Eighty-five percent of children under 18 living in U.S. immigrant families were themselves born in the United States in 2024, according to a new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) data tool built on U.S. Census Bureau figures. The tool compares the share of children with immigrant versus U.S.-born parents in 2000 and 2024, for the nation as a whole and state by state.

The release responds to a shift MPI describes as dramatic: the number of immigrants and refugees settling in the United States has grown sharply over recent decades, and they have increasingly settled in states that were never traditional immigrant destinations. That dispersion, MPI notes, is reshaping the composition of the child population across much of the country.

What does the tool measure?

The MPI interactive resource lets users compare two data points — 2000 and 2024 — at the national level and for individual states. It covers all children aged 0 to 17 who live with at least one parent, regardless of where the children themselves were born.

Users can break the data down further into two age groups:

• Children aged 0 to 5
• Children aged 6 to 17

The tool defines "children of immigrants" — also called children in immigrant families — as anyone under 18 with at least one immigrant parent. A child qualifies even if the other parent was born in the United States.

Who counts as an "immigrant" in the data?

MPI applies the Census Bureau definition: immigrants are people living in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. The category is broad and spans several legal statuses:

• Naturalized citizens
• Lawful permanent residents (LPRs)
• Certain legal nonimmigrants, including people on student and work visas
• Persons admitted under refugee or asylee status
• Persons residing in the country without legal authorization

Because the measure hinges on the parent's place of birth rather than legal status, the figures capture the full spectrum of immigrant households rather than any single category of admission.

Why does the 85 percent figure matter?

The statistic settles a common misconception. The overwhelming majority of children in immigrant families — 85 percent in 2024 — are U.S. citizens by birth. In other words, when the data show a rising share of children in immigrant families in a given state, that rise mostly reflects American-born children growing up in households where at least one parent was born abroad.

For states that have not traditionally attracted immigrants, the trend matters for schools, health services, and family policy, since it is the parent generation, not the children, that was born overseas.

What data sources does MPI use?

MPI tabulated the tool from two Census Bureau datasets:

• The 2024 American Community Survey (ACS)
• The 2000 Decennial Census, accessed through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), Version 5.0, maintained at the University of Minnesota

The IPUMS 2000 dataset was compiled by Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek.

Are there caveats to the numbers?

One methodological change affects comparisons over time. Since 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau has included children of same-sex married couples in its count of children in families and subfamilies. As a result, child counts in more recent years may run larger than in years before that change.

Readers comparing 2000 figures against 2024 figures should therefore keep in mind that part of any increase in counted children after 2013 stems from broader counting rules, not only from demographic change.

How can readers use the tool?

The MPI data tool is available on the Migration Policy Institute's website. Users can select any state and view how the immigrant-family share of children changed between 2000 and 2024, and can narrow the view to the 0-to-5 or 6-to-17 age brackets.

The figures are descriptive statistics rather than legal guidance. Anyone with questions about a specific immigration status or family situation should consult official U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resources or a licensed immigration attorney, as the tool itself provides no individual advice.