America's foreign-born workers by state
lovemoney staff
20 March 2019
How many foreign-born workers does each state have?
America’s job market is buoyant. It has seen 100 straight months of growth, according to Bloomberg, and 304,000 jobs were added in January. It’s a healthy playing field, and foreign-born workers made up 17.5% of it in 2018. In fact, America is only a leader in the tech world because of foreign workers, with 57% of tech employees in San Francisco Bay born abroad. But what percentage of foreign workers are there in every state? We looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the American Community Survey to find out.
Vermont – 1.5%
Vermont's state Senator Bernie Sanders has recently announced his presidential bid for 2020. Of the workers he currently represents only 1.5% are foreign-born, the equivalent of 85,000 people. Most foreign-born workers worked in the health care and social assistance area, according to the most recent data. But foreign workers made up 12.8% of the real estate sector's employees.
Montana – 2%
In Montana, 2% of the workforce was not born in America, that's 10,000 people. Its top industry in 2018 was mineral products, and it's this industry that had the highest share of immigrant workers – 13.6%. Montana has some of America's most educated immigrants, with over a third holding a college or higher degree.
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West Virginia – 2%
West Virginia also only had 2% of its workforce born outside of America in 2018. And in this less populated state that equated to 15,000 foreign workers. Out of those workers though, over 48% were at least college-educated at last count. The top industry in terms of number of foreign workers, and percentage share, was educational services.
Mississippi – 2.3%
In Mississippi, 2.3% of the workforce was foreign-born in 2018, which amounted to 28,000 people. The highest number of immigrant workers are employed in the construction industry.
Maine – 3.1%
In Maine, 3.1% of the workforce in 2018 was born abroad. While the state is most associated with fishing and agriculture, the industry with the highest share of immigrant workers was actually the mining sector.
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Wyoming – 4%
The workforce in this state was made up of 4% foreign-born people last year, which was the equivalent of 11,000 people. The top industry for those born outside the US in Wyoming is accommodation and food services.
Alabama – 4.8%
In Alabama, 4.8% of the workforce was born abroad in 2018. The southern state has strong roots in several industries, from agriculture and forestry to bioscience and the automotive industry, but foreign-born workers actually work across a diverse range of sectors here.
South Dakota – 5.2%
South Dakota's workforce was 5.2% foreign-born in 2018, equating to 23,000 people. At last count, a majority of these workers were in the manufacturing industry.
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Missouri – 5.2%
In Missouri, 5.2% of its 2018 workforce was also not born in America. However, in the Show-Me State that was double the number of workers compared with South Dakota, numbering 154,000 people. These workers are likely to be highly skilled, as 38% of immigrants in the state had a college degree or higher, according to the most recent data.
North Dakota – 5.4%
North Dakota had 21,000 workers that weren't born in America in 2018, that's the equivalent of 5.4% of the workforce.
Ohio – 5.8%
Like many American states, Ohio's top industry is automotives. In 2018, 316,000 of its workers, equal to 5.8%, were born abroad. As many as 42% of immigrants in the state had a college education or more at last count, more than the native population where only 26% had that level of education.
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South Carolina – 5.9%
In 2018, 133,000 people working in this Deep South state were foreign-born, equivalent to 5.9% of South Carolina's workforce. The majority of the state's immigrant workers were in manufacturing as well as accommodation and food services.
Wisconsin – 6%
Wisconsin's workforce contained 6% foreign-born workers in 2018. One of the state's most profitable industries is manufacturing, and that's where the majority of immigrant employees work.
Kentucky – 6.2%
This central state has a fairly small proportion of foreign-born workers, at only 6.2%, but that amounts to 123,000 people. Kentucky's biggest industry is aerospace, and unsurprisingly the highest number of immigrant workers here were employed in the manufacturing sector at last count.
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Louisiana – 6.9%
Louisiana's workforce contained 6.9% of foreign-born workers in 2018. That's 138,000 people, less than the population of each of its three major cities.
New Hampshire – 7.4%
In New Hampshire, 7.4% of the state's workforce wasn't born in America, equating to around 55,000 workers. According to the most recent data, as many as 44% of the state's immigrants had a college degree or more, while the industry with the highest number of foreign-born workers was manufacturing.
Tennessee – 7.6%
In 2018, 7.6% of Tennessee's workforce was not born in America, with 238,000 people choosing the state as a new place to live and work. The industries which had the highest number of immigrant workers in Tennessee? Construction and manufacturing.
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Arkansas – 7.7%
Agriculture is the top industry in the Natural State, according to the Farm Bureau. Rice was the state's largest export in 2016, making up around 50% of America's rice. Here 7.7% of the workforce is foreign-born.
Indiana – 7.8%
Indiana had 258,000 foreign workers in 2018, 7.8% of its workforce. The most recent data found the highest number of immigrant workers had jobs in manufacturing businesses such as car plants.
Michigan – 8%
Michigan has a flourishing automotive industry, and the manufacturing sector unsurprisingly has the highest number of foreign-born workers in factories such as this Ford plant. There were 376,000 foreign-born workers, 8% of the workforce, in 2018.
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Iowa – 8.8%
In 2018, Iowa's workforce included 8.8% foreign-born workers, the equivalent of 145,000 people. The state's top industry for those workers at last count was manufacturing.
Pennsylvania – 9.2%
In Pennsylvania, 9.2% of the workforce was made up of people born abroad in 2018, and in the Keystone State that's 569,000 people. The most recent data found that health care and assistance was the number one industry employing these workers.
