This indicator represents the percentage of foreign-born workers in a state’s S&E workforce. A considerable proportion of workers employed in S&E fields in the United States are foreign born. Foreign born is a broad category, ranging from naturalized citizens and long-term U.S. residents with strong roots in the United States to recent immigrants who compete in global job markets and whose main social, educational, and economic ties are in their countries of origin. When interpreting data on foreign-born workers, the range of individuals in this category should be kept in mind.

The data include all workers in S&E occupations as measured by the Census Bureau, regardless of educational attainment. Data are derived from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). S&E occupations include, broadly, life scientists, computer and mathematical scientists, physical scientists, social scientists, and engineers. Postsecondary teachers of S&E are not included because these occupations are not separately identifiable in the ACS data files.

Data source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey.