Immigration: Shaping and Reshaping America (PDF: 370KB)

 This Population Bulletin examines current immigration patterns and policies in the United States, reviews the peaks and troughs of immigration flows, and provides a historical perspective on contemporary trends. Resolving the fundamental economic, social, and political issues raised by immigration requires weighing the choices or trade-offs between widely shared but competing goals in American society. (BUL58.2, June 2003)

Number of Foreign-Born Reaches All-Time High in U.S.
In 2002, 32.5 million people in the United States were foreign-born, and about half arrived in 1990 or later. Nearly 60 percent live in one of four states: California, New York, Florida, or Texas. (June 2003)

State Profiles of Child Well-Being: Results from the 2000 Census (PDF: 807KB)
This new PRB/KIDS COUNT Census 2000 report has state-by-state data on high-poverty neighborhoods, children in single-parent families, teen dropouts, children with difficulty speaking English, and other key indicators. (April 2003)

Which U.S. States Are the 'Oldest'?
One quarter of elderly Americans live in one of three states: California, Florida, and New York. Sparsely populated states such as Alaska, Wyoming, Vermont, and North Dakota have very small elderly populations — less than 100,000 each in 2000. (April 2003)

Age 100 and Counting
More people are reaching the century mark than ever before. What accounts for extreme longevity? It is likely that genetics, lifestyle, gender, and luck are all responsible. (April 2003)

Diversity, Poverty Characterize Female-Headed Households
Over the past 30 years in the U.S., the percentage of female-headed households with children has increased most rapidly among blacks, but this trend appears to have slowed in recent years. (AmeriStat, March 2003)

Solitaire Set Continues to Grow
Between 1970 and 2002, the percentage of U.S. adults who lived alone increased from 8 percent to 14 percent. (AmeriStat, March 2003)

Marriage Boosts Individual Earnings
In the United States, men of all ages earn more money if they are married. Like married men, married women have higher personal earnings than women who have never married, but only at younger ages. (AmeriStat, March 2003)

Americans Increasingly Opting Out of Marriage
Over the past 25 years, the percentage of people who have never been married increased from 24 percent to 29 percent. (AmeriStat, March 2003)

While U.S. Households Contract, Homes Expand
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that average new single-family homes are almost 1.5 times the size of 1970 homes. This trend suggests that families want more living space than they did 30 years ago. But do American families need more space? (AmeriStat, March 2003)