St. Louis Leading Large Metros in Immigration

"St. Louis notched an 8.9 percent increase in foreign-born residents from 2014 to 2015, according to data released from the U.S. Census Bureau late last week," reports Sarah Kenske. "That's larger percent increase than any of the nation's other twenty largest metro areas."

Following in second place was Minneapolis-St. Paul. Seattle, San Diego, and Houston rounded out the top five, respectively.

Fenske explains the statistical details of how St. Louis achieved the largest percentage jump in the country (also offering a caveat, of sorts):

For St. Louis, the foreign-born gains reflect an increase of about 10,623 new residents. The region as a whole is home to 2.8 million residents; just 129,559 of them are foreign-born. So while our numerical gains weren't nearly as high as many other large cities, the percentage increase shows a very real jump.

Fenske shares perspective on the effort behind the data from the St. Louis Mossaic Project, which launched in 2013 to combat sluggish immigrant growth in the region. Although the numbers are small when considered in net, their impact was significant. In 2015, the immigrant influx kept the region's population from shrinking.