This report presents data on nativity status and citizenship at the national and state levels based on the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS). During the last four decades, both the native and foreign-born populations have increased in size.¹ While the native-born population has remained the majority during this period, the foreign-born population has come to represent a greater share of the total population, increasing from 9.6 million or 4.7 percent in 1970, to 31.1 million or 11.1 percent in 2000.² According to the 2009 ACS, 38.5 million of the 307 million residents in the United States were foreign-born, representing 12.5 percent of the total population (see Table 1).

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¹ The terms native and native born are used interchangeably in this report.
² Gibson, Campbell and Kay Jung. 2006. “Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 1850 to 2000.” U.S. Census Bureau: Population Division Working Paper, Number 81. Available on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Web site at <www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2006/demo/POP-twps0081.html>.