By: Veronica Kordmany
It’s no secret that everyone living outside of New York is in love with the concrete jungle. There’s an irresistible, gravitational pull to it that foreigners can’t shake off, which has, reportedly, economic benefits attached. Tourists venture from all corners of the world to pose for pictures in Times Square, ride the subway to the other boroughs, and to dine in restaurants not found in any other state.
A study conducted by WalletHub, a personal online finance company, compared the economic impact of foreign-born populations on the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It used 23 indicators to determine which states benefit the most — and least — from immigration.
The study concluded with New York being ranked #1, with the foreign-born population being about 23%, which is the second-highest in the country, due to the fact that more than more than 23 percent of all New York households are home to the children of immigrants. The average income percentage of these houses compose of over 25 percent, reportedly the highest in the nation.
Basically, New York is comprised of mostly immigrant residents, as well as children of immigrants. These numbers conclude that most of New York’s general income, from the general public, stems from these immigrant families.
WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez concluded that there are a number of factors to consider. Immigrants make up the third-largest sect of the foreign-person workplace, the second-largest sect of foreign-person business owners, and the second-largest sect of physicians who are graduates of international medical schools. In addition, New York has a large number of international students and enjoys the “brain gain” and innovation brought by immigrants.
Contributing to WalletHub’s report is Alan Hyde, a professor at the Rutgers University Law School: “They revitalize cities. Their neighborhoods are low-crime. They fill many important jobs. Their taxes and Social Security contributions keep the systems afloat.”
According to the Census Bureau, despite making up only 16 percent of the resident population holding a bachelor’s degree or higher, immigrants represent 33 percent of engineers, 27 percent of mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientist, and 24 percent of physical scientists. It has also been estimated that, within three years, the immigration reform could support the development of about 900,000 jobs in the United States. Legislation for immigration reform could also decrease the federal deficit by $2.2 billion over the span of ten years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s 2010 House-passed version of the DREAM Act.
