Summary: The indicator shows the immigrant and U.S.-born share of the total population by race and ancestry and the racial composition of immigrant and U.S.-born populations. Data for 2010 and 2021 represent five-year averages (e.g. 2017-2021).

Data Source(s): IPUMS NHGIS, University of Minnesota, www.nhgis.org, 1860-1990 Decennial Census summary files; GeoLytics, Inc., 2000 Long Form in 2010 Boundaries; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2021 American Community Survey 5-year Summary Files; IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 2000 5% sample, 2010 and 2021 American Community Survey 5-year samples. 

Universe: All people.

Methods: The number and percentage of U.S.- and foreign-born populations were calculated by race and ancestry for each year and geography. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes: 

• The terms “immigrant” and “foreign born” refer to all people who identify as being born abroad, outside of the United States, to non-American parents. 
• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
• Data for 2010 and 2021 represent 2006-2010 and 2017-2021 averages, respectively.
• Data prior to 2000 are only available for counties and statewide.

Summary: The composition of the immigrant population by immigration status, race, ancestry and age group. Data represent a 2017-2021 average. Immigration status is estimated based on an approach developed by the Equity Research Institute.

Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, http://www.ipums.org/, 2021 American Community Survey 5-year sample.

Universe: All immigrants.

Methods: The number and percentage of the immigrant population were calculated by immigration status, race, ancestry and age group for each geography. The categories for immigration status include immigrants, undocumented immigrants, lawful residents and naturalized U.S. citizens. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
• Data represent a 2017-2021 average.
• Immigration status is estimated using a probability model (not self-reported). See here for details.
• For the “by ancestry” breakdown, no estimates are reported if they are based on fewer than 50 individual survey respondents (i.e., unweighted).

Summary: The number and share of residents who are undocumented or living with one or more undocumented family members by immigration status, race, ancestry and age group, and the number and share children living with an undocumented parent. Data represent a 2017-2021 average. Immigration status is estimated based on an approach developed by the Equity Research Institute.

Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, http://www.ipums.org/, 2021 American Community Survey 5-year sample.

Universe: All people.

Methods: The number of undocumented family members living in the same household was calculated for each survey respondent by immigration status, race, ancestry and age group for each geography. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
• Data represent a 2017-2021 average.
• Immigration status is estimated using a probability model (not self-reported). See here for details.

Summary: The composition of the immigrant population by the number of years they have lived in the U.S. by immigration status, race and ancestry. Data represent a 2017-2021 average. Immigration status is estimated based on an approach developed by the Equity Research Institute.

Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Seri­es, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 2021 American Community Survey 5-year sample.

Universe: All immigrants.

Methods: The composition of the immigrant population by recency of arrival in the U.S. was calculated by immigration status, race, and ancestry for each geography. The survey question is worded “When did this person come to live in the United States? If this person came to live in the United States more than once, print latest year.” Therefore, the question seeks to identify when an immigrant arrived in the U.S. to live and not simply when they last arrived from a trip abroad. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
• Data represent a 2017-2021 average.
• Immigration status is estimated using a probability model (not self-reported). See here for details.
   

Summary: The number and composition of refugee arrivals since 2002 by fiscal year and country of origin. Note that counts by geography are based on the initial destination city and do not take into consideration subsequent migration within the U.S.

Data Source(s): Refugee Processing Center, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Interactive Reporting, archived data from www.wrapsnet.org provided by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI); U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Refugees in California by Nationality and Fiscal Year of Arrival, provided directly by DHS with a data request.

Universe: All refugees who arrived in California from fiscal years 2002-2022. A fiscal year for this dataset begins in October and ends in September of the year indicated (e.g., FY2022 represents October 2021 to September 2022).

Methods: The number of refugee arrivals was calculated by country of origin for each year and geography. Source data by city included city neighborhoods with recognizable names. Data was aggregated into cities and places consistent with Census definitions and subsequently aggregated into counties. Some countries of origin were aggregated into broader groups reflecting large geographic regions. For breakdowns other than the Trend breakdown, data were aggregated into five-year groupings (2002-2006, 2007-2011, 2012-2016, 2017-2022) and a total for all years (2002-2022). See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Archived, detailed data previously published publicly by the U.S. Department of State was provided by Migration Policy Institute (MPI) who were able to download the detailed data by fiscal year for September 2001 to October 2020 before the detailed data was removed from the Refugee Processing Center’s website.

Data requests were submitted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and limited data for fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022 with city detail was provided to the Equity Research Institute for analysis.

The data for the refugee arrivals indicator that is shown on the California Immigrant Data Portal is a merging of the datasets provided by MPI and DHS. Fiscal years 2021 and 2022 data from the DHS data set was appended to the dataset for fiscal years 2002 to 2020 that were archived by MPI. There is a lot of redacted data for fiscal years 2021 and 2022 with less country of origin and city information.

Notes: 

• Due to detailed data restrictions in the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, sums for city and countries of origin may be an undercount and may not add up to state totals.
• Counts by geography are based on the initial destination city and do not take into consideration subsequent migration within the U.S.
• No data available for sub-counties (CPUMAs).
• The full list of nationalities available from the Refugee Processing Center (RPC) data are listed below. For the purposes of the California Immigrant Data Portal, the full list of nationalities was aggregated into broader groups. The table below shows how each nationality in the RPC data was aggregated into detailed and broad groupings for the California Immigrant Data Portal (CIDP).