New Americans in the Yellowhammer State

The Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in Alabama.

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

• The foreign-born share of Alabama’s population rose from 1.1% in 1990 [1], to 2.0% in 2000 [1], to 2.8% in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Alabama was home to 131,695 immigrants in 2008 [2], which is more than the total population of Savannah, Georgia [3].

• 30.1% of immigrants (or 39,634 people) in Alabama were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [2]—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 1.6% (or 39,687) of registered voters in Alabama 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 4.0% of Alabamans are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of Alabama’s population grew from 0.6% in 1990 [5], to 1.7% in 2000 [5], to 2.8% (or 130,533 people) in 2008 [2].  The Asian share of the population grew from 0.5% in 1990 [6], to 0.7% in 2000 [6], to 1.0% (or 46,619 people) in 2008 [2], according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• In Alabama, roughly four-in-five (or 79% 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 tens of thousands of jobs to Alabama’s economy.

• The 2009 purchasing power of Latinos in Alabama totaled $3.1 billion—an increase of 1,026% since 1990.  Asian buying power totaled $1.8 billion—an increase of 497.8% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth [8] at the University of Georgia.

• Alabama’s 2,524 Latino-owned [9] businesses had sales and receipts of $748 million and employed 6,741 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 4,270 Asian-owned [10] businesses had sales and receipts of $1.5 billion and employed 14,527 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants are important to Alabama’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 3.8% of the state’s workforce in 2008 [2] (or 84,806 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Unauthorized immigrants are important to Alabama’s economy as workers and taxpayers.

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised roughly 3.6% of the state’s workforce (or 80,000 workers) in 2008 [11], according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Alabama, the state would lose $2.6 billion in economic activity, $1.1 billion in gross state product, and approximately 17,819 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group [12].

Immigrants contribute to Alabama’s economy as students.

• Alabama’s 6,814 foreign students contributed $129 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].

Naturalized citizens excel educationally.

• In Alabama, 36.0% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 [14] had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to 27.3% of noncitizens.  At the same time, only 14.4% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 35.2% of noncitizens.

• The number of immigrants in Alabama with a college degree increased by 48.5% between 2000 and 2008, according to data [14] from the Migration Policy Institute.

• In Alabama, 67.4% 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 [14].

UPDATED: JULY 2010

Published On: Fri, May 28, 2010 | Download File [15]