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The Diaspora

The Power of the Diaspora

Immigrants, the second generation, and every generation that follows carry shared heritage, narratives, histories, and experiences forward. That inheritance builds community wherever it lands.

A large multiracial group stands together outdoors.

The diaspora across America

Exploring America's Diaspora Communities

More than 50 million immigrants call the United States home, one in every seven people, and the first generation is only where the diaspora begins. Across the country, 26.5 percent of children grow up with at least one immigrant parent, 85 percent of them born in the United States. Switch the map between the two and watch the same states deepen a generation later.

Alabama: immigrants 4.5% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 10.1% of childrenAlaska: immigrants 7.7% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 12.5% of childrenArizona: immigrants 13.4% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 26.1% of childrenArkansas: immigrants 5.8% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 13.2% of childrenCalifornia: immigrants 27.6% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 44.8% of childrenColorado: immigrants 10.6% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 22.1% of childrenConnecticut: immigrants 15.9% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 31.1% of childrenDelaware: immigrants 11.6% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 25.4% of childrenDistrict of Columbia: immigrants 15.5% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 26.9% of childrenFlorida: immigrants 23.1% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 36.5% of childrenGeorgia: immigrants 11.9% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 23.2% of childrenHawaii: immigrants 18.6% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 26% of childrenIdaho: immigrants 6.3% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 13.3% of childrenIllinois: immigrants 15.4% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 26.7% of childrenIndiana: immigrants 7% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 14.6% of childrenIowa: immigrants 6.3% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 12.7% of childrenKansas: immigrants 7.8% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 15.4% of childrenKentucky: immigrants 5.2% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 10.3% of childrenLouisiana: immigrants 5.2% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 9.2% of childrenMaine: immigrants 4.7% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 10.4% of childrenMaryland: immigrants 17.1% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 33.5% of childrenMassachusetts: immigrants 18.7% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 33.4% of childrenMichigan: immigrants 7.7% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 15.1% of childrenMinnesota: immigrants 9% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 20.8% of childrenMississippi: immigrants 2.7% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 5.6% of childrenMissouri: immigrants 4.9% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 9.6% of childrenMontana: immigrants 2.1% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 4.3% of childrenNebraska: immigrants 9% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 19.7% of childrenNevada: immigrants 19.9% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 36.2% of childrenNew Hampshire: immigrants 5.9% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 11.8% of childrenNew Jersey: immigrants 25% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 42.9% of childrenNew Mexico: immigrants 10% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 21.3% of childrenNew York: immigrants 23.3% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 37.5% of childrenNorth Carolina: immigrants 9.9% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 21.9% of childrenNorth Dakota: immigrants 5.3% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 10.2% of childrenOhio: immigrants 5.5% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 11.2% of childrenOklahoma: immigrants 6.6% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 15.4% of childrenOregon: immigrants 10% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 22.1% of childrenPennsylvania: immigrants 8.3% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 16.1% of childrenRhode Island: immigrants 15.7% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 31.3% of childrenSouth Carolina: immigrants 6.4% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 14.3% of childrenSouth Dakota: immigrants 4.1% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 8% of childrenTennessee: immigrants 6.5% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 15.1% of childrenTexas: immigrants 18.4% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 34.1% of childrenUtah: immigrants 9.8% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 18.2% of childrenVermont: immigrants 4.5% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 7% of childrenVirginia: immigrants 13.5% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 25.9% of childrenWashington: immigrants 16.1% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 32.3% of childrenWest Virginia: immigrants 2.1% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 3.8% of childrenWisconsin: immigrants 5.5% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 12.6% of childrenWyoming: immigrants 3.5% of the population, children with an immigrant parent 6.9% of children
Immigrant share of state populationUnder 5%5–10%10–15%15–20%20% and up

Source: Migration Policy Institute tabulations of US Census Bureau 2024 American Community Survey data.

Explore Diaspora Communities in the U.S.

62M+

Americans carry active ties to another country across the first and second generations.

1 in 8

Americans is second-generation, raised in two cultures at home.

190+

countries of origin come together across US diaspora communities.

$103B in diaspora remittances leaves the United States every year, the world's largest source, and diaspora households send more capital into low- and middle-income countries than investment or aid.

Sources: Migration Policy Institute and Pew Research Center; World Bank Migration and Development Brief (2024).

In their own words

Voices of the Diaspora

A workshop facilitator speaks to the room, hands mid-gesture.
But diaspora was this, too: two cultures that could both be his, history that was waiting to be made.
Grace D. LiAuthor, Portrait of a Thief

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