Naturalization statistics, 1907 to 2024
In fiscal year 2024, 818,570 people became U.S. citizens through naturalization. The same year, 994,130 applications were filed and 86,410 were denied. This page puts those numbers in the context of more than a century of official records: who naturalizes, where they were born, where they live, and how long they were permanent residents first.
Every figure comes from the 2024 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: Naturalizations, published by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics at the Department of Homeland Security. Two conventions apply to all of it: years are federal fiscal years, which run from October 1 to September 30, and DHS rounds every cell to the nearest 10, so totals may not add up exactly.
More than a century of new citizens
The highest year on record is 2008, with 1,046,540 new citizens. By decade, the 2010s had the most, 7,300,960 in ten years. The table below gives the totals for every decade, which smooths out the swings of individual years.
| Period | Applications filed | Naturalized | Denied |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1907–1909 | 108,280 | 72,290 | 9,920 |
| 1910s | 1,218,420 | 990,740 | 110,920 |
| 1920s | 1,989,860 | 1,781,490 | 172,010 |
| 1930s | 1,472,230 | 1,452,600 | 48,300 |
| 1940s | 2,150,070 | 2,155,920 | 69,100 |
| 1950s | 1,168,980 | 1,136,870 | 27,580 |
| 1960s | 1,155,770 | 1,129,310 | 23,870 |
| 1970s | 1,478,830 | 1,412,270 | 25,600 |
| 1980s | 2,334,110 | 2,054,940 | 45,070 |
| 1990s | 7,196,350 | 4,978,660 | 1,036,550 |
| 2000s | 6,662,210 | 6,822,140 | 1,502,480 |
| 2010s | 8,321,940 | 7,300,960 | 765,250 |
| 2020–2024 | 4,359,700 | 4,108,520 | 464,320 |
Three details from the notes to that table explain some odd-looking years. Data on naturalizations were first compiled by a single federal agency with the establishment of the Naturalization Service in 1906. The year 1907 includes naturalizations from September 27, 1906 to June 30, 1907. Includes the 15 months from July 1, 1975 to September 30, 1976 because the end date of fiscal years was changed from June 30 to September 30. And military naturalizations only appear from 1918: data on military naturalizations prior to 1918 not available. Special provisions for military naturalizations expired or suspended in 1925 and 1935.
The years with the most military naturalizations were 1918 (63,990), 1919 (128,340) and 1920 (51,970).
Why this page has no "denial rate"
Dividing the applications denied in a year by the applications filed that year gives a number that looks like a rate and is not one. The Yearbook counts each event in the year it happened, and an application decided in one year may have been filed in an earlier one; USCIS says the same of its quarterly office data. When filings jump, as they did in 1997, many of the decisions on those filings are counted in later years. The decade totals above are a fairer long-run comparison. For how the test itself is passed and failed, USCIS publishes separate pass rates, covered in the scoring guide.
Where new citizens were born
The ten most common countries of birth in fiscal year 2024, with the share of all new citizens and the figure for 2015:
| Country of birth | 2024 | Share | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 107,670 | 13.2% | 105,960 |
| India | 49,700 | 6.1% | 42,210 |
| Philippines | 41,200 | 5% | 40,820 |
| Dominican Republic | 39,880 | 4.9% | 26,670 |
| Vietnam | 34,240 | 4.2% | 21,980 |
| Cuba | 33,430 | 4.1% | 25,770 |
| China, People's Republic | 29,200 | 3.6% | 31,240 |
| El Salvador | 21,940 | 2.7% | 16,930 |
| Jamaica | 19,970 | 2.4% | 16,570 |
| Colombia | 17,890 | 2.2% | 17,210 |
By region of birth, Asia (35.7%) and North America (34.7%) together account for 70.4% of new citizens, followed by Africa (9.6%), Europe (9.3%), South America (9.2%) and Oceania (0.6%).