Kansas – 9.6%
Kansas' workforce was made up of 9.6% foreign-born workers in 2018. That's 138,000 people. Manufacturing was again the industry that employed the highest number of these workers.
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Idaho – 9.7%
The northwestern state of Idaho had 9.7% foreign-born workers as of 2018, or 81,000 people. The state's top industry for immigrant workers is manufacturing.
Oklahoma – 9.8%
Oklahoma had 174,000 workers born outside the US in 2018, 9.8% of the workforce. Construction and accommodation and food services were the industries employing the highest number of foreign-born people at last count.
Minnesota – 10.5%
In Minnesota, 10.5% of the workforce was born abroad, the equivalent of 314,000 people in 2018. The industry with the highest share of foreign-born workers, according to the most recent data, is professional, scientific and technical services.
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Nebraska – 11%
In Nebraska 11% of the workforce was foreign-born in 2018. The land-locked state is known for agriculture, but the industry that most foreign-born workers work in is actually manufacturing.
Alaska – 11.2%
While 11.2% of Alaska's workforce in 2018 was born abroad, that equates to 37,000 workers in the state. The most northwestern state of America has very cold winters and is the most sparsely populated area of the nation, which may be a deterrent for people seeking a new life in the US.
Utah – 11.4%
In 2018, 11.4% of Utah's workforce was born abroad. However, in Utah that equates to 172,000 people. Manufacturing is the number one industry for these workers, although 20% of the construction workforce in the state was made up of foreign-born workers.
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Texas – 11.4%
Texas had 2.9 million foreign-born workers in 2018, the equivalent of 11.4% of its total workforce. One of the state's most profitable industries is minerals, but it was construction that had the most foreign-born workers at last count.
North Carolina – 12.1%
North Carolina's workforce has 12.1% foreign-born workers. Again, manufacturing was the sector that employed the highest number of non-American-born workers.
Colorado – 12.6%
In Colorado, 12.6% of the workforce was born outside of the US, equating to 375,000 people. As with many states the industry that most immigrant workers work in is construction, followed closely by accommodation and food services.
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New Mexico – 13%
New Mexico had 117,000 foreign-born workers in 2018, the equivalent of 13% of its workforce.
Oregon – 13%
As in New Mexico, 13% of Oregon's workforce was born in America. In this state, however, that amounts to a much larger number of people – 261,000 to be exact. The top industry for non-American-born workers again is manufacturing.
Georgia – 13.3%
In Georgia, 13.3% of the workforce was born outside of the US in 2018, that's the equivalent of 655,000 workers. The industry that most of these people worked in? Agriculture, with foreign-born workers comprising 26.3% of the workforce.
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Delaware – 13.4%
In 2018, 13.4% of the workforce in Delaware wasn't born in America. In real terms this was 63,000 workers. The industry with the most immigrant workers was health care and social assistance.
Rhode Island – 17.1%
The Ocean State's workforce contained 17.1% of foreign-born workers in 2018. That was 92,000 people.
Connecticut – 17.8%
The southernmost state of New England, 17.8% of Connecticut's workforce was born outside of the US. The industries with the highest number of foreign-born workers are health care and manufacturing.
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Illinois – 18.4%
Illinois' workforce includes 18.4% of foreign-born workers, equivalent to 1.14 million people. Non-American-born workers mostly worked in administration, waste management and remediation services, according to the most recent data.
Maryland – 18.9%
In Maryland, 18.9% of its workforce was born abroad, the equivalent of 581,000 people in 2018. Of that number, 42% have a college degree or higher qualification, higher than the 38% of US-born Maryland inhabitants.
Washington – 19.3%
Washington state's workforce includes 19.3% of foreign-born workers. That's the equivalent of 696,000 people. The industry with the highest number of immigrant workers is health care and social assistance.
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Virginia – 19.6%
In 2018, Virginia had 831,000 foreign-born workers, equivalent to 19.6% of the workforce. Of those, 40.5% have a college degree or further qualification, at last count. The number one industry for these workers is professional, scientific, and technical services.
Arizona – 19.9%
Nearly a fifth of Arizona's workers in 2018 were born abroad. The southwestern state is home to companies such as Best Western and GoDaddy.
Hawaii – 20.5%
A fifth of Hawaii's workforce was foreign-born in 2018, with 136,000 people working predominately in accommodation and food services, and manufacturing.
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Massachusetts – 21.9%
The state of Massachusetts is a draw for students from all over the globe thanks to the likes of the world-famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (pictured). The same goes for its workforce, with over a fifth of workers in the state born abroad.
Nevada – 25.6%
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its reliance on tourism, Nevada's industry with the highest number of foreign-born workers was accommodation and food. A quarter of the workforce in 2018 was born outside the US, equivalent to 373,000 people.
New York – 26.4%
In New York state, 26.4% of the workforce was foreign-born in 2018, equivalent to 2.46 million people.
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Florida – 26.9%
The Sunshine State's sandy beaches and warm climate not only attract tourists but workers too. Just under 27% of Florida's workforce is foreign-born, with health care and social assistance the number one industry these people are employed in.
New Jersey – 28.7%
New Jersey had 1.23 million foreign-born workers in 2018, 28.7% of the state's workforce. While health care and social assistance had the highest number of workers born outside the US, over a third (35.9%) of workers in the accommodation and food services were foreign-born.
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California – 32.9%
It is not surprising that California has a large proportion of foreign-born workers, nearly a third of its workforce. The state contains Silicon Valley, which is home to America's – and some of the world's – biggest tech companies, an industry employing many people born outside the US. In fact, 57% of tech employees in San Francisco Bay were born abroad.
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