Our Immigrant Population Helps Power NYC Economy

January 11, 2017

Table of Contents

Countries of Origin of New York City Immigrants

New York City has 3.3 million foreign-born immigrants, from more than 150 countries, who comprise nearly 40% of the City population.

Country/Region of Origin	Number	Percent
Dominican Republic	453,176	13.70%
China	332,255	10.00%
Jamaica	185,681	5.60%
Mexico	179,613	5.40%
Guyana	140,340	4.20%
Ecuador	138,295	4.20%
Haiti	91,595	2.80%
India	91,048	2.70%
Trinidad & Tobago	89,302	2.70%
Bangladesh	83,949	2.50%
Colombia	69,777	2.10%
Ukraine	66,339	2.00%
Philippines	65,657	2.00%
Korea	64,747	2.00%
Russia	62,475	1.90%
Pakistan	54,214	1.60%
Poland	52,648	1.60%
Italy	49,531	1.50%
Hong Kong	39,290	1.20%
Peru	32,822	1.00%
Uzbekistan	32,606	1.00%
El Salvador	31,624	1.00%
Honduras	30,281	0.90%
Guatemala	29,524	0.90%
Israel	29,372	0.90%
Canada	28,711	0.90%
Nigeria	28,616	0.90%
Ghana	25,504	0.80%
France	23,635	0.70%
Greece	22,765	0.70%
Germany	21,515	0.60%
Egypt	20,981	0.60%
Japan	20,969	0.60%
Africa, Other & Unspec.	20,964	0.60%
Barbados	20,150	0.60%
Panama	19,832	0.60%
Taiwan	19,822	0.60%
United Kingdom	19,725	0.60%
England	17,613	0.50%
Grenada	17,595	0.50%
Cuba	16,509	0.50%
Other Europe	15,173	0.50%
Vietnam	14,968	0.50%
St Vincent and Grenadines	14,389	0.40%
Romania	13,344	0.40%
Ireland	13,113	0.40%
Yemen	11,703	0.40%
Brazil	11,556	0.30%
Western Africa	11,022	0.30%
West Indies	10,745	0.30%
Argentina	10,727	0.30%
Spain	10,642	0.30%
Nicaragua	10,356	0.30%
Malaysia	10,169	0.30%
Australia	10,136	0.30%
Turkey	10,070	0.30%
Belarus	9,321	0.30%
Senegal	8,864	0.30%
Myanmar	8,781	0.30%
USSR	8,776	0.30%
Dominica	8,665	0.30%
St Lucia	8,436	0.30%
Caribbean	8,259	0.20%
Nepal	8,136	0.20%
Venezuela	7,680	0.20%
Azerbaijan	7,594	0.20%
Morocco	7,504	0.20%
Montenegro	7,407	0.20%
Hungary	7,269	0.20%
Georgia	6,969	0.20%
Antigua & Barbuda	6,342	0.20%
Thailand	6,318	0.20%
Iran	6,227	0.20%
Costa Rica	5,506	0.20%
Bulgaria	5,424	0.20%
Yugoslavia	5,323	0.20%
Sri Lanka	5,030	0.20%
South Africa	4,996	0.20%
Syria	4,847	0.10%
Belize	4,741	0.10%
Kazakhstan	4,729	0.10%
Middle East, Other & Unspec.	4,669	0.10%
Austria	4,600	0.10%
Switzerland	4,342	0.10%
Asia, Other & Unspec.	4,247	0.10%
Croatia	4,195	0.10%
Chile	4,186	0.10%
Indonesia	4,155	0.10%
Macedonia	4,143	0.10%
Lebanon	4,003	0.10%
Afghanistan	3,891	0.10%
Moldova	3,786	0.10%
Sweden	3,662	0.10%
South Central Asia	3,626	0.10%
Gambia	3,477	0.10%
Togo	3,469	0.10%
Netherlands	3,325	0.10%
Armenia	3,301	0.10%
Kenya	3,292	0.10%
Serbia	3,098	0.10%
Belgium	3,053	0.10%
Americas, Other & Unspec.	2,942	0.10%
Guinea	2,828	0.10%
Lithuania	2,763	0.10%
Bolivia	2,527	0.10%
Singapore	2,460	0.10%
South America	2,377	0.10%
Slovakia	2,373	0.10%
Jordan	2,339	0.10%
Ethiopia	2,254	0.10%
Uruguay	2,211	0.10%
Latvia	2,191	0.10%
Portugal	2,151	0.10%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2,061	0.10%
New Zealand	2,020	0.10%
Sudan	1,976	0.10%
Algeria	1,975	0.10%
Northern Africa	1,949	0.10%
Liberia	1,944	0.10%
Sierra Leone	1,941	0.10%
Paraguay	1,709	0.10%
Cambodia	1,684	0.10%
TOTAL	3,315,519	100%

