How does Texas rank in terms of undocumented immigrant population in the US in 2025?

1. Texas’ headline number and its immediate meaning

Reporting from The Texas Tribune and affiliated outlets in February 2025 places the Texas undocumented population at about 1.7 million people — described there as roughly one in 20 Texans — and state-focused outlets reuse that figure as their working estimate ^{[1] [6] [7]}. That number is broadly consistent with earlier MPI and Pew-era profiles that have put Texas in the 1.6–1.7 million range for unauthorized residents, which underlies many news accounts of enforcement impacts in the state ^{[2] [3]}.

2. Where Texas ranks nationally

Multiple sources in the provided set note that California and Texas have long been the two states with the largest undocumented populations, with Texas usually identified as the state with the second-highest total after California ^{[2] [3]}. Broader summaries of state rankings in 2025 still list California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois among the top states for unauthorized populations, with Texas consistently near the top of that list ^{[8] [9]}.

3. Why different sources give different totals

Estimates differ because organizations use distinct methods and reference periods. The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) imputes unauthorized status using pooled American Community Survey and SIPP data and weights to more recent expert estimates, while news outlets often cite state-focused compilations or Pew/MPI summaries; this methodological variation yields slightly different statewide and national totals ^{[3] [10]}. Some outlets also reference newer Pew reporting that revised the U.S. total upward to about 14 million for 2023, which affects state-share calculations ^{[4] [5]}.

4. The national context: how big is “big”?

Several provided pieces place the U.S. unauthorized population in the ballpark of 11–14 million during the early‑to‑mid 2020s. MPI’s data hub uses a 2023-weighted approach tied to an 11.4 million framing for some materials, while Pew’s later reporting (cited in coverage) described a record 14 million in 2023 with expectations that the nationwide total may have started to fall in 2025 ^{[3] [4] [5]}. How Texas’ 1.6–1.7 million compares depends on which national total is used, but in either case Texas holds a large share relative to other states ^{[1] [2]}.

5. Local breakdowns and metropolitan concentrations

Local investigations give more granular pictures: for example, the Houston Chronicle estimated roughly 481,000 undocumented immigrants in Harris County and about 548,000 in the broader Houston area in early 2025 — figures that illustrate how a significant share of Texas’ unauthorized population is concentrated in its largest metros ^[11]. These county and metro figures help explain why state-level totals matter for urban policy and enforcement debates ^[11].

6. What reporting does not settle or explicitly say

Available sources do not mention an authoritative single federal count for 2025 that supersedes these estimates; instead, they document different research methods and recent revisions. For example, if you seek a definitive up‑to‑the‑day federal tally for 2025 that reconciles MPI, Pew and local newsroom estimates, that specific consolidated number is not provided in the set of articles above (not found in current reporting). Also, some outlets in later 2025 suggest declines in 2025 tied to policy changes, but the magnitude and timing of any 2025 drop remain disputed across sources ^{[5] [4]}.

7. Competing perspectives and possible agendas to watch

Policy trackers and advocacy outlets frame these numbers differently: newsrooms (Texas Tribune, HPPR) emphasize the human and enforcement impacts of a 1.7 million estimate in Texas ^{[1] [6]}, MPI emphasizes methodology and demographic detail ^{[3] [10]}, and some national outlets cite Pew’s upward revisions to argue the unauthorized population surged through 2023 and may be shifting in 2025 ^{[4] [5]}. Readers should note that enforcement-focused reporting may underscore increases to justify policy actions, while research groups often stress caveats and methodological limits.

Conclusion — concise takeaway: In early 2025, major reporting and data tools place Texas’ undocumented (unauthorized) population at roughly 1.6–1.7 million people, which keeps Texas among the top states nationally (commonly second to California), but precise rankings and shares depend on which national total and methodology are used ^{[1] [3] [2]}.