May Day, 2006, immigration march in Los Angeles. Photo by Jonathan McIntosh via Wikimedia Commons. See Mexico's Last Stand in California.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an estimated 2.6 million undocumented immigrants resided in California in 2022, compared to 2.76 million in 2015, 2.5 million in 2000, and 1.5 million in 1990. This represented the largest such population in any U.S. state, surpassing second-ranked Texas by more than half a million additional persons. The California number also represented 23.7 percent of the entire estimated undocumented immigrant population (11.99 million in 2022) in the United States. About 6.61 percent of California's population was estimated to be undocumented immigrants. Across the entire United States, an estimated 4.81 million undocumented immigrants were from Mexico, down from 5.54 million just in 2018.
In 2014, the Public Policy Institute of California, estimated that the undocumented immigrant population in California was mostly Latin American (78 percent), with a declining majority being from Mexico (52 percent). About a tenth of the state's workforce were undocumented immigrants and 12.3 percent of California's K-12 school children had at least one undocumented immigrant parent.
DHS has not offered undocumented immigrant estimates specifically for U.S. counties. The Migration Policy Institute, however, estimated the number in 2019, specifically in Los Angeles County, to have been 951,000 (see table below), almost 10 percent of the county's entire population and the highest concentration in any U.S. county. The undocumented immigrant populations combined in the five boroughs (counties) of New York City were estimated to be 600,000. In Harris County, Texas (Houston), the number was 481,000; in Dallas County, Texas (Dallas), 293,000; in Cook County, Illinois (Chicago), 257,000; in Miami Dade-Monroe Counties, Florida (Miami), 198,000.
The Migration Policy Institute estimated that, in 2016, the undocumented immigrant population in Los Angeles County was most concentrated in Southeast Los Angeles County, Eastern San Fernando Valley and the San Gabriel Valley. The University of Southern California Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration reported that, in Los Angeles County, in 2016, 80 percent of undocumented persons were Latino, 10 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander, and 3 percent were white. It further reported that 68 percent of undocumented immigrants had lived in the United States for more than 10 years and that 852,000 U.S. citizen Angelenos and 273,000 legal permanent resident Angelenos lived with an undocumented family member. Combined with an estimated 886,000 Angelenos who were undocumented, that came to about 1 in 5 residents of Los Angeles County who were either undocumented or living with a family member who was undocumented.
Per the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, an undocumented immigrant (or "unauthorized immigrant") is defined as a foreign-born non-U.S. citizen who is a resident without legal status. Most undocumented immigrants either entered the United States without being inspected at the United States border or were admitted temporarily and stayed past the date they were required to leave. Other terms commonly used in public discourse are "illegal immigrant" or "illegal alien" ("alien" being a legal description of a non-U.S. citizen).
2019 & 2023 Estimates from the Migration Policy Institute
| Demographics | 2023 | 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Unauthorized Population | 1,101,000 | 100% | 951,000 | 100% |
| Top Source Countries | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Mexico | 530,000 | 48% | 501,000 | 53% |
| El Salvador | 201,000 | 18% | 112,000 | 12% |
| Guatemala | 160,000 | 15% | 108,000 | 11% |
| Philippines | 52,000 | 5% | 48,000 | 5% |
| China | 32,000 | 3% | 42,000 | 4% |
| Region of Birth | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Mexico & Central America | 957,000 | 87% | 754,000 | 79% |
| Caribbean | 2,000 | 0% | --- | --- |
| South America | 33,000 | 3% | 19,000 | 2% |
| Europe, Canada, Oceania | 31,000 | 3% | 21,000 | 2% |
| Asia | 72,000 | 7% | 151,000 | 16% |
| Africa | 7,000 | 1% | 6,000 | 1% |
| Years of U.S. Residence | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Under 5 | 116,000 | 10% | 135,000 | 14% |
| 5-9 | 85,000 | 8% | 115,000 | 12% |
| 10-14 | 84,000 | 8% | 168,000 | 18% |
| 15-19 | 156,000 | 14% | 206,000 | 22% |
| 20+ | 662,000 | 60% | 326,000 | 34% |
| Age Group | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Under 16 | 30,000 | 3% | 36,000 | 4% |
| 16-24 | 101,000 | 9% | 110,000 | 12% |
| 25-34 | 212,000 | 19% | 233,000 | 24% |
| 35-44 | 305,000 | 28% | 264,000 | 28% |
| 45-54 | 287,000 | 26% | 198,000 | 21% |
| 55+ | 167,000 | 15% | 110,000 | 12% |
| Gender | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Female | 498,000 | 45% | 449,000 | 47% |
| Parental Status | 2023 | 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Parental Status | ||||
