Taxes and Spending Power
The contributions immigrants make as both taxpayers and consumers are indispensable to the U.S. economy. Nationally, immigrants earned $1.3 trillion in 2014 and contributed $105 billion in state and local taxes and almost $224 billion in federal taxes. This left them with nearly $927 billion in spending power, which they frequently used to purchase goods and services, stimulate local business activity, and create jobs in the broader U.S. economy.
The News-Gazette: Immigration panelists: Integration requires bridging culture-shock gap
In front of a packed room Wednesday, a panel discussed what Champaign County can do with newly-published data on its immigrant population, as well as which efforts are already underway. The Gateways for Growth Community Data Report, compiled by the University YMCA’s New American Welcome center and the New American… Read More
WCIA: County recognized for immigrant growth
The University YMCA’s New American Welcome Center is hosting a meeting to talk about immigration impact. Members are going over results of a report showing the demographic and economic contributions immigrants in Champaign County have made. The county was recognized as a recipient of the Gateways for Growth Award; given to communities with… Read More
The News-Gazette: University Y’s new study shows immigrants have $1.4B impact here
Immigrants living in Champaign County contribute $1.4 billion to its economy and $57.2 million to the local tax base, according to a new, first-of-its kind study. The Gateways for Growth Community Data Report — compiled by the University YMCA’s New American Welcome Center and data analysts from the New American… Read More
Talk Business and Politics: New study highlights economic benefit of central Arkansas’ immigrant population
A study published Tuesday (May 1) by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, the City of Little Rock and a Washington, D.C.-business coalition reports that foreign-born residents contributed $2 billion annual in gross domestic product to the central Arkansas economy in 2016. The study’s release coincided with federal judge’s… Read More
Arkansas Online: Report details immigrants’ effect on economy of central Arkansas
Immigrants living in central Arkansas paid more than $240 million in local, state and federal taxes in 2016, according to a report published Tuesday that details the economic effect of foreign-born residents. Roughly 29,000 immigrants — more than one-third from Mexico — lived in the six-county metropolitan area that year,… Read More
WNDU: New research shows positive impact of immigrants in Michiana
New research shows the economic impacts of immigrants in Michiana. The research on “New Americans in the Michiana Region” was presented in South Bend on Friday. The researcher who presented the statistics says he hopes the research will help us better understand our foreign-born neighbors. “When you talk about immigrants… Read More
Houston Public Media: During Tax Season Undocumented Texans Were Filing, Too
In Texas alone, the undocumented population paid an estimated $1.9 billion to the IRS. That’s according to 2016 research by the New American Economy Research Fund. They estimate that, in Texas, undocumented immigrants paid another $1.3 billion to local and state governments. “For Uncle Sam, your migratory status doesn’t matter,”… Read More
Cleveland.com: Global Ties Akron to launch international ‘Global Threads’ magazine
Global Ties Akron is one of only six organizations in the country to be awarded state funding for a cultural heritage project to be unveiled at the Akron Art Museum. “Global Threads” is an online international magazine that will launch Sunday, April 22 from 1-5 p.m. at the museum. Read More
After Fleeing Bloodshed in Gambia, Immigrant Entrepreneur Starts Successful Business in Little Rock
In 2000, when Maf Sonko was 15, his family fled a bloody government crackdown on student demonstrations in their native Gambia. They received asylum and settled in North Carolina, where Sonko finished high school and earned a degree in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University Since then, Sonko… Read More
Household Income of Immigrants
In 2014, more than 72 percent of foreign-born population in the United States was working-aged, compared to less than half of U.S.-born residents. This reality allowed immigrants to earn well over a trillion dollars of income in 2014—a greater amount than their portion of the U.S. population overall.
Tax Contributions
A notable portion of the income earned by immigrants each year funnels directly back to our government in the form of tax revenues. In some states, immigrants contribute more than one out of every four tax dollars paid by local residents each year—supporting taxpayer-funded services like public schools and police departments.
States Where Immigrants Contributed the Largest Share of Total Tax Revenues, 2014
Spending Power
Spending power is the disposable income left to households after deducting their annual tax contributions. The $9.3 billion in total spending power held by immigrant led households in 2014 allowed them to hold considerable power as consumers. By spending on goods and services, immigrants strengthen the U.S. economy and provide jobs to American workers as well as the businesses dependent upon paying customers.
Foreign-Born Population’s Amount and Share of Spending Power by State, 2014
Medicare and Social Security
Our Social Security and Medicare programs are already facing serious financial challenges—a pattern expected to worsen as large numbers of Baby Boomers retire and leave the workforce altogether. While the United States had roughly 16 workers paying into our entitlement programs for every one retiree in 1950, that number is projected to drop to just two workers for every retiree by 2035.1 Immigrants are already playing an important role supplementing our entitlement programs: One NAE study found that between 1996 and 2011 immigrants contributed $182.4 billion more to Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund—the core trust fund in the program—than was expended on their care.
Sources:
1 “10 Truths About America’s Entitlement Programs, Address by R. Bruce Josten Executive Vice President of Government Affairs U.S. Chamber of Commerce,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce, accessed September 21, 2016. Available online.
Bolstering the Housing Market
By purchasing homes in neighborhoods formerly in decline, immigrants in recent decades have had a positive impact on U.S. housing values overall. From 2000 to 2010, each of the 40 million immigrants in the United States added, on average, 11.6 cents to the value of a home in their local county. That seems small, but it adds up. In fact, it resulted in immigrants growing U.S. housing wealth by $3.7 trillion during that period.2 Immigrants are also expected to play a key role buying up homes as baby boomers downsize in the coming years: Almost 30 percent of American homeowners were older than age 65 in 2014.
Sources:
2 Jacob Vigdor, “Immigration and the Revival of American Cities,” New American Economy, 2013 Available online.
Immigrant Subgroups
Regardless of where the immigrants came from, they contribute a tremendous amount of money to the U.S. economy as taxpayers and consumers. In this section, we show the amount earned and contributed in taxes by different ethnic and national origin groups within the foreign-born population.
Taxes & Spending Power of Major Immigrant Subgroups
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Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
