Economic Contributions
Summary: Estimated economic contributions including federal taxes, state and local taxes and spending power by immigration status. Spending power is defined as income minus taxes. Immigration status is estimated based on an approach developed by the Equity Research Institute.
Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 2021 American Community Survey 5-year sample; Congressional Budget Office (CBO), https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59509, The Distribution of Household Income, 2020, released November 14, 2023; Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), https://itep.org/whopays-7th-edition/, Who Pays? 7th Edition, released January 2024.
Universe: All tax filing units.
Methods: Economic contributions including federal taxes, state and local taxes and spending power were estimated for all tax filing units by immigration status for each geography. Tax filing units are defined as families living in the same household (and subfamilies, if present) as well as individuals age 16 or older who are unrelated to anyone in the household as identified in the IPUMS USA microdata.
Total income for each tax filing unit was calculated by summing individual income from the year prior to the survey. The sample was then reduced to tax filing unit “heads” who were identified as the householder or the individual with the lowest person ID (PERNUM) within the tax filing unit.
Federal tax rates reported by the CBO by type of tax (individual income tax, payroll tax, corporate income tax and excise tax) were matched in by age of tax filing unit head and presence of children (elderly with no children, non-elderly with no children and any age with children) and by income bracket, with income brackets defined as quintiles of the national income distribution, but with the top quintile further broken out into the 81st to 90th percentile, the 91st to 95th percentile, the 96th to 99th percentiles, and the 100th percentile. State and local tax rates overall and for property taxes for non-elderly taxpayers reported by ITEP were matched in by income bracket, with income brackets defined as quintiles of the statewide income distribution for California, but with the top quintile further broken out into the 81st to 95th percentile, the 96th to 99th percentile, and the 100th percentile.
The immigration status of tax filing units was determined based on the individual tagged as the tax filing unit head, and adjustments were made to reduce the estimated income taxes paid by undocumented tax filing units, as well as the estimated property taxes paid by all immigrants. Specifically, we assumed that only 75 percent of undocumented tax filing units pay income taxes (both state and federal) using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). This is consistent with an estimate reportedly made by the Social Security Administration’s chief actuary in 2005. To implement this adjustment, state and local personal income tax rates were set to zero for a randomly selected 25 percent of tax filing unit heads.
Estimated property taxes were reduced for immigrants due to generally lower rates of homeownership. To implement the adjustment, home ownership rates were calculated by state income bracket (using ranges reported above) and immigration status (all, undocumented, lawful permanent resident, and naturalized U.S. citizen tax filing units). The ratio of the homeownership rate for each group of immigrants by status to the overall rate for all tax filing units was calculated, by income bracket, and multiplied by the property tax rate that was previously matched in to derive an adjusted property tax rate, and the overall state and local tax rate was also adjusted to be consistent.
Finally, all the tax rates (and adjusted rates) were multiplied by total income for each tax filing unit, and the result was aggregated by immigration status for each geography. Spending power was then calculated as total income minus all estimated taxes. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.
Notes:
Spending power is defined as income minus taxes.
Immigration status is defined based on the tax filing unit “head.”
Data represent a 2017-2021 average.
Immigration status is estimated using a probability model (not self-reported). See here for details.
Educational Attainment
Summary: The educational attainment levels of the working-age population (ages 25-64) by immigration status, and by race and ancestry for immigrants. Data for 2010 and 2021 represent five-year averages (e.g. 2017-2021). Immigration status is estimated based on an approach developed by the Equity Research Institute.
Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 2000 5% sample, 2010 and 2021 American Community Survey 5-year samples.
Universe: All people ages 25-64.
Methods: The number and percentage of people ages 25-64 by level of educational attainment were calculated by immigration status, race and ancestry for each year and geography. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.
Notes:
Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
The high school diploma category of education includes those with an actual high school diploma as well as high school equivalency or a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.
Data from 2010 and 2021 represent 2006-2010 and 2017-2021 averages, respectively.
Immigration status is estimated using a probability model (not self-reported). See here for details.
Employment
Summary: The employment status and labor force participation rate for the working-age population (ages 25-64) by immigration status, and by race and ancestry for immigrants. Data for 2010 and 2021 represent a five-year average (e.g. 2017-2021). Immigration status is estimated based on an approach developed by the Equity Research Institute.
Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 2000 5% sample, 2010 and 2021 American Community Survey 5-year samples.
Universe: The civilian noninstitutionalized population ages 25-64.
