New Americans in the Grand Canyon State

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

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

• The foreign-born share of Arizona’s population rose from 7.6% in 1990 [1], to 12.8% in 2000 [1], to 14.3% in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Arizona was home to 932,518 immigrants in 2008 [2], which is more than the population of San Jose, California [3].

• 30.4% of immigrants (or 283,915 people) in Arizona were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [2]—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 10.6% (or 252,108) of all registered voters in Arizona 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].

Nearly one-third of Arizonans are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of Arizona’s population grew from 18.8% in 1990 [5], to 25.3% in 2000 [5], to 30.1% (or 1,956,554 people) in 2008 [2].  The Asian share of the population grew from 1.4%  in 1990 [6], to 1.8% in 2000 [6], to 2.4% (or 156,004 people) in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Latinos comprised 11.7% (or 291,000) of Arizona voters in the 2008 elections, according to the U.S. Census Bureau [7]. 
• In Arizona, four-in-five (or 80% of) 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.

Immigrant, Latino, and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add billions of dollars and tens-of-thousands of jobs to Arizona’s economy.

• The 2004 consumer spending power of immigrant-headed households in Arizona totaled $10.5 billion, according to a 2008 study [9] by the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona.  This spending:

• Supported approximately 66,500 full-time jobs.
• Accounted for $10.2 billion in state economic output.
• Generated tax revenues of roughly $776 million, consisting of $362 million in sales taxes, $328 million in business taxes, and $85 million in personal taxes.

• The 2009 purchasing power of Arizona’s Latinos totaled $30.9 billion—an increase of 465.3% since 1990.  Asian buying power totaled $5.7 billion—an increase of 657.9% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth [10] at the University of Arizona.

• Arizona’s 35,104 Latino-owned [11] businesses had sales and receipts of $4.3 billion and employed 39,363 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 10,215 Asian-owned [12] businesses had sales and receipts of $2.4 billion and employed 24,405 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants are integral to Arizona’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 18.0% of the state’s workforce in 2008 [2] (or 570,840 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Immigrants accounted for 15% of total economic output in the Phoenix metropolitan area as of 2007, according to a study by the Fiscal Policy Institute [13].  In fact, “immigrants contribute to the economy in direct relation to their share of the population.  The economy of metro areas grows in tandem with the immigrant share of the labor force.”

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised 9.8% of the state’s workforce (or 300,000 workers) in 2008 [14], according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• The total economic output attributable to Arizona’s immigrant workers was $44 billion in 2004, which sustained roughly 400,000 full-time jobs, according to a 2008 study [15] by the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy.

• Immigrant workers contributed $2.4 billion in state tax revenue in 2004, consisting of $1 billion in sales taxes, $967 million in business taxes, and $367 million in personal taxes, according to the same study [15].

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Arizona, the state would lose $26.4 billion in economic activity, $11.7 billion in gross state product, and approximately 140,324 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group [16].

Immigrants are integral to Arizona’s economy as students.

• Arizona’s 10,787 foreign students contributed $228.4 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 [17].

Naturalized citizens excel educationally.

• In Arizona, 24.4% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [18] had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to 13.1% of noncitizens.  At the same time, only 26.9% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 53.3% of noncitizens.

• The number of immigrants in Arizona with a college degree increased by 72.5% between 2000 and 2008, according to data [18] from the Migration Policy Institute.

• In Arizona, 72.5% 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 [18].

UPDATED: JULY 2010

Published On: Sat, Sep 19, 2009 | Download File [19]