The standard measure of immigration is annual arrivals, Green Cards issued, and naturalization. That number is only part of the story. It captures a single year's flow while ignoring the cumulative population produced in the long-term.
An important, seldom discussed measure is immigrant stock: the total population of foreign-born residents plus their U.S.-born children. We use this label for MPI’s first- and second-generation measure, including adult children and all arrival years. It does not count all grandchildren or isolate immigration since 1990.[1]
Foreign-born population by metropolitan area
Where mass immigration is concentrated
Foreign-born
53.3M(15.8%)Immigrants + U.S.-born children
iWhy Immigrant Stock Matters More Than Annual Arrivals
| Measure | Population, 2024 | Share of noninstitutionalized U.S. population |
|---|---|---|
| Immigrants and their U.S.-born children, all arrival years | 97.2 million | About 29% |
Source: Migration Policy Institute.[1]
Annual arrivals measure a flow; the MPI figure measures residents in the first and second generations. It cannot be calculated by adding admissions or multiplying the growth in foreign-born residents. Births, deaths and emigration affect the population over time.
Geographic Concentration
The geographic data below measure foreign-born residents, not MPI’s combined population. 60% of the foreign-born population lives in just 20 metro areas [3]. This concentration intensifies the displacement effect in those specific markets.
| Metro Area | Foreign-Born Share | Median Home Price | Price-to-Income Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | 54% | $550,000 | 8.5x |
| San Jose | 39% | $1.55M | 12.2x |
| Los Angeles | 34% | $950,000 | 9.1x |
| New York | 37% | $650,000 | 7.2x |
| San Francisco | 35% | $1.35M | 10.8x |
In 1970, Santa Clara County had a price-to-income ratio of approximately 3x. A working family could buy a home on a single income. Today it is 12.2x. The county's foreign-born share grew from 12.5% in 1970 to 40.6% in 2023.
These metro comparisons do not measure the distribution of MPI’s combined population or establish immigration’s causal effect on housing prices.
The Economic Displacement Mechanism
Immigrant stock affects the economy through three channels:
- Housing competition. Every person in the immigrant stock population needs somewhere to live. The 97.2 million estimate counts people, not households or additional homes needed. In markets where housing supply is constrained, this additional demand raises prices for everyone. The Americans most affected are young families trying to buy their first home, working-class renters in high-immigration metros, and seniors on fixed incomes whose property taxes rise with neighborhood values.
- Labor market competition. The foreign-born labor force reached 31.4 million in 2024 [9] - one in five American workers. In industries where immigrant workers concentrate (tech, construction, agriculture, healthcare), wages face downward pressure. The second generation enters the same labor market, compounding the competition.
- Infrastructure and public services. Schools, roads, hospitals, and transit systems were built for the population that existed when they were constructed. Population growth can increase demand for those services; the MPI total is not a count of people added since a particular year. School districts in high-immigration metros teach in dozens of languages. Hospital emergency rooms serve populations far beyond their designed capacity. Highway systems built for 1970s populations carry 2025 traffic loads.
The Cost to American Families
The displacement is measurable:
- Homeownership: The homeownership rate for Americans under 35 fell from 43.6% in 1980 to 37.4% in 2024 [6]. In high-immigration metros, the decline is steeper.
- Rent burden: 50% of renters in high-immigration metros spend more than 30% of income on housing, compared to 40% nationally [6].
- Wage suppression: Harvard economist George Borjas estimates that immigration transfers approximately $516 billion annually from American workers to employers and capital owners.
- Fiscal cost: The National Academy of Sciences found that first-generation immigrants cost state and local governments more than they contribute in taxes [10]. The fiscal balance does not turn positive until the second generation.
Decolonization and the Right to Demographic Self-Determination
In the 1960s, decolonization movements across Africa and Asia established a principle that the international community accepted: indigenous populations have the right to control their own territory, determine their own demographic future, and not be economically displaced by wealthier outsiders.
When Algeria expelled French settlers who owned 40% of cultivated land despite being 10% of the population, the world approved. When Kenya implemented "Africanization" policies, the world approved. The principle was straightforward: a people should not be displaced in their own country.
The same principle applies to Americans being priced out of their own cities by an immigration system that imports millions of workers and their families without regard for the housing, wage, and infrastructure consequences for the existing population.
Sources
- Migration Policy Institute, Frequently Requested Statistics, March 12, 2026 - 2024 immigrants and U.S.-born children: 97.2 million, about 29%; all arrival years, noninstitutionalized population.
- Census Bureau, "Second Generation Americans," 2023 - U.S.-born children of immigrants statistics
- Pew Research Center, "Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065," Chapter 2 - 2065 population projections
- USCIS, H-1B Employer Data Hub - Visa approvals by employer and salary data
- National Association of Realtors, "International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate," 2023 - Foreign real estate purchases
- Demographia, International Housing Affordability - City-level price-to-income ratios
- Saiz, Albert, "Immigration and Housing Rents in American Cities," Journal of Urban Economics 61.2 (2007): 345-371
- United Nations Population Division, International Migrant Stock - A separate international migrant-stock measure; not the first-plus-second-generation definition used here
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Foreign-Born Workers: Labor Force Characteristics," 2024
- National Academy of Sciences, "The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration," 2017