Geographical Mobility/Migration

The native population, as defined by the Census Bureau, includes U.S. residents who were born in the United States or an outlying area of the United States and U.S. residents who were born in a foreign country but who had at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen. All other residents of the United States are classified as foreign born.

Place of birth (domestic) focuses primarily on people who were born in the United States and compares their birth state with where they lived at the time of the survey. The data will provide a breakdown of the population for those born in state of residence, born in another state in the U.S., Native, born outside the U.S., and Foreign born by selected characteristics. Detailed information about the foreign-born is covered under citizenship and nativity.

American Community Survey Data on Place of Birth

The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual national survey that collects and produces population, housing, and economic information.

Data on Place of Birth-Domestic are available for the U.S., states, metropolitan areas, and more specific geographical areas that meet minimum population sizes for the given survey year. Data are available from 2000 to the present.

Available Tabulations
There are 11 annual recurring tables on American FactFinder: place of birth available from American FactFinder since 2000.

Decennial Census

The Decennial Census occurs every 10 years ending in zero, to count the population and housing units for the entire United States. Its primary purpose is to provide the population counts that determine how seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are apportioned.

The Place of Birth data are derived from the census long form. This data has been collected in each census since 1850.

• Percent Born in State of Residence and Rank: 1990 [TXT - 6.4K]
• State of Residence in 2000 by State of Birth: 2000 [XLS - 111K] [PDF - 77K] [CSV - 16K]
• State of Residence in 1990 by State of Birth: 1990 [XLS - 51K] [PDF - 68K] [CSV - 35K]
• State of Residence in 1980 by State of Birth: 1980 [TXT - 58K]

Decennial census tables on place of birth are available from American FactFinder for 2000..

Tabulations from the most recent and historical censuses are also available from the Census of Population and Housing Publications Web site.

Other Technical and Analytical Reports

Place of Birth Information Sheet
The Place of Birth information sheet highlights the legal requirements, federal, state, and local uses of the American Community Survey data as well as the question as it appears in the survey.

The Statistical Abstract
The Statistical Abstract is the standard summary of statistics of the United States, which include selected tables that contain data for the Native and Foreign-born population.

• The 2009 Statistical Abstract
• The 2008 Statistical Abstract
• The 2007 Statistical Abstract