New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Allen County, Indiana paid over $160.0 million in taxes and held $496.0 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New Americans in Allen County, was prepared in partnership with Amani Family Services, Downtown Fort Wayne, and Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
The report also features the profiles of three community members in Allen County: Aaron Robles, Flora Barrón, So Min Oo, and Vivianne Belanger.
Between 2014 and 2019, the population of Allen County increased by 3.3 percent while the immigrant population grew by 12.6 percent, with 24.0 percent of the total population growth in the county attributable to immigrants. This means that population growth would have been less without immigrants moving to the county.
In 2019 alone, immigrant households in the county earned $656.9 million in income and paid $99.1 million in federal taxes and $61.8 million in state and local taxes. Despite making up 6.8 percent of the county’s total population in 2019, immigrants represented 8.8 percent of its working age population, 7.8 percent of its employed labor force, and 5.4 percent of its science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers.
The report was produced as part of the Council’s and Welcoming America’s Gateways for Growth Challenge, which includes tailored research on the local immigrant population.
Read the full press release here.
- Immigrants are helping the county meet its labor force demands. In 2019, immigrants were 32.3 percent more likely to be of working age than their U.S.-born counterparts.
- Immigrants support the federal safety net. Immigrants contributed $65.3 million to Social Security and $17.4 million to Medicare in Allen County in 2019.
- Immigrants are helping Allen County meet its rising labor needs in key industries. While making up 6.8 percent of the county’s total population in 2019, immigrants represented 13.5 percent of manufacturing workers, 12.3 percent of construction workers, and 8.3 percent of hospitality workers.
- Immigrants play a significant role in the county as entrepreneurs. Immigrants represented 9.9 percent of business owners in Allen County in 2019. About 1,300 immigrant entrepreneurs generated $37.9 million in business income for the county.
