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The Brazilian community in the United States grew 114% between 2010 and 2024, while the country's total immigrant population grew 26%. Today, half of all Brazilian immigrants live in just three states, and the Boston, New York and Miami areas are home to a third of the community.
In 2024, about 725,000 Brazilian-born immigrants lived in the United States, just over 1% of the country's 50.2 million immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), based on data from the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS).
How many Brazilians live in the United States?
The MPI estimates that about 725,000 people born in Brazil lived in the US in 2024. Add the people who report Brazilian ancestry, and the number rises to roughly 950,000.
The MPI's figures on Brazilians in the United States come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), not from an official count by the Brazilian government, which publishes its own estimates of Brazilians living abroad.
How Brazilians are classified in US data: an important detail
According to the Pew Research Center, Brazilians are not Hispanic under US federal definitions. A processing error in the 2020 ACS led to many Brazilians being counted as Hispanic, so Hispanic-origin counts from that year should be used with caution. That's why this article looks at Brazilians as their own group rather than as part of Hispanic totals.
Which states and cities have the most Brazilians in the United States?
Three states are home to half of all Brazilian immigrants, according to the MPI's 2020-2024 ACS average:
| State | Share of Brazilian immigrants |
|---|---|
| Florida | 23% |
| Massachusetts | 17% |
| California | 9% |
Put another way, Florida and Massachusetts together account for 4 in 10 Brazilian immigrants in the country.
The metro areas with the most Brazilians are Boston, New York and Miami, which together account for 34%. Next come Orlando, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Bridgeport-Stamford, Worcester, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The county with the most Brazilians is Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
When Brazilians arrived in the US: a recent community
According to the MPI, 64% of Brazilian immigrants arrived in the United States in 2010 or later, compared with 38% of all immigrants. That recent arrival is one reason why, in 2024, only 33% had become naturalized US citizens, compared with 51% of all immigrants.
What is the demographic profile of Brazilians in the United States?
According to the MPI, Brazilian immigrants in the United States had a median age of 40 and a median household income of $87,500 in 2024, and nearly half of adults held a bachelor's degree or higher.
Brazil's network of consulates in the United States
Brazil has consulates general in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hartford, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, San Francisco and Washington, according to each office's official e-Consular system. Check gov.br, the Brazilian government's official portal, to confirm which one covers where you live. Each consulate serves its own jurisdiction: Boston covers Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and New York covers New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
You can renew your passport through a Brazilian consulate in the United States: the process starts online with the electronic application form and a request in e-Consular, and since June 1, 2026, the passport fee charged abroad has been cut in half. The Carteira de Identidade Nacional (CIN), Brazil's national ID card, works differently: it's issued by the identification agencies of Brazil's states, not by consulates in the US. Some consulates, such as those in New York and Washington, also issue the Carteira de Matrícula Consular (CMC), a consular registration card that does not replace a passport.
If you need to take care of paperwork, these two articles walk you through it: how to renew a Brazilian passport in the US and how to get a Brazilian national ID card (CIN) from the US. To understand what each office does, read about the differences between an embassy and a consulate. You can also explore more resources for Brazilians.
Good to know if you send money to Brazil
To sign up for Félix, you can use your passport, a national ID, a consular ID card (matrícula consular) or a US driver's license, plus a selfie. You don't need a Social Security number to send money.
Sources
Demographic data
- Migration Policy Institute: Brazilian Immigrants in the United States (Population, states, cities, age and income; 2024 ACS and 2020-2024 ACS.)
- Pew Research Center: coding error and Latino identity among Brazilians (Hispanic classification and the 2020 ACS error.)
Government of Brazil (official sources)
- Itamaraty: consular coordination meeting of Brazil in the United States (Consulate network; press release from several years ago.)
- e-Consular: Consulate General of Brazil in Orlando (Current status of the Orlando office.)
- Consulate in Boston: general information (Boston jurisdiction.)
- Consulate in New York: Carteira de Matrícula Consular (New York jurisdiction.)
- Itamaraty: redução dos valores de passaportes emitidos no exterior (Passport fee reduction starting June 2026.)
- Poupatempo São Paulo: getting the Carteira de Identidade Nacional (CIN) (What the CIN is and how to apply for it in a Brazilian state.)
Last verified: October 16, 2026. Demographic figures are survey estimates and may change with each MPI update.
More Félix resources for Brazilians in the United States