Methods: The employment status and labor force participation rate were calculated by immigration status, race, ancestry and gender for each year and geography. The labor force participation rate is defined as those employed or unemployed (but actively seeking work) divided by the total civilian noninstitutionalized population. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.
Notes:
Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
Data from 2010 and 2021 represent 2006-2010 and 2017-2021 averages, respectively.
Immigration status is estimated using a probability model (not self-reported). See here for details.
Industries and Occupations
Summary: The indicator shows the share of workers age 16 or older employed in different industries and occupations by immigration status, and by race for immigrants. Data for 2021 represent a 2017-2021 average. Immigration status is estimated based on an approach developed by the Equity Research Institute.
Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 2021 American Community Survey 5-year sample.
Universe: The employed civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 or older.
Methods: The numbers and percentages of workers age 16 or older by industry and occupation were calculated by immigration status and race for each geography. Industry categories are defined based on the IPUMS USA variable IND1990 while occupational categories are defined based on the OCC2010 variable. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.
Notes:
Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
Data represent a 2017-2021 average.
Immigration status is estimated using a probability model (not self-reported). See here for details.
Median Hourly Wage
Summary: The median hourly wage (in 2021 dollars) includes full-time wage and salary workers ages 25-64. Available breakdowns include immigration status for all workers and race and ancestry for immigrant workers. Data for 2000 are based on a survey that year but reflect income from the prior year. Data for 2010 and 2021 represent five-year averages (e.g. 2017-2021). Immigration status is estimated based on an approach developed by the Equity Research Institute.
Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 2000 5% sample, 2010 and 2021 American Community Survey 5-year samples.
Universe: Full-time civilian noninstitutionalized wage and salary workers ages 25-64.
Methods: The median hourly wage was calculated by immigration status, race and ancestry for each year and geography. Values were then adjusted for inflation to reflect 2021 dollars (using the CPI-U from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). See the methodology page for other relevant notes.
Notes:
Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
The term “full-time” workers refers to all persons who reported working at least 45 or 50 weeks (depending on the year of the data) and usually worked at least 35 hours per week during the year prior to the survey. A change in the “weeks worked” question in the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) caused a dramatic rise in the share of respondents indicating that they worked at least 50 weeks during the year prior to the survey, as compared with prior years of the ACS and the long form of the decennial census. To make our data on full-time workers more comparable over time, we applied a slightly different definition in 2008 and later than in earlier years: in 2008 and later, the cutoff applied to identify full-time workers is at least 50 weeks while in 2007 and earlier it is 45 weeks per year. The 45-week cutoff was found to produce a national trend in the incidence of full-time work over the 2005–2010 period that was most consistent with that found using data from the March Supplement of the Current Population Survey, which did not experience a change to the relevant survey questions. For more information, see https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2007/acs/2007_Holder_02.pdf.
Data for 2000 is based on a survey that year but reflects income from the year prior, while data for 2010 and 2021 represent 2006-2010 and 2017-2021 averages, respectively.
Immigration status is estimated using a probability model (not self-reported). See here for details.
Housing Burden
Summary: The share of owner- and renter-occupied households that are cost-burdened (spending more than 30 percent of income on housing costs) and “severely” cost-burdened (more than 50 percent) by immigration status, race and ancestry. Data for 2010 and 2021 represent a five-year average (e.g. 2017-2021). Immigration status is estimated based on an approach developed by the Equity Research Institute.
Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, http://www.ipums.org/, 2000 5% sample, 2010 and 2021 American Community Survey 5-year samples.
Universe: Occupied households with housing costs, excluding non-traditional owner-occupied households (e.g. multi-unit structures and trailers).
Methods: The number and percentage of burdened and severely burdened households were calculated by tenure (owner vs. renter), immigration status, race, ancestry and poverty level for each year and geography. Housing costs for renters include contract rent as well as utilities while housing costs for owners include most costs of owning a home such as mortgage, insurance, utilities, real estate taxes and other costs. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.
Notes:
Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
Demographic characteristics are based on those of the householder.
Data for 2000 is based on a survey that year but reflects income from the year prior, while data for 2010 and 2021 represent 2006-2010 and 2017-2021 averages, respectively.
Housing costs are based on the month the survey was conducted.
For data by poverty status, it may be useful to know that in 2019 for a family of four (with two kids) the 200% cutoff was about $52K and the 350% cutoff was about $91K.
Immigration status is estimated using a probability model (not self-reported). See here for details.