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LIST: Biggest sources of immigrants to Virginia

Photo by: JMRAFFi // Wikimedia Commons

(STACKER) – Nearly 14% of the United States population is composed of immigrants. But in reality, the vast majority of Americans today are here because of relatives who immigrated from other countries some time in the last several hundred years.

And while the distinctive American culture and spirit is the result of blending many diverse cultures and histories, the United States has for centuries had an up-and-down relationship with immigration.


Each era of immigration has been met with reductive ideas and resistance, whether the backlash was directed toward the Chinese, Irish, Italians, or Mexicans. Immigration laws have targeted specific groups at various times, stoking intolerance and preventing people from truly joining American society. Over time, however, as laws changed to be more equitable and immigrants found their footings, we have reaped the rewards of innovation in business, music, art, literature, dance, food, societal norms, entertainment, and sports—all while realizing a greater understanding of and respect for different cultures, religions, and ideas.

Stacker compiled a list of the biggest sources of immigrants to Virginia using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Keep reading to find out more about who makes up the immigrant community in Virginia.

Photo By Beks // Unsplash

#50. Kenya

Virginia
– Number of residents: 3,669
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%

National
– Number of residents: 141,751
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
– #48 most common country of origin

Photo by: Unsplash

#49. Lebanon

Virginia
– Number of residents: 3,748
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
– Number of residents: 121,697
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
– #52 most common country of origin

SL-Photography // Shutterstock

#48. Panama

Virginia
– Number of residents: 3,978
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
– Number of residents: 103,299
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
– #58 most common country of origin

Photo by: Christopher Michel // Flickr

#47. Sudan

Virginia
– Number of residents: 4,281
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
– Number of residents: 46,716
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
– #87 most common country of origin

Photo by: Pixabay

#46. Italy

Virginia
– Number of residents: 4,560
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
– Number of residents: 332,857
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
– #30 most common country of origin

Photo by: Michael Shade // Wikicommons

#45. Ecuador

Virginia
– Number of residents: 4,578
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
– Number of residents: 438,474
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.0%
– #19 most common country of origin

Photo by: Kalamazadkhan // Wikicommons

#44. Trinidad and Tobago

Virginia
– Number of residents: 4,792
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%

National
– Number of residents: 230,035
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
– #37 most common country of origin

Photo by: Evgeniya Uvarova // Shutterstock

#43. Argentina

Virginia
– Number of residents: 4,848
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%

National
– Number of residents: 194,435
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
– #39 most common country of origin

Photo by: Tupungato // Shutterstock

#42. France

Virginia
– Number of residents: 4,941
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%

National
– Number of residents: 181,554
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
– #41 most common country of origin

Photo by: Elena Simona Craciun // Shutterstock

#41. Nicaragua

Virginia
– Number of residents: 4,948
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%

National
– Number of residents: 251,913
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
– #33 most common country of origin

Photo by: Unsplash

#40. Ukraine

Virginia
– Number of residents: 4,994
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%

National
– Number of residents: 345,250
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
– #28 most common country of origin

Photo by: robertonencini // Shutterstock

#39. Sierra Leone

Virginia
– Number of residents: 5,207
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%

National
– Number of residents: 40,991
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
– #94 most common country of origin

Photo by: Fitria Ramli // Shutterstock

#38. Saudi Arabia

Virginia
– Number of residents: 5,211
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%

National
– Number of residents: 85,000
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
– #70 most common country of origin

Photo by: Vannrith Va // Unsplash

#37. Cambodia

Virginia
– Number of residents: 5,293
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%

National
– Number of residents: 151,066
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
– #46 most common country of origin

Photo by: OpenUpEd // Flickr

#36. Nigeria

Virginia
– Number of residents: 6,051
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%

National
– Number of residents: 350,272
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
– #26 most common country of origin

Photo by: Pixabay

#35. Turkey

Virginia
– Number of residents: 6,247
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%

National
– Number of residents: 119,380
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
– #54 most common country of origin

Photo by: Pixabay

#34. Dominican Republic

Virginia
– Number of residents: 6,551
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%

National
– Number of residents: 1,118,147
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.5%
– #8 most common country of origin

Photo by: agchinook // Shutterstock

#33. Venezuela

Virginia
– Number of residents: 6,824
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%

National
– Number of residents: 349,720
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
– #27 most common country of origin

Photo by: Falkenpost // Pixabay

#32. Cuba

Virginia
– Number of residents: 6,839
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%

National
– Number of residents: 1,289,875
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.9%
– #7 most common country of origin

Photo by: Catarina Belova // Shutterstock

#31. Brazil

Virginia
– Number of residents: 6,854
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%

National
– Number of residents: 433,479
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.0%
– #20 most common country of origin

Photo by: Adam Jones, Ph.D. // Wikicommons

#30. Morocco

Virginia
– Number of residents: 7,402
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%

National
– Number of residents: 78,439
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
– #73 most common country of origin

Photo by: Pixabay

#29. Taiwan

Virginia
– Number of residents: 7,680
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%

National
– Number of residents: 381,098
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
– #24 most common country of origin

Photo by: Jack Bkk // Shutterstock

#28. Thailand

Virginia
– Number of residents: 8,060
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%

National
– Number of residents: 255,345
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
– #32 most common country of origin

Photo by: USACE HQ , JIM GORDAN, CIV, USACE // Wikicommons

#27. Iraq

Virginia
– Number of residents: 8,108
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%

National
– Number of residents: 225,038
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
– #38 most common country of origin

