How many illegals are in minnisota, texas, and florida
Executive summary
Pew Research Center’s recent state-by-state analysis is the best publicly available baseline for 2023 and places Minnesota’s unauthorized (commonly called “undocumented” or “illegal”) population at about 130,000, Texas at about 2.1 million, and Florida among the largest state totals — commonly reported in the 1.6–1.7 million range in media summaries of the same Pew data — though some outlets frame Florida’s total differently depending on rounding and time windows (Pew/Axios reporting) [1] [2] [3]. These figures reflect estimates for 2023 and are subject to methodological limits shared by migration researchers; different reputable sources will produce somewhat different totals because of sampling, undercount adjustments, and the definition of “unauthorized” [4] [5].
1. The headline numbers and their provenance
Pew’s 2023 analysis—widely reported by outlets including Axios and local press—puts Minnesota’s unauthorized population at about 130,000, Texas at roughly 2.1 million, and Florida among the half‑dozen states with the largest unauthorized populations (Pew’s reporting is summarized in Axios and local coverage) [1] [2]. Migration Policy Institute and other academic tools place the U.S. total in recent years in the double‑digit millions (MPI’s methodology referenced an estimated 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants when weighted to recent survey windows), illustrating why state tallies can be large and widely distributed [4] [6].
2. Why published totals differ: methodology, rounding and time windows
Researchers arrive at different state totals because they start from American Community Survey microdata, impute “unauthorized” status using residency, visa and survey responses, then apply adjustments for known undercounts; MPI, Pew, CMS/Center for Migration Studies and other tools each tweak those steps differently, producing somewhat different state results and even occasional cases where adjusted estimates approach the reported number of noncitizens in the ACS [4] [5]. Social posts that recycled rounded figures—130,000 for Minnesota, 2.1 million for Texas and 1.6 million for Florida—often adopted Pew’s rounded outputs or media summaries without noting that rounding, the survey years pooled, and the assumption set matter [3] [1].
3. What the numbers mean in practice — growth, concentration, and protection status
Pew and follow‑up reporting show growth and geographic diffusion: most unauthorized immigrants are concentrated in six states (including California, Texas and Florida) but the population grew in many states between 2019 and 2023, with Minnesota’s unauthorized population rising substantially in that window to the roughly 130,000 figure [1] [2]. Advocacy mapping and research tools also stress that a large share of the unauthorized population now hold some form of temporary protection or liminal status (for example DACA, TPS or parole) and many are long‑term residents integrated into local economies—an important caveat when interpreting “illegal” as a static legal category [7] [4].
4. Limits, alternative estimates and how to read headlines
Publicized state totals are best read as informed estimates, not exact censuses: VisualCapitalist, MPI, CMS and Pew all offer reputable but distinct estimates based on overlapping source data; some media pieces simplify these into single headline numbers [6] [4] [5]. Snopes and fact‑checkers note that viral social posts often mix years, round differently, or imply current 2026/2025 counts when the underlying source covers pooled survey years up to 2023 [8] [3]. Where the reporting does not cover a specific later year, this account does not claim more recent totals beyond the cited 2023‑based estimates [1] [2].
5. Bottom line for the three states
Based on the Pew‑centered reporting and corroborating migration research tools: Minnesota ≈ 130,000 unauthorized immigrants (2023 estimate), Texas ≈ 2.1 million (2023 estimate), and Florida among the largest state totals—commonly reported near 1.6–1.7 million in media summaries of the same Pew data—while acknowledging some variation across reputable sources because of methodology, rounding and timing [1] [2] [3] [4].