European Immigrants in the United States

Joseph Russell and Jeanne Batalova of the Migration Policy Institute put the spotlight on European immigrants in the United States.  Once the largest US immigrant group, European-born immigrants have seen their numbers decline in the United States over the past 50 years (notwithstanding a period of growth after the collapse of the Soviet Union). Though the number of these immigrants fell by only several million in numerical terms, the share of all European immigrants in the United States plummeted from nearly 75 percent in 1960 to 12 percent in 2010. At the same time, Eastern European immigrants have represented a larger share of that smaller pie during the past two decades.

Here are some interesting facts about European immigrants:

•In 2010, more than 4.8 million European immigrants resided in the United States, representing 12 percent of all immigrants.

•About 44 percent of European immigrants were from Eastern Europe in 2010.

•The top countries of origin for European immigrants were the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Italy.

•Over half of all European immigrants resided in five states: New York, California, Illinois, Florida, and New Jersey.

•About one-third of all European-born immigrants lived in three metropolitan areas: the greater New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles metro areas.

KJ