NOTE: These estimates are based on weighted survey data from the 2015 American Community Survey, which is a representative sample of the U.S. population, not a complete count. Caution should be used in interpreting these estimates, particularly when they are based on relatively few sample observations, as is the case for many of the smaller countries in this table.

Foreign Born Percentage of Working Population in Select Cities

New York City is one of the most diverse cities in the nation. Immigrants make up 46% of the City’s workforce – a higher share than in any major city except Miami.

City	% of Workers Foreign Born
Miami	60%
Silicon Valley	47%
New York City	46%
San Jose	44%
Los Angeles	42%
San Francisco	37%
San Diego	29%
Chicago	26%

Average Weeks Worked per Year by Foreign and U.S. born New York City Residents

Immigrants are employed at the same rate as U.S.-born New Yorkers and they work as many or more hours per week, as well as more weeks per year, compared to U.S.-born New Yorkers.

Weeks/Year	U.S. Born	Foreign Born
50 to 52	78.4%	79.4%
48 to 49	2.0%	2.3%
40 to 47	5.0%	5.1%
27 to 39	4.9%	5.1%
14 to 26	4.2%	3.9%
< 14	5.6%	4.3%
Total	100%	100%

Self Employment-Among U.S. and Foreign Born New York City Residents

With 53% of self-employed New Yorkers who are foreign born, and 51% of all business owners, immigrants are entrepreneurial. A majority of business owners in New York City (83,000) are foreign-born.

	U.S. Born	Foreign Born	Total	Percent Foreign Born
Self Employed	237,000	265,000	501,000	53%
Self Employed in Own Business	81,000	83,000	164,000	51%

Earned Income of U.S. and Foreign Born New York City Residents

Immigrants earn $100 billion a year – nearly one-third of all earned income in New York City

	U.S. Born	Foreign Born	Total	Percent Foreign Born
Earned Income	$209 Billion	$100 Billion	$309 Billion	32%

U.S. and Foreign Born New York City Residents Living in Family Owned Homes

Of City home-owners, 46% (451,000) of 991,000 are foreign-born.

	U.S Born	Foreign Born	Total
Homes owned	539,770	451,300	991,070
Residents	1,788,000	1,105,000	2,893,000

Educational Attainment of New York City Immigrants, by Decade of Entry

Immigrants are increasingly well educated. More than a quarter of recent immigrants have a college or graduate degree. Between the 1990s and 2000s, the number of immigrants with a graduate degree has jumped by more than 60 percent. Since the 1980s, immigrants coming to NYC with a graduate degree has more than doubled.

Decade of Entry	No College Degree	BA/BS	Graduate Degree
pre-1950	24,525	2,108	5,138
50s	72,161	7,096	6,710
60s	159,001	19,930	16,515
70s	230,216	48,001	32,789
80s	457,836	96,083	65,901
90s	623,945	159,693	90,343
2000s	1,027,961	215,156	148,662

Industries Where Foreign Born New York City Residents Work

Within the “entertainment”, “medical”, “technology”, and “financial analysis” industries, 54%, 50%, 47%, and 44% of employees respectively are foreign born.

Industry	Foreign Born	Native Born	Percent Foreign Born
Professional Services	400,039	658,373	38%
Medical	353,437	348,057	50%
Retail/Wholesale	274,878	313,114	47%
Entertainment	264,169	229,598	54%
Utilities and Const.	177,188	97,735	64%
Transportation	161,656	119,759	57%
Other Services	159,803	106,728	60%
Education	140,225	311,908	31%
Family Services	112,487	108,759	51%
Manufacturing	104,120	71,368	59%
Administration	62,646	117,346	35%
Information	44,491	130,880	25%

