New Americans in North Dakota

The Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in the Peace Garden State (Updated January 2012)

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Immigrants and their children are growing shares of North Dakota’s population.

• The foreign-born share of North Dakota’s population rose from 1.5% in 1990, to 1.9% in 2000, to 2.5% in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. North Dakota was home to 16,639 immigrants in 2010.

• 37.2% of immigrants (or 6,190 people) in North Dakota were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2010—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 1.1% (or 4,384) of registered voters in North Dakota were “New Americans”—naturalized citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of immigration from Latin America and Asia which began in 1965—according to an analysis of 2008 Census Bureau data by Rob Paral & Associates.

More than 20,000 North Dakotans are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of North Dakota’s population grew from 0.7% in 1990, to 1.2% in 2000, to 2.0% (or 13,467 people) in 2010. The Asian share of the population grew from 0.5% in 1990, to 0.6% in 2000, to 1.0% (or 6,909 people) in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• In North Dakota, 80.9% of children with immigrant parents were U.S. citizens in 2009, according to data from the Urban Institute.

Latino and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs to North Dakota’s economy.

• The 2010 purchasing power of Latinos in North Dakota totaled $423.2 million—an increase of 1,209.1% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $322.1 million—an increase of 711.9% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

• North Dakota’s 287 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $20.5 million and employed 651 people in 2007, the last year for which data is available. The state’s 412 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $151.3 million and employed 1,469 people in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.
  

Immigrants are important to North Dakota’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 2.5% of the state’s workforce in 2008 (or 9,129 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
  

Unauthorized immigrants contribute to North Dakota’s economy as workers and taxpayers.

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised less than 0.5% of the state’s workforce (or fewer than 10,000 workers) in 2010, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.
  

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from North Dakota, the state would lose $55.1 million in economic activity, $24.5 million in gross state product, and approximately 360 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

Immigrants contribute to North Dakota’s economy as students.

• North Dakota’s 2,884 foreign students contributed $57.4 million to the state’s economy in tuition, fees, and living expenses for the 2009-2010 academic year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
  

Immigrants excel educationally.

• The number of immigrants in North Dakota with a college degree increased by 18.9% between 2000 and 2009, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.

• In 2009, 31.5% of North Dakota's foreign-born population age 25 and older had a bachelor's or higher degree, compared to 25.6% of native-born persons above age 25.

• In North Dakota, 77.8% of children with immigrant parents were considered “English proficient” as of 2009, according to data from the Urban Institute.
  

Published On: Wed, Jan 11, 2012 | Download File