New Americans in New Jersey

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

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

• The foreign-born share of New Jersey’s population rose from 12.5% in 1990, to 17.5% in 2000, to 21% in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. New Jersey was home to 1,844,581 immigrants in 2010, which is more than the population of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

• 49.9% of immigrants (or 919,882 people) in New Jersey were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2010—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 18.8% (or 756,168) of registered voters in New Jersey 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 2008 Census Bureau data by Rob Paral & Associates.

More than 1 in 4 New Jerseyans are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of New Jersey’s population grew from 9.6% in 1990, to 13.3% in 2000, to 17.8% (or 1,566,689 people) in 2010.  The Asian share of the population grew from 3.5% in 1990, to 5.7% in 2000, to 8.2% (or 721,733 people) in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Latinos comprised 9.3% (or 337,000) of New Jersey voters in the 2008 elections, and Asians 5.9% (or 215,000), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• In New Jersey, 87.5% of children with immigrant parents were U.S. citizens in 2009, according to data from the Urban Institute.

• In 2009, 84.9% of children in Asian families in New Jersey were U.S. citizens, as were 91.5% of children in Latino families.
  

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

• The 2010 purchasing power of New Jersey’s Latinos totaled $39.3 billion—an increase of 339.8% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $33.8 billion—an increase of 504.1% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

• New Jersey’s 67,755 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $29.9 billion and employed 115,024 people in 2007, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 68,374 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $10.2 billion and employed 48,059 people in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants are integral to New Jersey’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 27% of the state’s workforce in 2010 (or 1,234,045 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Immigrant workers contributed at least $47 billion to New Jersey’s gross state product in 2006, according to a study at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

• More than 40% of the state’s scientists and engineers with advanced degrees were foreign-born in 2006, according to the same study.

• Immigration to New Jersey raised the wages of native-born workers without a high-school diploma by 3.0% between 1990 and 2000, according to the same study.

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised 8.6% of the state’s workforce (or 400,000 workers) in 2010, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from New Jersey, the state would lose $24.2 billion in economic activity, $10.7 billion in gross state product, and approximately 103,898 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

Unauthorized immigrants pay taxes.

• Unauthorized immigrants in New Jersey paid $446.1 million in state and local taxes in 2010, according to data from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, which includes:

• $40 million in state income taxes.
• $81.3 million in property taxes.
• $324.9 million in sales taxes.
  

Immigrants are integral to New Jersey’s economy as students.

• New Jersey’s 14,246 foreign students contributed $414.7 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 New Jersey, 40% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2009 had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to 30.5% of noncitizens. At the same time, only 15.5% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 28.6% of noncitizens.

• The number of immigrants in New Jersey with a college degree increased by 45.3% between 2000 and 2009, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.

• 35.6% of New Jersey’s foreign-born population age 25 and older had a bachelor’s or higher degree in 2009, compared to 34.1% of native-born persons age 25 and older.

• In New Jersey, 87.4% 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 New Jersey was 88.2%, while for Latino children it was 85.8%, as of 2009.

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