What Does the Diaspora Look Like Globally?

The Filipino diaspora in the United States — those born in the Philippines or reporting Filipino ancestry — numbered close to 4.7 million in 2023, the 11th largest in the country.

Per 2024 United Nations estimates, the United States is the top destination for Filipinos abroad, followed by Canada (nearly 836,000), Saudi Arabia (755,000), the United Arab Emirates (529,000) and Australia (357,000).

Remittances sent to the Philippines via formal channels reached an estimated $40 billion in 2024, World Bank data show — up $5 billion since 2019 and equal to nearly 9 percent of Philippine GDP.

Why Does the Population Look This Way?

MPI traces the roots to the U.S. colonial period from 1898 to 1946, when Filipinos counted as U.S. nationals for immigration and labor purposes but could not naturalize as a group. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act abolished national-origin quotas favoring Europeans, opening the door to higher-educated arrivals working in education, health care, hospitality and manufacturing. The Philippines' 1974 Labor Code further encouraged emigration as a national development strategy.