A new report published by the Gateways for Growth Challenge — run jointly by Welcoming America and the American Immigration Council — shows that immigrants in Santa Clara County in California,paid over $22.0Billion in taxes and held $45.0 Billion in Spending Power in 2021
The report released on September 15 2023, states that between 2016 and 2021 the population of Santa Clara County decreased by 1.7 percent while the immigrant population grew by 1.1 percent. During this time period, without immigrants moving to the county, the total population would have decreased by 2.1 percent. In 2021 alone, immigrants in the county held $45.3 billion in spending power and paid $15.4 billion in federal taxes and $6.7 billion in state and local taxes.
According to the report, awarded to the Santa Clara County Office of Immigrant Relations as part of the Gateways for Growth Challenge, a competitive opportunity for localities to receive research support and/or technical assistance from the American Immigration Council and Welcoming America to improve immigrant inclusion in their communities,d espite making up 40.6 percent of the county’s total population in 2021, immigrants represented 67.2 percent of its science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers, 64.0 percent of manufacturing workers, and 56.3 percent of professional service workers.
The new research report, New Americans in Santa Clara County, finds:
- Immigrants are helping the county meet its labor force demands. In 2021, immigrants made up 40.6 percent of the county’s population but comprised 47.7 percent of the working age population and accounted for 49.9 percent of its employed labor force.
- Immigrant households support the federal safety net. Immigrants contributed $5.1 billion to Social Security and $1.8 billion to Medicare in Santa Clara County in 2021.
- Immigrants play a significant role in the county as entrepreneurs. In 2021, immigrants represented 50.3 percent of business owners in Santa Clara County and generated $1.5 billion in business income for the county.
- Immigrants are helping the county fill crucial labor force needs in STEM fields and other key industries. Despite making up 40.6 percent of the county’s total population, immigrants accounted for 67.2 percent of the region’s STEM workers, 64.0 percent of manufacturing workers, and 56.3 percent of professional service workers in 2021.
- Immigrants are helping keep jobs on U.S. soil. Immigrants in the county helped create or preserve approximately 35,200 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise been eliminated or moved elsewhere by 2021.