Photo by: Viacheslav Lopatin // Shutterstock

#26. Russia

Virginia
– Number of residents: 8,603
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%

National
– Number of residents: 391,641
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
– #22 most common country of origin

Photo by: Unsplash

#25. Japan

Virginia
– Number of residents: 8,791
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%

National
– Number of residents: 345,140
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
– #29 most common country of origin

Photo by: Vixit // Shutterstock

#24. Nepal

Virginia
– Number of residents: 8,885
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%

National
– Number of residents: 140,904
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
– #49 most common country of origin

Photo by: Prin Adulyatham // Shutterstock

#23. Egypt

Virginia
– Number of residents: 9,302
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%

National
– Number of residents: 191,452
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
– #40 most common country of origin

Photo by: byvalet // Shutterstock

#22. Jamaica

Virginia
– Number of residents: 10,326
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.0%

National
– Number of residents: 741,386
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.7%
– #13 most common country of origin

Photo by: Denys Yelmanov // Shutterstock

#21. Bangladesh

Virginia
– Number of residents: 11,186
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.1%

National
– Number of residents: 237,288
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
– #35 most common country of origin

Photo by: Alexander Canas Arango // Shutterstock

#20. Colombia

Virginia
– Number of residents: 12,840
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.2%

National
– Number of residents: 761,374
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.7%
– #12 most common country of origin

Photo by: Unsplash

#19. Canada

Virginia
– Number of residents: 12,976
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.2%

National
– Number of residents: 808,566
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.8%
– #11 most common country of origin

Photo by: Ninara // Wikimedia Commons

#18. Iran

Virginia
– Number of residents: 14,079
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.3%

National
– Number of residents: 382,260
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
– #23 most common country of origin

Photo by: Rjruiziii // Wikicommons

#17. Ghana

Virginia
– Number of residents: 15,857
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.5%

National
– Number of residents: 178,388
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
– #43 most common country of origin

Photo by: Michal Knitl // Shutterstock

#16. Afghanistan

Virginia
– Number of residents: 18,184
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.7%

National
– Number of residents: 101,548
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
– #59 most common country of origin

Photo by: Max Pixel

#15. Germany

Virginia
– Number of residents: 18,277
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.7%

National
– Number of residents: 560,368
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.3%
– #17 most common country of origin

Photo by: User:Colin // Wikimedia Commons

#14. United Kingdom

Virginia
– Number of residents: 19,450
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.8%

National
– Number of residents: 698,612
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.6%
– #14 most common country of origin

Photo by: Tobias Jelskov // Unsplash

#13. Bolivia

Virginia
– Number of residents: 24,990
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.4%

National
– Number of residents: 78,927
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
– #72 most common country of origin

Photo by: Saqib Rizvi // Shutterstock

#12. Pakistan

Virginia
– Number of residents: 25,794
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.5%

National
– Number of residents: 376,127
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
– #25 most common country of origin

Photo by: Christian Vinces // Shutterstock

#11. Peru

Virginia
– Number of residents: 27,403
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.6%

National
– Number of residents: 451,076
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.0%
– #18 most common country of origin

Photo by: neiljs // Flickr

#10. Ethiopia

Virginia
– Number of residents: 30,114
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.9%

National
– Number of residents: 249,777
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
– #34 most common country of origin

Photo by: Kobby Dagan // Shutterstock

#9. Guatemala

Virginia
– Number of residents: 31,987
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.0%

National
– Number of residents: 979,098
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.2%
– #10 most common country of origin

Photo by: Marek Poplawski // Shutterstock

#8. Honduras

Virginia
– Number of residents: 33,982
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.2%

National
– Number of residents: 651,123
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.5%
– #16 most common country of origin

Photo by: Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#7. China

Virginia
– Number of residents: 41,722
– Percent of foreign born residents: 4.0%

National
– Number of residents: 2,162,395
– Percent of foreign born residents: 4.9%
– #3 most common country of origin

Photo by: Quangpraha // Pixabay

#6. Vietnam

Virginia
– Number of residents: 43,801
– Percent of foreign born residents: 4.2%

National
– Number of residents: 1,336,988
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.0%
– #6 most common country of origin

Photo by: Joseph Oropel // Shutterstock

#5. Philippines

Virginia
– Number of residents: 52,634
– Percent of foreign born residents: 5.0%

National
– Number of residents: 1,983,939
– Percent of foreign born residents: 4.5%
– #4 most common country of origin

Photo by: Kys951 // Wikimedia Commons

#4. South Korea

Virginia
– Number of residents: 52,817
– Percent of foreign born residents: 5.0%

National
– Number of residents: 1,044,634
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.4%
– #9 most common country of origin

Photo by: Arturo Chavez // Wikimedia Commons

#3. Mexico

Virginia
– Number of residents: 56,607
– Percent of foreign born residents: 5.4%

National
– Number of residents: 11,250,541
– Percent of foreign born residents: 25.6%
– #1 most common country of origin

Photo by: Kriangkrai Thitimakorn // Shutterstock

#2. India

Virginia
– Number of residents: 89,861
– Percent of foreign born residents: 8.5%

National
– Number of residents: 2,561,906
– Percent of foreign born residents: 5.8%
– #2 most common country of origin

Photo by: JMRAFFi // Wikimedia Commons

#1. El Salvador

Virginia
– Number of residents: 109,924
– Percent of foreign born residents: 10.5%

National
– Number of residents: 1,381,008
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.1%
– #5 most common country of origin