Nearly a quarter of American households do not speak English as their first language, a new study published on Tuesday has found.

The Migration Policy Institute discovered that 22 per cent of the US population prefers to speak another language at home, with the highest concentrations located in Nevada and Florida.

'Spanish was the top non-English language spoken at home in the country overall and in the 15 fastest-growing states with one exception: Alaska, where Eskimo–Aleut and other Native American languages predominated,' the report found.

The Migration Policy Institute discovered that 22 per cent of the US population prefers to speak another language at home

The Washington, DC-based think tank also noted in their study that the number of foreign-born US citizens represents 13.5 per cent of the population

The Washington, DC-based think tank also noted in their study that the number of foreign-born US citizens is at its highest level ever, with approximately 44 million immigrants calling America home.

The number translates into 13.5 per cent of the population.

The data also suggests a trend showing immigrants dispersing across the country instead of gravitating to a few states and cities.

And while the number of immigrants between 2010 and 2016 increased by nine per cent, the foreign-born population surged 15 percent or more in 15 states: North Dakota, West Virginia, South Dakota, Delaware, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Indiana, Florida, Nevada.

'Approximately nine million immigrants, or one in every five, reside in these 15 states,' with Mexicans and Cubans dominating the influx followed by those from India and China, the MPI reported.

The data also suggests a trend showing immigrants dispersing across the country instead of gravitating to a few states and cities

North Dakota, West Virginia, and South Dakota were the states that experienced the fastest growth rates, with 48 per cent, 41 per cent, and 39 per cent, respectively.

The MPI said that 1.6 million foreign nationals in the top 15 states were able to obtain legal status via a green card between 2010 and 2016, which accounted for 22 percent of the 7.4 million immigrants who received green cards during the same period nationwide.

US estimates for illegal immigration hovers around 11 million, with about 1.7 million undocumented foreign nationals living in the 15 states examined in the study.

The report also notes that in 2014, 'about 84.2 babies were born per 1,000 immigrant women ages 15 to 44, compared to 58.3 births per 1,000 U.S.-born women in 2014, according to Pew Research Center estimates.'

Other noteworthy trends the data delineated was that immigrants are highly represented among all workers in low-skilled job (especially in Florida and Nevada) and are likely to lack basic health insurance.