Biggest Sources of Immigrants to Des Moines

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Biggest sources of immigrants to Des Moines

Nearly 14% of the United States population is composed of immigrants. But in reality, the vast majority of Americans today are here because of relatives who immigrated from other countries some time in the last several hundred years.

And while the distinctive American culture and spirit is the result of blending many diverse cultures and histories, the United States has for centuries had an up-and-down relationship with immigration.

Each era of immigration has been met with reductive ideas and resistance, whether the backlash was directed toward the Chinese, Irish, Italians, or Mexicans. Immigration laws have targeted specific groups at various times, stoking intolerance and preventing people from truly joining American society. Over time, however, as laws changed to be more equitable and immigrants found their footings, we have reaped the rewards of innovation in business, music, art, literature, dance, food, societal norms, entertainment, and sports—all while realizing a greater understanding of and respect for different cultures, religions, and ideas.

Stacker compiled a list of the countries most immigrants to Des Moines come from, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Countries are ranked by highest number of foreign-born residents who lived in Des Moines as of 2019's five-year estimates.

Keep reading to find out more about the immigrant community in your home city.

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#50. Dominican Republic

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 102
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%

National
- Number of residents: 1,118,147
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.5%
- #8 most common country of origin

#49. Kuwait

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 104
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%

National
- Number of residents: 33,788
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #102 most common country of origin

#48. Latvia

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 118
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%

National
- Number of residents: 23,372
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #115 most common country of origin

#47. Poland

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 119
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%

National
- Number of residents: 410,841
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
- #21 most common country of origin

#46. Argentina

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 129
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%

National
- Number of residents: 194,435
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
- #39 most common country of origin

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#45. Peru

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 130
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%

National
- Number of residents: 451,076
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.0%
- #18 most common country of origin

#44. Sierra Leone

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 135
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%

National
- Number of residents: 40,991
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #94 most common country of origin

#42 (tie). Morocco

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 136
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%

National
- Number of residents: 78,439
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #73 most common country of origin

#42 (tie). Spain

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 136
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%

National
- Number of residents: 115,113
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #55 most common country of origin

#41. Uganda

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 139
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%

National
- Number of residents: 31,366
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #105 most common country of origin

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#40. Pakistan

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 153
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%

National
- Number of residents: 376,127
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
- #25 most common country of origin

#39. Nicaragua

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 182
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%

National
- Number of residents: 251,913
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
- #33 most common country of origin

#38. Italy

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 196
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
- Number of residents: 332,857
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
- #30 most common country of origin

#37. Nigeria

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 197
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
- Number of residents: 350,272
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
- #26 most common country of origin

#36. Croatia

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 208
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
- Number of residents: 37,176
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #97 most common country of origin

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#35. Ghana

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 209
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
- Number of residents: 178,388
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
- #43 most common country of origin

#34. Egypt

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 212
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
- Number of residents: 191,452
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
- #40 most common country of origin

#33. Brazil

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 217
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
- Number of residents: 433,479
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.0%
- #20 most common country of origin

#32. Colombia

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 229
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%

National
- Number of residents: 761,374
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.7%
- #12 most common country of origin

#31. Ecuador

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 272
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%

National
- Number of residents: 438,474
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.0%
- #19 most common country of origin

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#30. Eritrea

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 289
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%

National
- Number of residents: 45,119
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #90 most common country of origin

#29. Ukraine

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 293
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%

National
- Number of residents: 345,250
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
- #28 most common country of origin

#28. Democratic Republic of Congo

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 304
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%

National
- Number of residents: 43,723
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #91 most common country of origin

#27. Ethiopia

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 308
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%

National
- Number of residents: 249,777
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
- #34 most common country of origin

#26. United Kingdom

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 343
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%

National
- Number of residents: 698,612
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.6%
- #14 most common country of origin

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#25. Russia

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 351
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%

National
- Number of residents: 391,641
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
- #22 most common country of origin

#24. Cambodia

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 367
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%

National
- Number of residents: 151,066
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #46 most common country of origin

#23. Malaysia

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 431
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%

National
- Number of residents: 76,521
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #74 most common country of origin

#22. Somalia

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 449
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%

National
- Number of residents: 98,966
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #60 most common country of origin

#21. Nepal

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 485
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%

National
- Number of residents: 140,904
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #49 most common country of origin

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#20. Congo

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 558
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.1%

National
- Number of residents: 30,496
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #106 most common country of origin

#19. Canada

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 610
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.2%

National
- Number of residents: 808,566
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.8%
- #11 most common country of origin

#18. Germany

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 657
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.3%

National
- Number of residents: 560,368
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.3%
- #17 most common country of origin

#17. Honduras

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 665
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.3%

National
- Number of residents: 651,123
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.5%
- #16 most common country of origin

#16. Kenya

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 773
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.5%

National
- Number of residents: 141,751
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #48 most common country of origin

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#15. South Korea

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 918
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.8%

National
- Number of residents: 1,044,634
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.4%
- #9 most common country of origin

#14. Sudan

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 921
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.8%

National
- Number of residents: 46,716
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #87 most common country of origin

#13. Guatemala

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 994
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.9%

National
- Number of residents: 979,098
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.2%
- #10 most common country of origin

#12. Thailand

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 1,013
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.9%

National
- Number of residents: 255,345
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
- #32 most common country of origin

#11. China

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 1,018
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.9%

National
- Number of residents: 2,162,395
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.9%
- #3 most common country of origin

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#10. Iraq

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 1,299
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.5%

National
- Number of residents: 225,038
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
- #38 most common country of origin

#9. Liberia

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 1,366
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.6%

National
- Number of residents: 87,991
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #67 most common country of origin

#8. Philippines

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 1,486
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.8%

National
- Number of residents: 1,983,939
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.5%
- #4 most common country of origin

#7. Laos

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 1,639
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.1%

National
- Number of residents: 181,546
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
- #42 most common country of origin

#6. El Salvador

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 1,674
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.2%

National
- Number of residents: 1,381,008
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.1%
- #5 most common country of origin

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#5. Burma

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 2,486
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.7%

National
- Number of residents: 147,573
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #47 most common country of origin

#4. Vietnam

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 3,094
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.9%

National
- Number of residents: 1,336,988
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.0%
- #6 most common country of origin

#3. India

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 3,949
- Percent of foreign born residents: 7.5%

National
- Number of residents: 2,561,906
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.8%
- #2 most common country of origin

#2. Bosnia and Herzegovina

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 4,490
- Percent of foreign born residents: 8.6%

National
- Number of residents: 103,938
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #57 most common country of origin

#1. Mexico

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
- Number of residents: 10,254
- Percent of foreign born residents: 19.6%

National
- Number of residents: 11,250,541
- Percent of foreign born residents: 25.6%
- #1 most common country of origin

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