Iowa’s Unauthorized Immigrant Population Rose Nearly 56% in a Decade

+35,000 jobs GIVEN to illegalsIowa’s Unauthorized Immigrant Population Rose Nearly 56% in a Decade.

From 45,000 to 70,000: Iowa’s Unauthorized Population Grew Sharply in over four major sectors with no sign of it slowing down.

Iowa / Population & workforce

A decade of change.
A clearer view of work.

Explore estimated unauthorized residents over time and the industries employing them. Inspect the population trend and employment breakdown below. Expand the data tables for exact values.

Starting population · 2013
45,000

Pew resident population estimate

Ending population · 2023
70,000

Pew resident population estimate

Change in estimated population
+25,000

+55.6% · 2013–2023 · rounded estimates

Unauthorized residents, 2013–2023

Pew Research Center • revised August 2025 series • people, not arrival events

0k15k30k45k60k75k90k2013: 45,000 ± 10,00020132014: 40,000 ± 10,00020142015: 45,000 ± 10,00020152016: 50,000 ± 10,00020162017: 50,000 ± 10,00020172018: 55,000 ± 10,00020182019: 45,000 ± 10,00020192021: 45,000 ± 10,00020212022: 60,000 ± 10,00020222023: 70,000 ± 15,0002023
Population estimateEstimate ± published margin of error
2023: 70,000 estimated residents · margin of error ±15,000
Population growth is not a count of new arrivals. It also reflects departures, moves between states, deaths and changes in status. No 2020 observation is supplied in this series; the dashed 2019–2021 segment bridges that gap without inventing a value. No 2024–2026 observations are plotted.
View exact population values
YearEstimatePublished margin of error ±
201345,00010,000
201440,00010,000
201545,00010,000
201650,00010,000
201750,00010,000
201855,00010,000
201945,00010,000
202145,00010,000
202260,00010,000
202370,00015,000
Employed residents · 2023 · MPI
35,000

Estimated workers, age 16 and older

Largest named industry
9,000

Manufacturing workers

Jobs lost by other workers
Unknown

Not measured by these employment counts

Where these residents work

MPI employment estimates, 2023 • separate source from the population trend

Manufacturing9,000
Construction6,000
Hospitality & recreation5,000
Retail trade2,000
Other / unlisted industries13,000
These are employed people, not a count of jobs taken away from citizens. MPI's profile estimates 51,000 unauthorized residents in 2023, compared with Pew's 70,000; the studies differ. Both definitions include some people with temporary protections or work authorization. Worker counts are rounded; “Other” is a calculated remainder.
View exact employment values
IndustryEstimated workers
Manufacturing9,000
Construction6,000
Hospitality & recreation5,000
Retail trade2,000
Other / unlisted industries13,000
Sources & definitions

Pew: state population estimates and margins of error, 1990–2023 (Excel) — Iowa row; revised release dated August 21, 2025. Estimates are rounded; percentage changes are calculated from published rounded values. Shading shows individual-estimate margins, not uncertainty in the calculated change. No claim of statistical significance for changes is made.

MPI: Iowa unauthorized population profile — 2023 estimates using pooled ACS and other survey data. Hospitality combines accommodation, food services, arts, entertainment and recreation. Other/unlisted industries = 35,000 minus the four published industry counts.

Source definitions include some temporary protections, parole and pending asylum cases. Historical estimates are not a live census. Sources checked November 1, 2026. This chart does not refresh automatically.