New Americans in the Hoosier State

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

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

• The foreign-born share of Indiana’s population rose from 1.7% in 1990 [1], to 3.1% in 2000 [1], to 4.0% in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Indiana was home to 256,125 immigrants in 2008 [2], which is more than the total population of Lincoln, Nebraska [3].

• 35.6% of immigrants (or 91,266 people) in Indiana were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [2]—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 2.9% (or 85,425) of registered voters in Indiana 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 15 Hoosiers are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of Indiana’s population grew from 1.8% in 1990 [5], to 3.5% in 2000 [5], to 5.2% (or 331,593 people) in 2008 [2].  The Asian share of the population grew from 0.7%  in 1990 [6], to 1.0% in 2000 [6], to 1.3% (or 82,898 people) in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Latinos accounted for 1.3% (or 36,000) of Indiana voters in the 2008 elections, according to the U.S. Census Bureau [7].  The number of Latino voters was greater than the margin of victory (28,391 votes [8]) by which Barack Obama defeated John McCain in Indiana.

• In Indiana, more than four in five (or 83% of) children in immigrant families were U.S. citizens in 2007 [9], 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 Indiana’s economy.

• The 2009 purchasing power of Latinos in Indiana totaled $7.1 billion—an increase of 578.2% since 1990.  Asian buying power totaled $3.0 billion—an increase of 324.9% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth [10] at the University of Georgia.

• Indiana’s 6,078 Asian-owned [11] businesses had sales and receipts of $2.6 billion and employed 20,422 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 5,482 Latino-owned [12] businesses had sales and receipts of $792.5 million and employed 5,824 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants are integral to Indiana’s economy as taxpayers.

• Immigrants in Indiana paid an estimated $2.3 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2007 [13], according to a study by the Sagamore Institute, including:

• $1.2 billion paid by naturalized U.S. citizens.
• $901.7 million paid by authorized immigrants who were not U.S. citizens.
• $255.9 million paid by unauthorized immigrants.

Immigrants are integral to Indiana’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 4.8% of the state’s workforce in 2008 [2] (or 160,066 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised 2.4% of the state’s workforce (or 75,000 workers) in 2008 [14], according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Indiana, the state would lose $2.8 billion in economic activity, $1.3 billion in gross state product, and approximately 16,739 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group [15].

Immigrants are integral to Indiana’s economy as students.

• Indiana’s 17,098 foreign students contributed $443.6 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 [16].

Naturalized citizens excel educationally.

• In Indiana, 34.4% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [17] had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to 24.6% of noncitizens.  At the same time, only 18.9% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 40.5% of noncitizens.

• The number of immigrants in Indiana with a college degree increased by 30.7% between 2000 and 2008, according to data [17] from the Migration Policy Institute.

• 28.5% of Indiana’s foreign-born population age 25 and older had a bachelor’s or higher degree in 2008 [17], compared to 22.6% of native-born persons age 25 and older.

• In Indiana, 69.9% 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 [17].

UPDATED: JULY 2010

Published On: Mon, Nov 16, 2009 | Download File [18]