With immigration reform remaining one of the biggest policy issues in 2020 and $7.2 billion in Pentagon funds potentially going toward border wall funding, WalletHub today released its report on 2020’s Economic Impact of Immigration by State.

The economic impact in California is huge. For starters, the state ranks first in the percentage of  Jobs Generated by Immigrant-Owned Businesses Out of Total Jobs.

Immigration remains a hot-button issue, dividing lawmakers on the local, state and federal level, especially when it comes to Sanctuary City status and President Trump’s border wall.

The states affected most by immigration are New York, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maryland.

The states impacted least are South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Mississippi.

In order to determine which states benefit most from immigration, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 23 key metrics, ranging from median household income of foreign-born population to jobs generated by immigrant-owned businesses as a share of total jobs.

Immigrants’ Economic Impact on California (1=Biggest Impact; 25=Avg.):

  • 23rd – Net Difference Between State & Local Revenues and Expenditures per Immigrant
  • 12th – Median Household Income of Foreign-Born Population
  • 1st – % of Foreign-Born STEM Workers Out of Total STEM Workers
  • 15th – % of Fortune 500 Companies Founded by Immigrants or Their Children
  • 8th – % of Jobs Created by Presence of International Students Out of Total Jobs
  • 6th – Economic Contribution of International Students per Capita

Asked whether immigrants an economic benefit or an economic drain to states, Alan Hyde, Distinguished Professor and Sidney Reitman Scholar at Rutgers Law School, said, “Benefit. The data are clear. Immigrants start, net, all new businesses in the US. They revitalize cities. Their neighborhoods are low-crime. They fill many important jobs. Their taxes and social security contributions keep the systems afloat. Their principal cost is public education since one-quarter of US schoolchildren are immigrants or their children. We educate children so that they will be even more productive than their parents, and this bet has historically paid off for immigrants with spectacular returns on investment in education.”

For the full report, please click here.

 

 

Image Sources

  • Immigration: Shutterstock