Census Reporter
Citizenship
Since its creation, the ACS has asked questions about citizenship, place of birth, and year of entry into the U.S.
Overview
Citizenship and the Census has been a very heated topic over the last few years. That discussion has been focused around whether or not to add a question about respondents' citizenship status to the Decennial Census. Leaving aside the issues in that debate, the American Community Survey has asked a question about citizenship since it was created in 2005. Beginning with the 2018 and 2014-2018 ACS releases, a small number of new tables organizing information about the citizen voting-age population (CVAP) have been created based upon questions which were already in the survey.
Who is a citizen?
While it might be taken for granted that a person who is born in the U.S. is "native," note that people born in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the US Virgin Islands also qualifies as "native," as well as those born in a foreign country who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen. Thus, by definition, anyone who is "native" is a citizen. People who are not "native" are classified as "foreign born," and may be either a "naturalized citizen" or not a citizen.
Separately from asking about citizenship, the ACS asks about each person the location of their birth, be it a state in the U.S. or another country, and, if not born in the United States, the year that the person came to live in the United States.
One interesting table, Period of Naturalization (B05011), counts the number naturalized citizens over 5 year periods, allowing you to track naturalization rates over time.
Citizenship tables
The Census Bureau classifies table codes beginning with 05 as about citizenship.
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| B05001ठ| Nativity and Citizenship Status in the United States |
| B05002‡ | Place of Birth by Nativity and Citizenship Status |
| B05003‡† | Sex by Age by Nativity and Citizenship Status |
| B05004 | Median Age by Nativity and Citizenship Status by Sex |
| B05005ठ| Period of Entry by Nativity and Citizenship Status in the United States |
| B05006ठ| Place of Birth for the Foreign-born Population in the United States |
| B05007 | Place of Birth by Year of Entry by Citizenship Status for the Foreign-born Population |
| B05008 | Sex by Place of Birth by Year of Entry for the Foreign-born Population |
| B05009‡ | Age and Nativity of Own Children in Families and Subfamilies by Number and Nativity of Parents |
| B05010‡ | Ratio of Income to Poverty Level by Nativity of Children in Families and Subfamilies by Living Arrangements and Nativity of Parents |
| B05011 | Period of Naturalization |
| B05012§ | Nativity in the United States |
| B05013 | Sex by Age for the Foreign-born Population |
| B05014 | Sex by Age for the Foreign-born Population |
| B05015 | Place of Birth by Year of Entry for the Foreign-born Population |
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‡Table also available in "collapsed" version: change "B" to "C" for table code. †Also available in racial iterations. §Tabulated for Puerto Rico. Add 'PR' to the table code. Column names may vary slightly from non-PR version. |
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Place of Birth tables
The Census Bureau classifies table codes beginning with 06 as about place of birth.
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| B06001ठ| Place of Birth by Age in the United States |
| B06002§ | Median Age by Place of Birth in the United States |
| B06003§ | Place of Birth by Sex in the United States |
| B06004A†§ | Place of Birth in the United States |
| B06007ठ| Place of Birth by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English in the United States |
| B06008ठ| Place of Birth by Marital Status in the United States |
| B06009§ | Place of Birth by Educational Attainment in the United States |
| B06010ठ| Place of Birth by Individual Income in the United States |
| B06011§ | Median Income by Place of Birth in the United States |
| B06012§ | Place of Birth by Poverty Status in the United States |
|
‡Table also available in "collapsed" version: change "B" to "C" for table code. †Also available in racial iterations. §Tabulated for Puerto Rico. Add 'PR' to the table code. Column names may vary slightly from non-PR version. |
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Citizen, Voting-age population (CVAP) tables
The Census Bureau classifies table codes beginning with 29 as about the citizen voting-age population.
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| B29001 | Citizen, Voting-age Population by Age |
| B29002 | Citizen, Voting-age Population by Educational Attainment |
| B29003 | Citizen, Voting-age Population by Poverty Status |
| B29004 | Median Household Income for Households With a Citizen, Voting-age Householder |
Related tables about citizenship and place of birth
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| B07007§ | Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Citizenship Status for Current Residence in the United States |
| B07407§ | Geographical Mobility in the Past Year by Citizenship Status for Residence 1 Year Ago in the United States |
| B08111‡ | Means of Transportation to Work by Citizenship Status |
| B08511‡ | Means of Transportation to Work by Citizenship Status |
| B10053 | Nativity by Grandparents Responsible for Own Grandchildren by Age of Grandparent |
| B13008 | Women Who Had a Birth by Marital Status and Nativity |
| B16005‡† | Nativity by Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English |
| B16008‡ | Citizenship Status by Age by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English |
| B17025‡ | Poverty Status by Nativity |
| B26110 | Group Quarters Type (3 Types) by Nativity and Citizenship Status by Sex |
| B26210 | Group Quarters Type (5 Types) by Nativity and Citizenship Status by Sex |
| B27020 | Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type by Citizenship Status |
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‡Table also available in "collapsed" version: change "B" to "C" for table code. †Also available in racial iterations. §Tabulated for Puerto Rico. Add 'PR' to the table code. Column names may vary slightly from non-PR version. |
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