New Americans in the Last Frontier

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

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

• The foreign-born share of Alaska’s population rose from 4.5% in 1990 [1], to 5.9% in 2000 [1], to 6.5% in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Alaska was home to 44,296 immigrants in 2008 [2].

• 52.4% of immigrants (or 23,196 people) in Alaska were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [2]—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 5.4% (or 17,962) of registered voters in Alaska 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 [3].

Nearly 1 in 9 Alaskans are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of Alaska’s population grew from 3.2% in 1990 [4], to 4.1% in 2000 [4], to 6.2% (or 42,550 people) in 2008 [2].  The Asian share of the population grew from 3.2% in 1990 [5], to 4.0% in 2000 [5], to 4.6% (or 31,569 people) in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Latinos accounted for 2.6% (or 8,000) of Alaska voters in the 2008 elections, and Asians 2.3% (7,000), according to the U.S. Census Bureau [6].

• In Alaska, more than nine-in-ten (or 92% of) children in immigrant families were U.S. citizens in 2007 [7], 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 thousands of jobs to Alaska’s economy.

• The 2009 purchasing power of Latinos in Alaska totaled $1.2 billion—an increase of 426.8% since 1990.  Asian buying power totaled $1.1 billion—an increase of 260.3% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth [8] at the University of Georgia.

• Alaska’s 1,908 Asian-owned [9] businesses had sales and receipts of $421.1 million and employed 5,222 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 1,241 Latino-owned [10] businesses had sales and receipts of $171.2 million and employed 1,985 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants are integral to Alaska’s economy as workers and taxpayers.

• Immigrants comprised 8.4% of the state’s workforce in 2008 [2] (or 32,408 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised less than 1.5% of the state’s workforce (or fewer than 10,000 workers) in 2008 [11], according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Alaska, the state would lose $484.7 million in economic activity, $215.3 million in gross state product, and approximately 1,980 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group [12].

Immigrants contribute to Alaska’s economy as students.

• Alaska’s 596 foreign students contributed $13.4 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 [13].

Immigrants excel educationally.

• The number of immigrants in Alaska with a college degree increased by 50.6% between 2000 and 2008, according to data [14] from the Migration Policy Institute.

•  In Alaska, 80.0% 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 [15].

UPDATED: JULY 2010

Published On: Tue, Feb 16, 2010 | Download File [16]