New Americans in the Peace Garden State

The Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in North Dakota.

Immigrants and their children are growing shares of North Dakota’s population.

• The foreign-born share of North Dakota’s population rose from 1.5% in 1990 [1], to 1.9% in 2000 [1], to 2.3% in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  North Dakota was home to 15,013 immigrants in 2008 [2].

• 43.5% of immigrants (or 6,535 people) in North Dakota were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [2]—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 1.9% (or 7,540) of registered voters in North Dakota 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 18,000 North Dakotans are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of North Dakota’s population grew from 0.7% in 1990 [4], to 1.2% in 2000 [4], to 2.0% (or 12,830 people) in 2008 [2].  The Asian share of the population grew from 0.5% in 1990 [5], to 0.6% in 2000 [5], to 0.8% (or 5,132 people) in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• In North Dakota, more than four-in-five (or 86% of) children in immigrant families were U.S. citizens in 2007 [6], according to the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at the University of Albany.

Latino and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs to North Dakota’s economy.

• The 2009 purchasing power of Latinos in North Dakota totaled $371.6 million—an increase of 1,043.3% since 1990.  Asian buying power totaled $279.4 million—an increase of 600.6% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth [7] at the University of Georgia.

• North Dakota’s 230 Latino-owned [8] businesses had sales and receipts of $15.9 million and employed 210 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 277 Asian-owned [9] businesses had sales and receipts of $107.6 million and employed 1,466 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants are important to North Dakota’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 2.5% of the state’s workforce in 2008 [2] (or 9,129 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Unauthorized immigrants contribute to North Dakota’s economy as workers and taxpayers.

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised less than 1.0% of the state’s workforce (or fewer than 10,000 workers) in 2008 [10], according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from North Dakota, the state would lose $55.1 million in economic activity, $24.5 million in gross state product, and approximately 360 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group [11].

Immigrants contribute to North Dakota’s economy as students.

• North Dakota’s 2,607 foreign students contributed $51.5 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 [12].

Immigrants excel educationally.

• The number of immigrants in North Dakota with a college degree increased by 24.6% between 2000 and 2008, according to data [13] from the Migration Policy Institute.

• In 2008 [13], 36.9% of North Dakota's foreign-born population age 25 and older had a bachelor's or higher degree, compared to 26.6% of native-born persons above age 25.

• In North Dakota, 70.7% 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 [13].

UPDATED: JULY 2010

Published On: Thu, Jul 08, 2010 | Download File [14]