Just the Facts: Immigration and the Budget

USAFacts is continuing our deep dive into founder Steve Ballmer’s Just the Facts series to share information on the top election season issues by the numbers. This week, we’re starting with the legal immigrants coming to the US, plus more on the federal budget.

Where do US immigrants come from? 

Recent immigration trends indicate a rising number of authorized immigrants coming to the US, especially for work. The origins of immigrant workers have shifted over time, with North America surpassing Asia as the primary source of labor immigration in recent years. Here’s what the data reveals.

Over 2.6 million authorized immigrants arrived in the US in 2022, up from the totals in 2020 and 2021 and similar to the total in 2017. Forty-one percent of the immigrants arriving in 2022 came for work.

In 2022, nearly 43% of legal immigrants, about 1.1 million people, came from Asia. Another 29% were from North America, 14% were from Europe, 7% were from South America and 6% were from Africa.
South America had the biggest rate increase from 2021 to 2022, with 113% more immigrants.
In 2022, the most common countries of origin for immigrants were Mexico (533,878 people), India (489,957), and China (115,000).

See the immigration data

How income tax fits into the national budget

Nearly half of federal revenue came from individual income taxes last year. However, the government collected less of it in 2023 than the year prior. Here’s a look at income tax, who pays the highest shares, and data on the other taxes that fund federal programs.

Income taxes accounted for just under $2.18 trillion of the $4.47 trillion during the 2023 fiscal year. That’s down 21% from the year prior; income tax revenue rose by over $880.7 million between 2020 and 2022 before falling by $588.9 billion in 2023. This is the result of additional capital gains taxes and increased income tax withholdings.

In 2021, the top 5% of earners — people with incomes $252,840 and above — collectively paid over $1.4 trillion in income taxes. Consider the top 10% of earners — everyone making at least $169,800 — and that figure rises to $1.7 trillion.
The top 50% of earners contributed 97.7% of federal income tax revenue.
In 2023, payroll taxes accounted for 36.6% of the federal government revenue. Both employers and employees contribute to these taxes, which fund Social Security and Medicare.
Corporate income taxes contributed 9.4% of the 2023 revenue, while customs duties accounted for 1.8%.

Learn more about income tax rates

Data behind the news

The FBI is probing a hack on the Trump campaign and the Harris team says it was also targeted in a failed attempt. It could be part of the growing trend of cyber-attacks and crimes in the US.

A New York City man was arrested and charged with a hate crime after attacking a Jewish man near a synagogue on August 10. Here are the facts behind hate crimes in the US.

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One last fact: Election edition

10 Supreme Court Justices have had terms longer than 32 years

The Constitution states that Supreme Court Justices "shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour" — generally interpreted as a lifetime term, barring impeachment. Term lengths have varied from less than one year to more than 36. Since 1970, the shortest term — excluding active Justices — has been 15 years. See more charts exploring the US government on our Instagram.