KRON: Immigrants make up more than one-third of San Francisco population, with $7.1 billion in spending power

Published: February 21, 2017

Immigrants make up more than a third of San Francisco’s population and make a large contribution to the local economy, according to a new report released Tuesday.

Immigrants in San Francisco have around $7.1 billion in spending power and pay more than $2.5 billion in total taxes each year, $1.7 billion on which goes to the federal government, according to a report from the immigration advocacy group New American Economy, which is made up of business and political leaders.

Around 70 percent of the city’s immigrant population is working age, and it includes more than 12,500 immigrant entrepreneurs, the report states.

In San Francisco, 145,946 immigrants are eligible to vote, and 37,279 own homes.

“Immigration helps power the local economy,” San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission Chair Celine Kennelly, executive director of the Irish Immigration Pastoral Center, said in a statement. “This data is more evidence that immigrants have contributed significantly to the City’s cultural and economic success.”

The study released Tuesday is based on 2014 economic and tax data and includes information for 435 congressional districts, the 55 largest cities in the United States and all 50 states.

Read the full story from KRON: “Report: Immigrants make up more than one-third of San Francisco population, with $7.1 billion in spending power
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