New Americans in Mississippi

The Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in the Magnolia State (Updated January 2012)

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

• The foreign-born share of Mississippi’s population rose from 0.8% in 1990, to 1.4% in 2000, to 2.1% in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Mississippi was home to 61,428 immigrants in 2010.

• 30.7% of immigrants (or 18,839 people) in Mississippi were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2010—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

3.6% of Mississippians are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of Mississippi’s population grew from 0.6% in 1990, to 1.4% in 2000, to 2.7% (or 81,481 people) in 2010.  The Asian share of the population grew from 0.5% in 1990 to 0.9% (or 25,742 people) in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• In Mississippi, 85.4% of children with immigrant parents were U.S. citizens in 2009, according to data from the Urban Institute.

• In 2009, 89.7% of children in Asian families in Mississippi were U.S. citizens, as were 89.5% of children in Latino families.

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

• The 2010 purchasing power of Latinos in Mississippi totaled $1.9 billion—an increase of 1,125.3% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $1 billion—an increase of 681.9% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

• Mississippi’s 1,828 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $323.7 million and employed 2,759 people in 2007, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 4,002 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $1.4 billion and employed 11,878 people in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.
  

Immigrants contribute to Mississippi’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 2.8% of the state’s workforce in 2008 (or 38,786 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
  

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

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised roughly 2.9% of the state’s workforce (or 35,000 workers) in 2010, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• Unauthorized immigrants in Mississippi paid $52.4 million in state and local taxes in 2010, according to data from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, which includes:

• $8.1 million in state income taxes.
• $2.6 million in property taxes.
• $41.7 million in sales taxes.
  

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Mississippi, the state would lose $583 million in economic activity, $259 million in gross state product, and approximately 4,680 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

Immigrants contribute to Mississippi’s economy as students.

• Mississippi’s 2,467 foreign students contributed $42.3 million to the state’s economy in tuition, fees, and living expenses for the 2009-2010 academic year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

Naturalized citizens excel educationally.

• In Mississippi, 29.6% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2009 had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to 24.5% of noncitizens. At the same time, 19.9% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 41.5% of noncitizens.

• The number of immigrants in Mississippi with a college degree increased by 54.2% between 2000 and 2009, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.

• In Mississippi, 85.5% of children with immigrant parents were considered “English proficient” as of 2009, according to data from the Urban Institute.

• The English proficiency rate among Asian children in Mississippi was 87.6%, while for Latino children it was 84.2%, as of 2009.

Published On: Wed, Jan 11, 2012 | Download File