Why Is This Important?

Immigrants, especially if recently resettled in the U.S., may face health disparities due to factors such as lack of health insurance, barriers to access to quality healthcare, language barriers, workplace conditions, education, and income and wealth gaps.[https://www.cdc.gov/immigrant-refugee-health/about/index.html ^1^]

Definition

Percent of the total population that is foreign-born, where foreign-born means not born in the 50 states, Washington DC, US territories, or abroad to American parent(s)

Data Source

How the Measure is Calculated

How Are We Doing?

The proportion of the population that is foreign-born is slowly increasing in New Jersey but varies widely by race/ethnicity and county.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

Compared to the US as a whole, the population of New Jersey has a higher proportion of foreign-born residents (14.3% vs 24.2%, respectively, in 2023).

What Is Being Done?

The Office of New Americans (ONA) in the New Jersey Department of Human Services supports new Americans through outreach and education, and works on priorities to build trust, improve access to social services, workforce development and employment services, and legal services for immigrants.

More Resources

New Jersey Department of Human Services, [https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/njnewamericans/ Office of New Americans] CDC, [https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/index.html Immigrant, Refugee, and Migrant Health] National Institutes of Health, [https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/extramural/investigator-initiated-research/immigrant-health-initiative.html Immigrant Health Initiative] U.S. Census Bureau, [https://data.census.gov/cedsci/ data.census.gov] U.S. Census Bureau, [https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0400000US34, New Jersey Profile]

Footnote References

1. [https://www.cdc.gov/immigrant-refugee-health/about/index.html About Immigrant and Refugee Health]. CDC. 5/15/24.