New Americans in the Cornhusker State

The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in Nebraska.

Immigrants and their children are growing shares of Nebraska’s population and electorate.

• The foreign-born share of Nebraska’s population rose from 1.8% in 1990 [1], to 4.4% in 2000 [1], to 5.5% in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Nebraska was home to 97,815 immigrants in 2008 [2], which is nearly the total population of Berkeley, California [3].

• 32.9% of immigrants (or 32,181 people) in Nebraska were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [2]—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 2.7% (or 23,006) of registered voters in Nebraska were “New Americans”—naturalized citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of immigration from Latin America and Asia which began in 1965—according to an analysis of 2006 Census Bureau data by Rob Paral & Associates [4].

1 in 11 Nebraskans are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of Nebraska’s population grew from 2.3% in 1990 [5], to 5.5% in 2000 [5], to 7.8% (or 139,108 people) in 2008 [2].  The Asian share of the population grew from 0.8%  in 1990 [6], to 1.3% in 2000 [6], to 1.5% (or 26,752 people) in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Latinos accounted for 2.8% (or 24,000) of Nebraska voters in the 2008 elections, and Asians 0.9% (or 8,000), according to the U.S. Census Bureau [7].

• In Nebraska, more than half (or 55%) of the children in immigrant families were U.S. citizens in 2007 [8], according to the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at the University of Albany.

Latino and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs to Nebraska’s economy.

• The 2009 purchasing power of Latinos in Nebraska totaled $2.9 billion—an increase of 753.8% since 1990.  Asian buying power totaled $1.0 billion—an increase of 640.9% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth [9] at the University of Georgia.

• Nebraska’s 1,456 Asian-owned [10] businesses had sales and receipts of $685.6 million and employed 6,191 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 1,966 Latino-owned [11] businesses had sales and receipts of $433.8 million and employed 2,862 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants make vital economic contributions to Nebraska’s state and local economy:

• Immigrant spending accounted for $1.6 billion worth of total production in Nebraska’s economy and generated roughly 12,000 jobs for the state in 2006, according to a study [12] at the University of Nebraska-Ohama.

• The impact of immigrant spending made a large impact on the state’s local economies in 2006 [12], including:

• $1.14 billion in production and 8,331 jobs in Omaha and Lincoln.
• $204 million in production and 1,275 jobs in Nebraska’s Eastern region.
• $238 million in production and 1,896 jobs in Nebraska’s Western region.

• Nebraska’s immigrants also contributed roughly $154 million in property, income, sales, and gas tax revenue in 2006, according to the same study [12].

Immigrants are integral to Nebraska’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 6.8% of the state’s workforce in 2008 [2] (or 68,142 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised 2.8% of the state’s workforce (or 30,000 workers) in 2008 [13], according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Nebraska, the state would lose $852.4 million in economic activity, $378.6 million in gross state product, and approximately 5,400 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group [14].

Immigrants are integral to Nebraska’s economy as students.

• Nebraska’s 4,335 foreign students contributed $88.6 million to the state’s economy in tuition, fees, and living expenses for the 2008-2009 academic year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators [15].

Naturalized Citizens Excel Educationally.

• In Nebraska, 33.4% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized citizens in 2008 [16] lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 50.5% of noncitizens.

• The number of immigrants in Nebraska with a college degree increased by 64.4% between 2000 and 2008, according to data [16] from the Migration Policy Institute.

• In Nebraska, 73.7% of all children between the ages of 5 and 17 in families that spoke a language other than English at home also spoke English “very well” as of 2008 [16].

UPDATED: JULY 2010

Published On: Mon, Dec 14, 2009 | Download File [17]