Immigration impact nationwide in the US

The United States was built, in part, by immigrants—and the nation has long been the beneficiary of the new energy and ingenuity that immigrants bring. Today, over 13 percent of the nation’s residents are foreign-born, almost half of whom are naturalized citizens.

The American immigration council has published a report on the impact of immigration nationwide. According to the report

• One in eight US residents is an immigrant
• The majority of immigrants (71.8 percent) reported speaking English “well” or “very well.”
• Nearly one in six U.S. workers is an immigrant, together making up a vital part of the country’s labor force.
• 27.2 million immigrant workers comprised 16.9 percent of the U.S. labor force in 2015.
• The top countries of origin for immigrants were Mexico (27.8 percent of immigrants), India (5.5 percent), China (4.8 percent), the Philippines (4.6 percent), and El Salvador (3.2 percent).
• Immigrants make up significant shares of the U.S. workforce in a range of industries, accounting for over 41 percent of all farming, fishing, and forestry workers—as well as nearly 25 percent of those working in computer and math sciences.
• More than one in four adult immigrants had a college degree or more education in 2015
• Immigrant-led households across the United States contributed a total of $223.6 billion in federal taxes and $104.6 billion in combined state and local taxes in 2014.
• Immigrant entrepreneurs in the United States generate tens of billions of dollars in business revenue. 3.3 million immigrant business owners in 2015 and generated $72.3 billion in business income.
• 11.1 million undocumented immigrants comprised 26 percent of the immigrant population and 3.5 percent of the total U.S. population in 2014.

The largest shares of immigrant workers were in the following U.S. industries: