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Citizenship

Overview

Since its creation, the ACS has asked questions about citizenship, place of birth, and year of entry into the U.S.

Citizenship and the Census has been a very heated topic over the last few years. That discussion has been focused around whether or not to add a question about respondents' citizenship status to the Decennial Census. Regardless of how the debate around the Decennial is resolved, the American Community Survey has asked a question about citizenship since it was created in 2005. Beginning with the 2018 and 2014-2018 ACS releases, a small number of new tables organizing information about the citizen voting-age population (CVAP) have been created based upon questions which were already in the survey.

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Is this an issue you care about? Connect with one of the organizations below to find resources and support on this topic.

Global Detroit

Global Detroit advocates for and executes strategies to drive equitable local, regional, and statewide economic growth through immigrant inclusion. Their research shapes policy and practice, they provide support to immigrant residents, international students, and small business owners, and support strong communities by connecting people to homeownership, home repair, foreclosure prevention, and other programs.

All data sources are from the American Community Survey unless otherwise noted.

Indicators on the Profile Page

Why It's Important

Place of birth
  • Foreign-born population
  • Place of birth for foreign-born population
  • These datasets are helpful in studying the demographics of an area. Resources and services could be modified to meet the needs of the specific populations of an area. For example, organizations who support and cater to immigrants would have more information on the language spoken, the customs followed, or the diversity of an area, which could help their services be more effective.

Methodology

American Community Survey Data

Who is a citizen?

While it might be taken for granted that a person who is born in the U.S. is "native," note that people born in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the US Virgin Islands also qualifies as "native," as well as those born in a foreign country who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen. Thus, by definition, anyone who is "native" is a citizen. People who are not "native" are classified as "foreign born," and may be either a "naturalized citizen" or not a citizen.

Separately from asking about citizenship, the ACS asks about each person the location of their birth, be it a state in the U.S. or another country, and, if not born in the United States, the year that the person came to live in the United States.

One interesting table, Period of Naturalization (B05011), counts the number naturalized citizens over 5 year periods, allowing you to track naturalization rates over time.

From the Census: Why We Ask: Place of Birth, Citizenship, Year of Entry

Sample Survey Questions on this Topic

Citizenship

The Census Bureau classifies table codes beginning with 05 as about citizenship.

Code

Title

Citizenship
B05001ठNativity and Citizenship Status in the United States
B05002‡ Place of Birth by Nativity and Citizenship Status
B05003‡† Sex by Age by Nativity and Citizenship Status
B05004 Median Age by Nativity and Citizenship Status by Sex
B05005ठPeriod of Entry by Nativity and Citizenship Status in the United States
B05006ठPlace of Birth for the Foreign-born Population in the United States
B05007 Place of Birth by Year of Entry by Citizenship Status for the Foreign-born Population
B05008 Sex by Place of Birth by Year of Entry for the Foreign-born Population
B05009‡ Age and Nativity of Own Children in Families and Subfamilies by Number and Nativity of Parents
B05010‡ Ratio of Income to Poverty Level by Nativity of Children in Families and Subfamilies by Living Arrangements and Nativity of Parents
B05011 Period of Naturalization
B05012§ Nativity in the United States
B05013‡ Sex by Age for the Foreign-born Population
B05014 Sex by Age for the Foreign-born Population
B05015 Place of Birth by Year of Entry for the Foreign-born Population
†Also available in racial iterations.
‡Table also available in "collapsed" version: change "B" to "C" for table code.
§Tabulated for Puerto Rico. Add 'PR' to the table code. Column names may vary slightly from non-PR version.

Place of Birth

The Census Bureau classifies table codes beginning with 06 as about place of birth.

Code

Title

Place of Birth
B06001ठPlace of Birth by Age in the United States
B06002§ Median Age by Place of Birth in the United States
B06003§ Place of Birth by Sex in the United States
B06004A†§ Place of Birth in the United States
B06007ठPlace of Birth by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English in the United States
B06008ठPlace of Birth by Marital Status in the United States
B06009§ Place of Birth by Educational Attainment in the United States
B06010ठPlace of Birth by Individual Income in the United States
B06011§ Median Income by Place of Birth in the United States
B06012ठPlace of Birth by Poverty Status in the United States
†Also available in racial iterations.
‡Table also available in "collapsed" version: change "B" to "C" for table code.
§Tabulated for Puerto Rico. Add 'PR' to the table code. Column names may vary slightly from non-PR version.

Citizen, Voting-age Population (CVAP)

The Census Bureau classifies table codes beginning with 29 as about the citizen voting-age population.

Code

Title

Citizen, Voting-age population (CVAP)
B29002 Citizen, Voting-age Population by Educational Attainment
B29003 Citizen, Voting-age Population by Poverty Status
B29004 Median Household Income for Households With a Citizen, Voting-age Householder

Related Tables About Citizenship and Place of Birth

Code

Title

Related tables about citizenship and place of birth
B07007§ Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Citizenship Status for Current Residence in the United States
B07407§ Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Citizenship Status for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States
B08111‡ Means of Transportation to Work by Citizenship Status
B08511‡ Means of Transportation to Work by Citizenship Status for Workplace Geography
B10053 Nativity by Grandparents Responsible for Own Grandchildren by Age of Grandparent
B13008 Women Who Had a Birth by Marital Status and Nativity
B16005‡† Nativity by Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English
B16008‡ Citizenship Status by Age by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English
B17025‡ Poverty Status by Nativity
B26110 Group Quarters Type (3 Types) by Nativity and Citizenship Status by Sex
B26210 Group Quarters Type (5 Types) by Nativity and Citizenship Status by Sex
B27020 Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type by Citizenship Status
†Also available in racial iterations.
‡Table also available in "collapsed" version: change "B" to "C" for table code.
§Tabulated for Puerto Rico. Add 'PR' to the table code. Column names may vary slightly from non-PR version.