What does this measure?

The percentage of the population in a region that is foreign-born, which includes anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at birth. People who become U.S. citizens through naturalization are considered foreign-born.

Why is this important?

Foreign-born Americans and their descendants have historically been a main driver of population growth, and that role will only increase in the future. According to the Pew Research Center, new immigrants and their children and grandchildren accounted for 55% of the U.S. population increase from 1965 to 2015, from 193 million to 324 million. Pew projects the population will grow to 441 million in 2065, and 88% of the increase is linked to future immigrants and their descendants. This measure also is a reflection of the composition of a community, which can offer insight into its levels of diversity.

How is the region performing?

The foreign-born share of the population in the Mid-Hudson Valley increased slightly from 2000 to 2017-21, from 8% to 10%. The percentage in 2017-21 was slightly lower than New York State excluding New York City (12%) and the U.S. (14%). The state and nation also had slight increases in foreign-born population since 2000.

Among the region's counties, foreign-born residents represented the largest share of the overall population in 2017-21 in Putnam County, at 14%, followed by Orange, at 12%. Greene had the smallest share, at 6%. In raw numbers, Orange had the largest foreign-born population (about 46,600 residents), followed by Dutchess (about 33,600 residents). The two smallest were Greene, with only about 2,700 foreign-born residents, and Columbia, at 4,100.

Among the region's larger communities, Newburgh (Orange County) had one of the biggest percentages of foreign-born residents, at 23%. Poughkeepsie (Dutchess County), at 17%, also was quite a bit higher than the region as a whole.

Notes about the data

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined 5 years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.