New York Ranks #5 for Naturalization Rates in the U.S., with 59.52% of Foreign-Born Residents Becoming Citizens

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• New York enters the top five: New York ranks #5 nationally with 59.52% of its foreign-born residents naturalized, just below Hawaii (60.79%) and ahead of Minnesota (58.90%).
• Strong outcomes at large scale: As one of the largest immigrant-population states, New York maintains a high naturalization share, reflecting substantial citizenship uptake across a broad base.
• Just below the 60% tier: While not crossing the 60% mark, New York sits at the top of the next-highest group of states clustered just below this threshold.

Foreign-born residents are a key part of New York's population, with 59.52% naturalized, the fifth-highest rate in the U.S., just below Hawaii (60.79%). That equals 2,693,804 of 4,526,014 residents annually. This places New York well ahead of most states, where rates fall below 50%, with Arkansas lowest at 34.32%.

This report was produced by The Mendoza Law Firm, which analyzed average annual foreign-born population and naturalized citizen data across all 50 U.S. states from 2020 to 2024. For each state, the share of the foreign-born population holding naturalized U.S. citizenship was calculated and used to rank states from highest to lowest naturalization rate, identifying where foreign-born residents are most and least likely to pursue permanent citizenship.

New York at a Glance

New York vs. The U.S. States Where Foreign-Born Residents Are Most Likely to Become Citizens

Table 1: Top 10 States by Naturalization Rate (2020–2024)

New York's 59.52% places it just below the 60% tier, leading a cluster of states in the high-50% range. It sits ahead of Minnesota (58.90%) and Florida (57.43%), forming the upper half of the top 10. The gap between New York and Vermont (64.05%) highlights the spread within top-ranked states.

New York vs. The 5 Lowest Naturalization Rate States: The Citizenship Integration Gap

Table 2: Naturalization Rate Comparison: New York Against America's Least-Integrated States

A foreign-born resident in New York is about 25 percentage points more likely to be a naturalized citizen than one in Arkansas. It also exceeds each of the other bottom-five states by close to 20 points, reflecting a substantial gap.

New York vs. America's Largest Immigrant Population States

Table 3: Naturalization Rate Comparison: New York Against the Four Highest Foreign-Born Population States

New York's 59.52% naturalization rate is higher than California (54.32%), Florida (57.43%), and Texas (41.90%), but below Vermont and Alaska. It stands about 18 points above Texas, reflecting strong outcomes at scale.

Methodology

The study analyzed average annual foreign-born population and naturalized citizen data across all 50 U.S. states from 2020 to 2024. For each state, the share of the foreign-born population holding naturalized U.S. citizenship was calculated and used to rank states from highest to lowest naturalization rate, identifying where foreign-born residents are most and least likely to pursue permanent citizenship.

Data Sources

• Naturalized U.S. Citizen Data: https://mcdc.missouri.edu
• Research Dataset: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jXTaXFxuDu8RoXeX2fezGNgZPv6jd56J2KozoDX4DcU/edit?gid=0#gid=0
• Study by: https://mendozafirm.com/

About The Mendoza Law Firm

The Mendoza Law Firm is an immigration law practice helping individuals and families navigate the U.S. immigration system. With a focus on community advocacy and accessible legal support, the firm serves underserved populations while raising awareness about public safety issues affecting communities across the country.