International migrants were attracted to large urban counties last year

International migrants were attracted to some of the largest urban counties in the U.S. last year, an influx that helped some of those areas recover from the loss of local residents and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Census Bureau figures show.

More than 1.1 million people moved to the U.S. last year, driving population gains at a time when immigration has become a hot-button election issue during the race for the White House and Congress. Newcomers from abroad accounted for more than two-thirds of U.S. population growth last year, according to the bureau’s population estimates.

Population estimates published last month show which counties attracted international migrants last year but don’t distinguish between those in the country legally or illegally. More than half of the foreign-born population in the U.S. live in just four states: California, Texas, Florida and New York. But the numbers alone only tell part of the story.