| Population age 15+ | 1,075,000 | 100% | 920,000 | 100% |
| Reside with at least one U.S.-citizen child under 18 | 313,000 | 29% | 280,000 | 30% |
| Reside with noncitizen children only under 18 | 95,000 | 9% | 71,000 | 8% |
| Reside with no children | 668,000 | 62% | 569,000 | 62% |
| Marital Status | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Population age 15+ | 1,075,000 | 100% | 920,000 | 100% |
| Never married | 445,000 | 41% | 395,000 | 43% |
| Married to a U.S. citizen | 180,000 | 17% | 95,000 | 10% |
| Married to a legal permanent resident (LPR) | 124,000 | 12% | 52,000 | 6% |
| Married to non-U.S. citizen/non-LPR | 150,000 | 14% | 234,000 | 25% |
| Divorced, separated, widowed | 176,000 | 16% | 144,000 | 16% |
| School Enrollment | 2023 | 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate* | Percent* | |
| Population age 5-18 | 46,000 | 100% | --- | --- |
| Enrolled | 39,000 | 85% | --- | --- |
| Not enrolled | 7,000 | 15% | --- | --- |
| Population age 5-13 | 19,000 | 100% | --- | --- |
| Enrolled | 18,000 | 92% | --- | --- |
| Not enrolled | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Population age 14-18 | 26,000 | 100% | --- | --- |
| Enrolled | 21,000 | 81% | --- | --- |
| Not enrolled | 5,000 | 19% | --- | --- |
| Population age 19-24 | 81,000 | 100% | --- | --- |
| Enrolled | 23,000 | 28% | --- | --- |
| Not enrolled | 58,000 | 72% | --- | --- |
| Educational Attainment | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Population age 25+ | 971,000 | 100% | 805,000 | 100% |
| Grade 0-5 | 166,000 | 17% | 143,000 | 18% |
| Grade 6-8 | 163,000 | 17% | 147,000 | 18% |
| Grade 9-12 | 136,000 | 17% | 136,000 | 17% |
| High school diploma or GED | 241,000 | 25% | 180,000 | 22% |
| Some college or associate’s degree | 130,000 | 13% | 92,000 | 11% |
| Bachelor’s, graduate, or professional degree | 95,000 | 10% | 107,000 | 13% |
| English Proficiency | 2023 | 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Population age 5+ | 1,097,000 | 100% | 945,000 | 100% |
| Speak only English | 55,000 | 5% | 40,000 | 4% |
| Speak English "very well" | 243,000 | 22% | 213,000 | 23% |
| Speak English "well" | 254,000 | 23% | 201,000 | 21% |
| Speak English "not well"/"not at all" | 545,000 | 50% | 491,000 | 52% |
| Top Languages Spoken at Home | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Population age 5+ | 1,097,000 | 100% | 945,000 | 100% |
| Spanish | 949,000 | 86% | 747,000 | 79% |
| English | 55,000 | 5% | 42,000 | 4% |
| Chinese | 27,000 | 2% | 41,000 | 4% |
| Tagalog | 16,000 | 1% | 40,000 | 4% |
| Korean | 14,000 | 1% | 28,000 | 3% |
| Labor Force Participation | 2023 | 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Civilian population age 16+ | 1,071,000 | 100% | 915,000 | 100% |
| Employed | 747,000 | 70% | 601,000 | 66% |
| Unemployed | 47,000 | 4% | 42,000 | 5% |
| Not in the labor force | 277,000 | 26% | 272,000 | 30% |
| Top Industries of Employment | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Civilian employed population age 16+ | 747,000 | 100% | 601,000 | 100% |
| Manufacturing | 95,000 | 13% | 94,000 | 16% |
| Accommodation & food services, arts, entertainment, & recreation | 106,000 | 14% | 93,000 | 15% |
| Construction | 134,000 | 18% | 87,000 | 14% |
| Professional, scientific, management, administrative, & waste management services | 90,000 | 12% | 76,000 | 13% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 66,000 | 9% | 61,000 | 10% |
| Family Income | 2023 | 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Below 50% of the poverty level | 81,000 | 7% | 102,000 | 11% |
| 50-99% of the poverty level | 129,000 | 12% | 149,000 | 16% |
| 100-149% of the poverty level | 167,000 | 15% | 168,000 | 18% |
| 150-199% of the poverty level | 167,000 | 15% | 151,000 | 16% |
| At or above 200% of the poverty level | 557,000 | 51% | 382,000 | 40% |
| Health Insurance | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Uninsured | 415,000 | 38% | 407,000 | 43% |
| Homeownership | 2023 | 2019 | ||
| Estimate | Percent | Estimate | Percent | |
| Homeowner** | 191,000 | 17% | 159,000 | 17% |
* 2019 estimates for this category did not correlate to same age groups as for 2023 estimates.
** A homeowner here is an undocumented immigrant residing in a U.S. home that they own rather than rent.
Source: Migration Policy Institute. For 2019 estimates, the Institute analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data from the pooled 2015-19 American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), weighted to 2019 undocumented immigrant population estimates provided by Jennifer Van Hook of Pennsylvania State University. For 2023 estimates, these also resulted from analysis of later census data from the pooled 2019-23 American Community Survey and the 2023, 2022, and 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), weighted to 2023 unauthorized immigrant population estimates also provided by Ms. Van Hook.
Also see: Immigration has long been a hot issue in California.
Also see: "Sanctuary" Cities in Los Angeles County
