Impact of the North Carolina Foreign-Born Population

North Carolina is the 4th fastest growing state in the nation. That growth is driven by internal migration and the arrival of foreign-born population. These new North Carolinians from other countries are an important and valuable part of the state. The data below highlight the diversity and impact of the foreign-born population, and inform planning and services for all North Carolinians in the future.

Data are for 2020 unless otherwise stated.

Annual Economic Impact of the Foreign-Born Population - $3,550,214,928
Economic impact of the foreign-born population is based on the George Washington University Institute of Public Policy "Counting for Dollars: The Role of the Decennial Census in the Geographic Distribution of Federal Funds."
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2020 Total Foriegn-Born Population

100 km
100 mi
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Total Foreign-Born
Population:
Naturalized
US Citizen:
Not
US Citizen:
832,602 337,899 494,703

Foreign-Born Population5 Year Percent Change
Europe:88,497 31.45
Asia:237,088 66.95
Africa:66,169 87.97
Oceania:3,349 31.45
Central America:320,770 -1.42
South America:51,849 49.21


Foreign-Born Population Trend

Foreign-Born Place of Birth


English Proficiency

Foreign-Born PopulationSpeaks English Less Than "Very Well"
Persons Speaking Spanish at Home736,886 613,634
Persons Speaking Chinese
(incl. Mandarin, Cantonese) at Home
37,320 31,275
Persons Speaking Other Indo-European
Languages at Home
97,199 51,709
2019 Parents Speak Language
Other Than English at Home
317,170 166,194


Foreign-Born Population Period of Entry