Occupations of Foreign Born New York City Residents

Occupation	Foreign Born	Native	Total	Percent Foreign Born
Nursing and Home Health	141,437	42,420	183,857	77%
Janitorial	130,646	71,526	202,172	65%
Drivers	127,231	53,456	180,687	70%
Sales	110,956	139,073	250,029	44%
Personal Care	90,563	71,302	161,865	56%
Construction	88,311	31,790	120,101	74%
Cooks and Food Prep.	71,282	34,018	105,300	68%
Food Serving	55,743	56,731	112,474	50%
Financial Analysts	53,389	68,994	122,383	44%
Nurses/Med. Therapists	52,099	51,774	103,873	50%
Tech./Computer Related	50,537	57,914	108,451	47%
Sales	47,868	51,500	99,368	48%
Managers	45,596	76,523	122,119	37%
Office Workers	45,464	53,085	98,549	46%
Barbers & Hairdressers	42,031	14,708	56,739	74%
Preschool Teachers	39,203	103,941	143,144	27%
Medical Technicians	38,576	34,294	72,870	53%
Construction	38,453	23,443	61,896	62%
Office Workers	38,264	85,357	123,621	31%
Office Clerks	37,603	60,253	97,856	38%
Unemployed	37,395	58,339	95,734	39%
Transportation Operators	36,351	32,135	68,486	53%
Misc. Office	33,574	58,514	92,088	36%
Billing and Bookkeeping	32,707	42,737	75,444	43%
Chefs and Cooks	31,806	14,615	46,421	69%
Security Workers	29,959	46,700	76,659	39%
Artists/Designers	28,905	49,622	78,527	37%
Other Managers	28,788	43,008	71,796	40%
Counselors	28,567	64,608	93,175	31%
Medical Professionals	26,557	31,011	57,568	46%
HR Managers	26,327	50,339	76,666	34%
Clothing Production	25,973	4,446	30,419	85%
Business Analysts	22,730	53,984	76,714	30%
Teaching Assistants	22,477	40,159	62,636	36%
Science Managers	22,283	45,850	68,133	33%
Office Assistants	21,613	40,884	62,497	35%
Business Managers	21,417	41,774	63,191	34%
Machine Workers	21,201	9,536	30,737	69%
Food Service	20,007	16,432	36,439	55%
Performers	19,163	61,326	80,489	24%
Postsecondary Teachers	19,090	36,376	55,466	34%
Sales	18,987	29,656	48,643	39%
Chief Executives	18,955	38,547	57,502	33%
Car Repair	18,492	11,209	29,701	62%
Medical Assistants	17,632	22,031	39,663	44%
Machine Repair	17,605	19,740	37,345	47%
Office Supervisors	16,636	23,290	39,926	42%
Sales Agents	13,874	43,691	57,565	24%
Law Clerks	13,207	56,752	69,959	19%
Food Production	12,597	6,030	18,627	68%
Sales Representatives	12,594	17,110	29,704	42%
Chemical Productions	12,025	6,121	18,146	66%
Actors/Directors	11,321	46,644	57,965	20%
Marketing Managers	9,993	30,100	40,093	25%
Police Related	9,503	29,073	38,576	25%
Transportation Attendants	9,316	7,429	16,745	56%
Other Teachers	9,117	27,275	36,392	25%
Administrative Support	8,475	19,133	27,608	31%
Porters and Bellhops	8,446	8,054	16,500	51%
Grounds Maintenance	7,040	7,212	14,252	49%
Paralegals	6,923	17,395	24,318	28%
Engineers	6,846	5,571	12,417	55%
Cameramen	5,931	16,265	22,196	27%
Religious Workers	5,737	5,248	10,985	52%
Business Specialists	5,333	9,549	14,882	36%
Biological Scientists	5,191	4,283	9,474	55%
Surveyors	4,967	4,136	9,103	55%
Janitorial Supervisors	4,695	3,756	8,451	56%
Architects	4,606	5,610	10,216	45%
Scientific Technicians	4,509	7,238	11,747	38%
Social Scientists	4,479	11,419	15,898	28%
Technical Drawing	3,312	4,499	7,811	42%
Physical Scientists	3,275	3,328	6,603	50%
Actuaries	3,101	2,316	5,417	57%
Personal Service Supervisors	2,579	926	3,505	74%

Prepared by Andrew McWilliam, Senior Research Economist • Bureau of Budget •