Immigration Since 1900

Counted head by head, the two biggest decades for immigration to the United States were the 1900s, with about 8.3 million arrivals, and the 2000s and 2010s, with about 11 million each. That is the comparison people reach for when they say immigration is at record levels.

The toggle divides each decade's arrivals by the population already living in the country at the start of it. On that measure the 1900s stand far above everything since: 8.3 million arrivals into a country of 76 million is a very different thing from 11 million into a country of 281 million. The population roughly tripled across the twentieth century, so the recent decades shrink when set against it. The slider picks a decade and the side panel gives both measures.