California has the most foreign-born residents in the nation

The foreign-born population of the United States has risen to 40 million, or almost 13% of the population, according to new figures from the Census Bureau. That's up from about 31 million, or about 11% of the total population, in 2000.

California is home to 1 in 4 of those foreign-born residents, far more than any other state, the new report showed. Three states -- New York, Texas, and Florida -- accounted for about another third of the foreign-born population, with New York having the second highest total at 11%.

In California, residents who were not U.S. citizens at birth, represent 27%, or 10.2 million, of the state’s population of about 37 million.

Overall, more than half of the U.S. foreign-born population came from Latin America and the Caribbean, with most of those from Mexico. More than a quarter of foreign-born residents arrived here from Asia, with about 12% from Europe, 4% from Africa and smaller percentages from other regions.

The new report details many other characteristics of the nation’s foreign-born residents, showing that on average, foreign-born households are larger than those of residents born in this country, have more children under the age of 18 and are more likely to be multigenerational. The foreign-born were also more likely to be employed than native-born Americans.

The new figures are from the 2010 American Community Survey, which has taken the place of the long-form decennial census.

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-- Rebecca Trounson