WASHINGTON, June 8, 2020—The American Immigration Council released new data on California’s immigrant population and their contributions to the state. The California state fact sheet includes data on population size, occupation, and tax contributions, as well as data on undocumented immigrants and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients in the state.
While the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the critical role immigrants are playing on the front lines and stimulating our economic recovery, it remains crucial for the public to understand the broad range of contributions immigrants make to communities in California.
The Council’s fact sheet, Immigrants in California, shows that immigrants account for over one quarter of California’s population and comprise a staggering 33% of the labor force. Approximately 74% of all workers in farming, fishing, and forestry are immigrants, as are 59% of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance employees.
The fact sheet also reveals that in 2018 at least one-third of business owners in the state’s six major metropolitan areas was an immigrant. Immigrant entrepreneurs in California generated $24.5 billion in business income. In 2018, immigrants in the state paid $80.8 billion in federal taxes and $38.9 billion in state and local taxes. As consumers, immigrants spent $290.9 billion on California’s economy.
As of 2019, approximately 186,120 active DACA recipients lived in California, and 47% of DACA-eligible immigrants in the state had applied for DACA. California DACA recipients and DACA-eligible individuals paid an estimated $497.6 million in state and local taxes in 2018.
Undocumented immigrants comprised 6% of California’s total population and 9% of the state’s workforce in 2016. Undocumented immigrants in California paid an estimated $4.5 billion in federal taxes and $2.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2018.
Drawing from U.S. Census data and other sources, the Council developed 50 state fact sheets that provide the latest demographic and economic contributions of immigrants in each U.S. state and can be accessed herehttps://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/topics/state-by-state.
