New Americans in the Old Line State

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

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

• The foreign-born share of Maryland’s population rose from 6.6% in 1990 [1], to 9.8% in 2000 [1], to 12.4% in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Maryland was home to 697,609 immigrants in 2008 [2], which is more than the total population of Memphis, Tennessee [3].

• 46.2% of immigrants (or 322,504 people) in Maryland were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [2]—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 6.5% (or 176,805) of registered voters in Maryland 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 9 Marylanders are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of Maryland’s population grew from 2.6% in 1990 [5], to 4.3% in 2000 [5], to 6.6% (or 371,817 people) in 2008 [2].  The Asian share of the population grew from 2.9%  in 1990 [6], to 4.0% in 2000 [6], to 5.1% (or 287,313 people) in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Latinos accounted for 3.5% (or 91,000) of Maryland voters in the 2008 elections, and Asians 2.4% (62,000), according to the U.S. Census Bureau [7].

• In Maryland, more than four in five (or 85% 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.

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

• The 2009 purchasing power of Latinos in Maryland totaled $11.1 billion—an increase of 516.5% since 1990.  Asian buying power totaled $12.1 billion—an increase of 372.5% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth [9] at the University of Georgia.

• Maryland’s 26,184 Asian-owned [10] businesses had sales and receipts of $7.1 billion and employed 50,471 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 15,353 Latino-owned [11] businesses had sales and receipts of $2.4 billion and employed 18,751 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

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

• Immigrants comprised 15.9% of the state’s workforce in 2008 [2] (or 501,158 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Immigrants accounted for 9% of total economic output in the Baltimore metropolitan area as of 2007, according to a study by the Fiscal Policy Institute [12].  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 6.7% of the state’s workforce (or 200,000 workers) in 2008 [13], according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• Immigrants were 1-in-3 workers in Montgomery County, 1-in-4 workers in Prince George’s County, and 1-in-5 workers in Howard County in 2006 [14], according a study by the Urban Institute.

• Roughly 27% of all scientists in Maryland were foreign-born in 2006, as were 21% of health-care practitioners, and 19% of mathematicians and computer specialists, according to the same study [15].

• Immigrant households paid 18% (or $4.0 billion) of all taxes collected in Maryland in 2000 [16], according to a study by the Urban Institute.  This included:

• $2.9 billion in federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes.
• $562 million in state income, sales, and auto taxes.
• $536 million in local property, income, sales, auto, and utility taxes.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Maryland, the state would lose $15.3 billion in economic activity, $6.8 billion in gross state product, and approximately 73,267 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group [17].

Immigrants are integral to Maryland’s economy as students.

• Maryland’s 14,232 foreign students contributed $390.2 million to the state’s economy in tuition, fees, and living expenses for the 2008-2009 academic year, according to the NAFSA: Association of International Educators [18].

Immigrants excel educationally.

• In Maryland, 46.6% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [19] had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to 35.7% of noncitizens.  At the same time, only 11.3% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 28.6% of noncitizens.

• The number of immigrants in Maryland with a college degree increased by 45.3% between 2000 and 2008, according to data [19] from the Migration Policy Institute.

• 41.2% of Maryland’s foreign-born population age 25 and older had a bachelor’s or higher degree in 2008 [19], compared to 34.1% of native-born persons age 25 and older.

• In Maryland, 78.8% 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 [19].

UPDATED: JULY 2010

Published On: Thu, Dec 17, 2009 | Download File [20]