The absolute and relative size of the foreign-born population from Europe has changed considerably over the past fifty years. In 1960, the European-born population numbered 7.3 million, comprising nearly three-quarters of the foreign-born population residing in the U.S. at the time.  The number of European born dropped to 5.7 million in 1970 and has remained below 5 million since the 1990s. By comparison, the relative size of the European-born population declined more dramatically; in 2016, only 11 percent of the foreign-born population was from Europe.

This poster provides an overview of the origins, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics of the foreign-born population from Europe. It utilizes data from the 2016 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year file—both published data and tabulations from the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)—and previous Censuses to present patterns at the national, state, and metropolitan levels.