4.26.2006

Estimates of the Unauthorized Migrant Population for States based on the March 2005 CPS

This fact sheet presents estimates for the number of unauthorized migrants living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on a well-established methodology applied to data from the March 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted jointly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, is best known as the source for monthly unemployment statistics. Every March both the sample size and the questionnaire of the CPS are augmented to produce the Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which provides additional data on several additional subjects, including the foreign-born population.

The March CPS supplement in any given year does not provide enough data to provide a precise point estimate of the size of the unauthorized population in all states. Variability in the survey sample precludes precise year-to-year comparisons for some sub-populations. Therefore, the estimates by state are presented here as a range. While based primarily on the March 2005 CPS, the estimates developed out of an analysis of CPS -- based estimates for 2000 to 2005 and Census -- based estimates for 2000. The analysis included both an examination of trends across the estimates for all six years and averaging of results in two- and three-year increments to reduce the effects of sample variability.

Other Immigration Fact Sheets

June 7, 2006: Hispanic Attitudes Toward Learning English

May 22, 2006: Modes of Entry for the Unauthorized Migrant Population

May 17, 2006: The State of American Public Opinion on Immigration in Spring 2006: A Review of Major Surveys.

April 13, 2006: The Labor Force Status of Short-Term Unauthorized Workers

April 5, 2006: Recently Arrived Migrants and the Congressional Debate on Immigration