Traditionally, the immigrant population was concentrated in a handful of states: New York, California, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Florida. Those eight states accounted for more than three-fourths (75.8%) of the total foreign-born population in in 1960 and still dominate, although their share of the national total has fallen to 69 percent in 2010 as less competition for limited job opportunities has lured immigrants to other areas.
Over that half century, the foreign-born population has grown much faster than the overall population (310% vs. 73%). The immigrant population has increased over that period in every state except Maine, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia - all states with small immigrant populations already in 1960.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Dist. of Columbia, Florida,
Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, N. Hampshire, N. Jersey,
N. Mexico, N. York, N. Carolina, N. Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, R. Island, S. Carolina,
Metropolitan Statistical Areas: Listed by state, or alphabetically.