Forum on Child and Family StatisticsChildren of at Least One Foreign-Born Parent
The foreign-born population of the United States has grown since 1970.14 This increase in the past generation has largely been due to immigration from Latin America and Asia and has led to an expansion in the diversity of language and cultural backgrounds of children growing up in the United States.15 Potential language and cultural barriers confronting children and their foreign-born parents may make additional language resources at both school and home necessary for these children.16
Indicator FAM4: Percentage of children ages 0–17 by nativity of child and parents, selected years 2010–2022
NOTE: Data for 2022 exclude the approximately 160,900 household residents under age 18 who have a spouse or child in the household. Children living in households with no parents present are not shown in this figure but are included in the bases for the percentages. Native-born parents means that all of the parents the child lives with are native born. Foreign born means that one or both of the child's parents are foreign born. Anyone with U.S. citizenship at birth is considered native born, which includes people born in the United States or in U.S. outlying areas and people born abroad with at least one American parent. Foreign-born children with native-born parents are included in the native children with native parents category.
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
- In 2022, 22% of children were native born with at least one foreign-born parent, and 3% were foreign born with at least one foreign-born parent. Seventy-one percent of children were native born with native-born parents.
- The percentage of all children (native and foreign born) living in the United States with at least one foreign-born parent did not significantly change from 2020 (25.4%) to 2022 (25.6%).
14 Gibson, C., & Jung, K. (2006). Historical census statistics on the foreign-born population of the United States: 1850 to 2000. (U.S. Census Bureau: Population Division Working Paper Number 81). http://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2006/demo/POP-twps0081.html.
15 Grieco, E. (2010). Race and Hispanic origin of the foreign-born population in the United States: 2007. (American Community Survey Reports) (ACS-11). https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2010/acs/acs-11.html.
16 Hernandez, D. J., Denton, N. A., & Macartney, S. E. (2008). Children in immigrant families: Looking to America's future. Social Policy Report, 22(3), 3–11. http://www.srcd.org/sites/default/files/documents/22_3_hernandez_final.pdf.
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
