Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship and business creation is fundamental to a healthy economy. Companies less than five years old create an average of 1.5 million new jobs for Americans each year.† Immigrants in particular play an important role in creating jobs as they are more likely to start a new business than the rest of the population. Despite this, the United States lacks a startup visa to welcome immigrant entrepreneurs with a proven idea and solid investment. This results in many business owners struggling to stay—at a cost to our economy and its workers.
† Jason Wiens and Chris Jackson, “The Importance of Young Firms for Economic Growth,” September 13, 2015. Available online.
New data shows immigrants in Detroit paid more than $4.4 billion in taxes in 2017, an increase of more than $400 million in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to Detroit’s community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in Detroit are driving economic growth — there were more than… Read More
New data shows Albany’s immigrants paid $715 million in taxes in 2017, a more than 10 percent increase in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the community and economy in and around Albany. The data shows that immigrants in the Albany metro area are crucial… Read More
New data shows Philadelphia’s immigrant household income increased by nearly $3 billion in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the Philadelphia community and economy. The data shows that immigrants are crucial contributors to Philadelphia’s economy — the area’s immigrant… Read More
New data shows the number of immigrant entrepreneurs in the Twin Cities grew by 19 percent in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the Twin Cities’ community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in the Twin Cities are driving growth in the… Read More
New Report Shows A Quarter of STEM workers in Mecklenburg County Are Immigrants
Mecklenburg County, NC – Immigrant households earned nearly $4.9 billion and contributed over $1.2 billion in taxes in 2017, according to new research by New American Economy (NAE) in partnership with the City of Charlotte. The report illustrates the impact… Read More
New data shows Atlanta’s immigrant household income grew by 13 percent in one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the Atlanta community… Read More
New Report Shows Immigrants in Northern Kentucky Contributed Over $116 Million in Taxes
Fort Mitchell, KY – Immigrant households in Northern Kentucky earned nearly $430 million and paid over $116 million in taxes in 2017, according to new research by New American Economy (NAE) in partnership with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of… Read More
El Paso’s number of immigrant entrepreneurs grew by 25 percent in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and immigration advocacy organization, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the El Paso community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in El Paso are crucial job creators — the metro area’s… Read More
Immigration and the Small Business Workforce
Introduction Chairwoman Velázquez, Ranking Member Chabot, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and provide testimony on behalf of New American Economy (NAE). NAE is a bipartisan coalition of more than 500 mayors and business leaders from all 50 states and every… Read More
Mexican Immigrant Builds Her Way from Small Business to Presidential Appointments
Patricia Stout long had the confidence to go her own way. Born in 1940s Mexico, she pursued business and math in school, took an airline job in the United States, married an American and, in 1974, moved to San Antonio. Although she felt isolated — “it was a different… Read More
Immigrants Create American Jobs
How many jobs do immigrant entrepreneurs create? The data shows that firms owned by immigrants provide millions of jobs for U.S. workers and generate billions of dollars in annual income. With new business formation slowing in the United States, immigrant entrepreneurs have a critical role in many parts of the country, creating jobs for all Americans.
What percent of businesses are owned by immigrants?
The act of moving to another country is inherently courageous and risky. So, it comes as no surprise that immigrants tend to be more entrepreneurial than the rest of the population. In 2019, immigrant entrepreneurs made up 21.7 percent of all business owners in the United States, despite making up just over 13.6 percent of the population and 17.1 percent of the U.S. labor force.
Where Immigrants Are Most Entrepreneurial, 2019
Immigrants and the Recovery from the Great Recession
Foreign-born entrepreneurs and the jobs they created were instrumental in the recovery from the Great Recession. Between 2007 and 2011, immigrant entrepreneurs founded a large share of new businesses across the country and in several key states.
Share of New Businesses Founded by Immigrants in Select States, 2007-2011
Which Industries Are Immigrant Businesses Most Prevalent?
As important as the frequency with which immigrants start businesses is the diversity of fields in which they start them. Immigrants start more than 25 percent of all businesses in seven of the eight sectors that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects to grow the fastest over the next decade. They also play a large role in founding both Main Street businesses1 and high-tech firms.2
Sources:
1 David Dyssegaard Kallick, “Bringing Vitality to Main Street: How Immigrant Small Businesses Help Local Economies Grow,” New York: Fiscal Policy Institute and Americas Society/Council of the Americas, 2015. Available online.
2 Vivek Wadhwa et al., “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Part I,” SSRN Scholarly Paper (Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, 2007). Available online.
Share of Businesses Started by Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Seven Key Sectors, 2007-2011
Immigrants Found both Main Street Businesses and High-Tech Firms
Business Ownership Among Immigrant Groups
Looking at specific ethnic and national origin groups within the immigrant population, we find that many exhibit entrepreneurship rates higher than the native-born. At right we highlight the particular contributions of Middle Eastern business owners in Detroit, a group frequently credited with helping to spur the city’s recent economic comeback.
Sources:
3 Steve Tobocman, “Guide to Immigrant Economic Development,” Welcoming America, accessed July 5, 2016. Available online.
4 New American Economy, "Reason for Reform: Entrepreneurship," October 2016. Available online.
Entrepreneurship Rates for Immigrant Subgroups, 2014
Immigrants and the Fortune 500
Consistent with past NAE research, a significant number of firms on the most recent Fortune 500 list were founded by immigrants or their children. These companies make enormous contributions to both the U.S. and global economy. They also live on beyond their founders, generating jobs and revenue long after their visionaries retire or move on.
Visa Obstacles
Currently, there is no visa for those who want to come to the United States, start a company, and create jobs for U.S. workers. To access a visa, many immigrant entrepreneurs choose to sell a majority stake in their company and then apply for a visa as a high-skilled worker rather than as the owner of the firm. Our broken H-1B visa system, however, means that many entrepreneurs cannot get a visa before the cap is exhausted each year. In 2016, the White House proposed a rule that would make it easier for entrepreneurs to remain in the country, but it is clear a more permanent, legislative fix is needed.5
Sources:
5 Issie Lapowski, “White House Proposes a New Immigration Rule for Entrepreneurs,” WIRED, accessed December 14, 2016. Available online.
6“USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016,” USCIS, accessed December 14, 2016. Available online.
Low-Skilled Entrepreneurship
Immigrant entrepreneurs are hardly a monolithic group. While much of the attention is focused on high-skilled foreign-born entrepreneurs that drive innovation in Silicon Valley, immigrant entrepreneurs with humbler backgrounds continue to play critical roles in the U.S. economy. Founding retail shops, restaurants, and personal service businesses, these immigrant entrepreneurs help towns and cities across the United States stay vibrant. In sum, the over 2.1 million immigrant entrepreneurs with less than a college degree have a significant economic impact, creating billions of dollars in economic activity and providing jobs to thousands of Americans.
Top Industries Among Immigrant Entrepreneurs with Less than a Bachelor’s Degree, 2015
Entrepreneurship Rates of Workers in Various Demographic Groups, 2015
Business Income of Less-Skilled Immigrant Entrepreneurs, 2015
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
