Immigrants have played a leading role in the state's economic success and make up 21.2 percent of the total Texas labor
March 2017
Immigrants
Drive the Texas Economy
T
exas has a strong tradition of embracing immigrant culture and leading the nation with common-sense policies, such as the Texas DREAM Act, that have been critical to the prosperity of our state. There are 4.3 million immigrants living in Texas, comprising 16.5 percent of the total Texas population.1 Put another way – one out of every six Texans is an immigrant*, and many more are part of immigrant families.
Texas immigrants’ direct purchasing power in 2015:
$95.5 BILLION to $100 billion
*This fact sheet refers to Texas immigrants as any foreign-born resident regardless of immigration or U.S. citizenship status.
Source: Center for Public Policy Priorities analysis2
Texas is Home to Immigrants from Around the World Shares of Recent Non-Citizen Immigrants to Texas by Area of Birth, 2005 - 2015 2015
44.1%
35.8% 7.1%
2014
48.6%
33.6%
2013
42.9%
40.4% 9.0% 7.8%
2012
50.9%
34.3%
7.1% 7.8%
2011
57.4%
25.5%
9.9% 7.2%
2010
50.6%
33.0%
7.3% 9.1%
2009
59.0%
26.8%
7.7% 6.5%
2008
57.0%
28.2% 7.8% 7.0%
2007
61.0%
22.4%
2006
66.8%
19.9%
5.7% 7.6%
2005
69.4%
17.3%
7.8% 5.5%
Latin America
Asia
Europe
8.3% 9.5%
6.2% 10.4%
Africa and Other
Source: Texas Demographic Center and Center for Public Policy Priorities analysis3
13.0%
Immigrants Drive the Texas Economy Of the 4.3 million immigrants living in Texas, an estimated 1.7 million are undocumented4 – about six percent of the total Texas population.5 While virtually all Texas kids were born in the U.S., one-third of all Texas children (nearly 2.4 million) live with one or more parents who is an immigrant.6 Of these children, half live with at least one parent who is not a U.S. citizen.7 Researchers estimate that 834,000 children in Texas live with one or more undocumented parents.8
2.4 million Texas kids live with at least one parent who is an immigrant. Half of these kids live with at least one parent who is not a citizen. Researchers estimate 834,000 Texas kids live with one or more parents who is undocumented. Source: Kids Count Data Center9 and the Migration Policy Institute10
Immigrants have played a leading role in the state’s economic success and make up 21.2 percent of the total Texas labor force.11 Texas immigrants work in a wide range of jobs, most heavily concentrated in education, health care and social services.12 Immigrants also power the state economy as job creators, small business owners and entrepreneurs. Immigrants make up 18.4 percent of Texas business owners with paid employees13 and are self-employed at a higher rate (9.4 percent) than the Native-born population (5.8 percent).14 As consumers, immigrants add billions to the Texas economy and to our state’s sales-tax based revenue system. Texas immigrants earned nearly $119 billion in wage, salary, and self-employment income in 2015.15 Immigrant earnings represent 18.5 percent of wage, salary, Every year, undocumented and self-employment income in 16 Texas. The direct purchasing power immigrants in Texas pay about from these sources of income for immigrants in 2015 is estimated to be between $95.5 billion and $100 in state and local taxes. 17 billion.
$1.5 billion Source: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy18
Immigrants Drive the Texas Economy
Where Texas Immigrants Work Top 5 Industries by Foreign-Born Participation Educational Services, Health Care, Social Assistance
16.0% 23.2%
Foreign Born Native Born
14.7%
Construction
5.9%
Professional, Scientific and Management, and Administrative and Waste Management Services
11.9% 10.8% 11.4%
Manufacturing
8.5%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation, and Food Services
11.2% 8.3% 34.8%
All Other Industries
43.3% Source: U.S. Census Bureau19
Endnotes 1 U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table S0501.
8 Capps, R., et. al., Migration Policy Institute, A profile of U.S. children with unauthorized immigrant parents (2016), Table A-2.
2 CPPP calculated the estimated range of potential direct purchasing power using PUMS foreign-born income data, 1-Year Estimate, 2015 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau multiplied by the average annual expenditure rates from the 2015 Consumer Expenditure Survey, Table 1800. CPPP calculated the expenditure rates by dividing average annual expenditures by the average pre-tax incomes for the South (low end of range) and for the U.S. (high end of the range). The estimate includes average spending on housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and all other personal expenditures. For the full list of expenditure categories, see Consumer Expenditure Survey Table 1800.
12 U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table S0501.
3 CPPP analysis of data from U.S. Census Bureau, 2009-2015 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates data from Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS); 2005-2008 data from White, S., et. al., Origins of Immigrants to Texas (2015), Figure 7: Numbers of Recent Non-Citizen Immigrants to Texas by World Area of Birth, 2005-2013, Texas Demographic Center.
13 U.S. Census Bureau, 2014 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, Statistics for Owners of Respondent Employer Firms by Whether the Owner Was Born a U.S. Citizen by Sector, Gender, Ethnicity, Race, Veteran Status, and Years in Business for the U.S., States, and Top 50 MSAs, Table SE1400CSCBO09. Includes firms with payroll at any time during 2014.
4 Pew Research Center, Unauthorized immigrant population trends for states, birth countries, and regions (2016). Estimates for 2005-2014 based on augmented American Community Survey data from Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS).
14 U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table S0501.
5 CPPP estimate based on data from the Pew Research Center and U.S. Census Bureau, 20102014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
16 Ibid.
6 CPPP analysis of data from U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, Table S0501. 7 The Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT Data Center: Children in immigrant families; Children in immigrant families in which resident parents are not U.S. citizens. Parents who are not U.S. citizens include those with and without legal authorization.
9 See note 7. 10 See note 8. 11 U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table S0501, Population 16 and over in the labor force.
15 CPPP estimate based on PUMS data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimate.
17 See note 2. 18 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions (2016). 19 U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table S0501.
CPPP is an independent public policy organization that uses research, analysis and advocacy to promote solutions that enable Texans of all backgrounds to reach their full potential. Learn more at CPPP.org. For more information, please contact Oliver Bernstein at
[email protected] or call 512.823.2875.
@CPPP_TX
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