Best states for immigrants

Smile Hub - With over 53 million immigrants living in the U.S., the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best States for Immigrants in 2026 and the Best Charities for Community Support to help out immigrants in our communities and populations in need around the world.

To highlight the best states for immigrants and the ones that have the most room to improve, SmileHub compared each of the 50 states based on 16 key metrics. The data set ranges from the size of the immigrant population to the share of foreign-born entrepreneurs to the number of hate crime incidents per capita.

Most Immigrant-Friendly States	States in Need of Improvement
1. Virginia	41. Missouri
2. Georgia	42. Nevada
3. Nebraska	43. Louisiana
4. Arkansas	44. Colorado
5. North Carolina	45. Vermont
6. Kentucky	46. New Mexico
7. Utah	47. Arizona
8. Texas	48. Hawaii
9. Wisconsin	49. Oregon
10. Delaware	50. Alaska

 

Key Stats

• California has the highest share of immigrants – 15.6 times higher than West Virginia, which has the lowest share.
• Montana has the highest share of foreign-born entrepreneurs – 4.2 times higher than Rhode Island, which has the lowest share.
• California has the most community support charities per capita – 8.4 times more than New Hampshire, which has the fewest charities.

To view the full report and your state’s rank