New data from the Census Bureau shows how the foreign-born population — meaning anyone born outside the US, including naturalized citizens and people authorized to be in the US on visas — continues to shape the country. Here’s the 2024 data on these populations. |
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- In 2024, 50.2 million people living in the US were foreign-born. That’s about one in seven residents, or 14.8% of the total population — up from 13.3% a decade earlier.
- Overall, the nation’s foreign-born population grew from 42.4 million people in 2014 to 50.2 million in 2024.
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- California had the highest foreign-born share of any state with nearly 10.9 million people (or 27.7% of its population). That’s about two in seven California residents.
- This demographic variation is most pronounced in metro areas. From 2019 to 2023, the Miami area had the highest share of foreign-born residents at 41.9%. The Parkersburg, West Virginia, area had the lowest: 0.98%.
- Want the data for your state? Click on the link below and select your state from the dropdown menu in the purple banner.
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What does the Education Department do? |
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Did you know that Congress prohibits the Department of Education from mandating curricula? It’s true; education is primarily a local and state responsibility. But the department does plenty else. With a new plan from the Trump administration to shift the Education’s Department’s core responsibilities to other departments, here are the basics on the department’s federal role.
- The department’s jobs include supplementing funding for K-12 students, college students, and other adults, as well as promoting educational equity for all students. It’s also home to the National Center for Education Statistics, which gathers data on K-12 institutions so people can better understand school finances and student achievement.
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- The Education Department spent $268.4 billion in fiscal year 2024, which was 4% of total federal spending and ranked 6th among federal agencies in total spending. Spending has increased 371.6% since FY 1980. Federal spending overall grew 193.7% in that time. In other words, the department's share of the federal budget has grown.
- The Education Department employed 4,209 people as of September 2024, the most recent available data, comprising 0.2% of the federal workforce.
- The Office of Federal Student Aid was the highest-spending division within the department in FY 2024, accounting for $160.7 billion.
- Other agencies, including the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the VA, also support students, primarily with funding or specialized programs.
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Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that goods and services imports dropped 5.1% in August compared with July. Many tariffs went into effect in August. For more on how tariffs work, watch this video with USAFacts Founder Steve Ballmer, or read this article from earlier this year. The government shutdown meant the September jobs report wasn’t released until last week. The new/old data reveals that the labor force participation rate that month was 62.4%. Unemployment sat at about 4.4%. (Some October job data will come out with the November jobs numbers, which are released in mid-December).
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The are the top 10 turkey-producing states. Minnesota leads the flock with an estimated 32 million raised so far this year. The states in gray have raised about 22.3 million turkeys combined. |
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If you don’t see us in your inbox next Monday, don’t worry! The next newsletter will go out Tuesday, December 2. Back to our regular schedule after that! |
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