WASHINGTON—The Pew Charitable Trusts has released new research that delves into an issue that will likely affect credit unions and who they serve: immigrant populations in the United States. Specifically, the research examines such growth from a geographic point of view.
Immigrants, the authors note, are playing a significant role in contributing to population growth and slowing population loss.
“Over the past 25 years, the total immigrant population has increased and spread across the country,” Pew Charitable Trusts noted. “In 1990, the foreign-born population was 19.7 million or 7.9% of the U.S. total, with nearly three-out-of-four immigrants (73%) living in either California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, or Texas. By 2010, approximately 40 million immigrants made up 13% of the overall population, and the proportion of immigrants residing in the six leading states dropped to 65%. Over that same time, other states including Nevada, North Carolina, and Washington experienced large growth in their foreign-born populations.”
Pew Research Trusts said its examination of county-level demographic data reveals how immigrants affected population change in specific regions of the country between 1990 and 2012. While the native- and foreign-born populations both grew across most of the United States during that period, there are some areas where the native-born population decreased. The research said it has uncovered four key trends:
- Immigrants have moved beyond traditional gateways—such as California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Texas—into other areas of the United States, especially the Southeast and the Pacific Northwest.
- While the foreign-born population was increasing and dispersing, the native-born population was declining in certain areas of the country. This trend is most strongly observed in the middle of the United States.
- Immigration has driven population growth in the Sun Belt, Pacific Northwest, and Mountain States.
- Immigration has slowed population declines in Middle America, and in some cases has overcome native-born losses for a net population gain.
“This information is relevant for a number of reasons. In addition to having the potential to offset population decline in some areas of the country, immigrants can also compensate for the aging of the native-born population,” said the authors of the Pew research. “The median age of the total U.S. population is rising, and the ratio of seniors (ages 65+) to working age people (ages 25-64) is increasing. Immigration mitigates these trends by adding working-age adults to the U.S. population. Nearly half of immigrants admitted between 2003 and 2012 were between the ages of 20 and 40, while only 5% were ages 65 or older.
“The size and makeup of the U.S. population has important implications for economic productivity, taxation, and spending,” the authors continued. “Immigrants are already disproportionately represented in the labor force with a share of about 16%, while they make up about 13% of the overall population. The Pew Research Center has determined that if current immigration trends and birth rates continue, by 2050 virtually all (93%) of the nation’s working age population growth will come from immigrants and their U.S.-born children.”
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