Unauthorized Famillies Are Younger
This chart shows several measures of age composition for families and compares those families headed by unauthorized migrants with those headed by legal immigrants and natives.
The general conclusion of these comparisons is that, by almost any measure, unauthorized families are much younger, on the whole than either native families or families of legal immigrants. A much higher share of persons in unauthorized families are children (under 18)—35% among unauthorized families versus 29% among legal immigrant families and only 24% among native families. At the other end of the age spectrum, virtually none of the unauthorized population is elderly (65 and over). In contrast, about 1 in 6 native adults and the same share of legal immigrant adults is aged 65 or older.
Among working-age (18-64) adults, the unauthorized population is also substantially younger. Almost all (84%) of unauthorized migrants in this age range are under age 45. In contrast, only about three-fifths of native and legal immigrants of working age are under 45.
Unauthorized Famillies Are Younger  | Unauthorized Families  | 84%  | Legal Immigrant Families  | Native Families  | 63%  | 60%  | 35%  | 29%  | 24%  | 17%  | 16%  | <1 %  | Children (% Under 18)  | % Young Adults (18-44) of  | % Elderly (65+) of Adults  | Working Age (18-64) 