Age and sex
Women were 54.8% of the people naturalized in 2024. The largest age group was 35 to 39 (109,390), and 93,250 new citizens (11.4%) were 65 or older, the age at which the 65/20 special consideration can start to apply. All figures are for adults: the Yearbook counts Form N-400 approvals, which are for people 18 and over.
| Age | Total | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 19 | 16,680 | 8,280 | 8,350 |
| 20 to 24 | 56,340 | 28,520 | 27,590 |
| 25 to 29 | 78,350 | 44,260 | 33,720 |
| 30 to 34 | 99,150 | 56,450 | 42,180 |
| 35 to 39 | 109,390 | 58,920 | 49,870 |
| 40 to 44 | 97,260 | 51,630 | 45,110 |
| 45 to 49 | 77,860 | 41,540 | 35,840 |
| 50 to 54 | 72,170 | 39,850 | 31,950 |
| 55 to 59 | 66,360 | 37,170 | 28,870 |
| 60 to 64 | 51,530 | 28,510 | 22,770 |
| 65 to 74 | 69,600 | 39,560 | 29,730 |
| 75 and over | 23,650 | 14,180 | 9,360 |
How long they were permanent residents first
New citizens in 2024 had spent a median of 7 years as lawful permanent residents before naturalizing, according to Table 8 of the DHS naturalizations flow report. That is a description of what people did, not the rule: the time USCIS requires depends on your path, and the USCIS citizenship page sets out each one. The table leaves out people with no permanent-residence requirement.
| Region of birth | 2015 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| All regions | 8 years | 7 years |
| Africa | 6 years | 6 years |
| Asia | 6 years | 6 years |
| Europe | 9 years | 7 years |
| North America | 10 years | 9 years |
| Oceania | 9 years | 9 years |
| South America | 7 years | 7 years |
By state
The five states with the most new citizens in 2024, California, Florida, New York, Texas and New Jersey, accounted for 55.5% of the national total. Each state page has its own ten-year chart and the most common countries of birth there.
| State or territory | 2024 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| California | 149,800 | 155,980 |
| Florida | 93,240 | 81,960 |
| New York | 85,700 | 90,370 |
| Texas | 80,110 | 65,470 |
| New Jersey | 45,480 | 34,860 |
| Illinois | 27,630 | 25,720 |
| Virginia | 24,830 | 18,390 |
| Georgia | 24,790 | 20,790 |
| Washington | 23,700 | 14,340 |
| Massachusetts | 23,660 | 23,550 |
| Pennsylvania | 22,240 | 16,550 |
| Maryland | 20,590 | 18,390 |
| North Carolina | 17,790 | 11,570 |
| Michigan | 14,830 | 12,470 |
| Arizona | 14,220 | 13,750 |
| Ohio | 12,850 | 9,580 |
| Connecticut | 10,000 | 9,840 |
| Minnesota | 9,960 | 7,530 |
| Colorado | 9,260 | 9,420 |
| Nevada | 8,610 | 7,900 |
| South Carolina | 7,870 | 4,610 |
| Tennessee | 7,810 | 5,380 |
| Indiana | 7,220 | 4,690 |
| Oregon | 6,830 | 6,130 |
| Missouri | 5,070 | 4,320 |
| Utah | 4,980 | 4,840 |
| Kentucky | 4,520 | 2,850 |
| Wisconsin | 4,380 | 3,740 |
| Oklahoma | 4,170 | 3,860 |
| Louisiana | 4,030 | 2,960 |
| Hawaii | 3,670 | 3,700 |
| Iowa | 3,530 | 2,570 |
| Rhode Island | 3,310 | 2,730 |
| Kansas | 3,220 | 2,830 |
| Alabama | 3,100 | 2,830 |
| Nebraska | 2,870 | 2,220 |
| New Mexico | 2,750 | 2,450 |
| Arkansas | 2,360 | 1,580 |
| District of Columbia | 1,930 | 1,680 |
| Idaho | 1,860 | 1,430 |
| New Hampshire | 1,670 | 1,570 |
| Delaware | 1,620 | 1,630 |
| Puerto Rico | 1,370 | 2,830 |
| Mississippi | 1,330 | 950 |
| North Dakota | 1,180 | 560 |
| Maine | 910 | 1,100 |
| Alaska | 830 | 960 |
| Guam | 700 | 710 |
| South Dakota | 680 | 540 |
| Vermont | 550 | 570 |
| West Virginia | 540 | 500 |
| Montana | 480 | 250 |
| Wyoming | 210 | 260 |
American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not have their own row in the Yearbook; DHS reports them together with U.S. armed forces posts.
From the numbers to your own interview
Most people counted here took a version of the same English and civics test you are preparing for. The interview guide explains what happens on the day, and the practice test works like the civics part.
Sources
- DHS, naturalization tables of the 2024 Yearbook (Tables 21, 22, 23, 25 and Supplemental Table 1). Data: March 2025 Office of Homeland Security Statistics System of Record.
- DHS, Naturalizations: 2024 Annual Flow Report, Table 8.