New data shows Miami’s immigrants paid more than $16 billion in taxes in 2017

New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the Miami community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in Miami are driving economic growth — the metro area’s immigrant household income grew by nearly $5 billion in just one year. Immigrants are also supporting Miami’s biggest industries as workers. In 2017, Miami’s immigrants made up more than 70 percent of the workforce in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry, a 10 percent increase from 2016.

The research is part of NAE’s Map the Impact, an interactive map that quantifies immigrant contributions at the national, state, metro area, and congressional district levels, and across industries.

Key findings for the metro Miami area include:

• Immigrants pay billions in taxes and hold significant spending power. In 2017, immigrants in Miami paid more than $16 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. They held more than $52 billion in spending power, a more than $3 billion increase from 2016.
• Immigrants are major contributors to the Miami housing market. In 2017, there were 538,877 immigrant homeowners, an increase of more than 17,000 in one year.
• Major industries in Miami depend on immigrant workers. Miami immigrants made up 70.2 percent of agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting workers in 2017, increasing their presence in the industry by 10 percent since 2016. Miami immigrants made up 62.7 percent of construction workers and 59 percent of manufacturing workers.
• Immigrants may play a larger role in upcoming elections. More than 1.4 million immigrants were eligible to vote in Miami in 2017, an increase of more than 30,000 voters from 2016. For context, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell won her 2018 congressional race in FL-26, encompassing part of Miami, by just over 4,000 votes.

“Immigrants in Miami are the backbone of the industries that drive growth in the area, from construction to manufacturing,” said Kate Brick, Director of State and Local Initiatives at New American Economy. “These findings reinforce why having a welcoming approach to immigration benefits all Miami residents.”

Map the Impact shows NAE analysis of the latest data from the 2017 American Communities Survey. You can find the new version of the Map at maptheimpact.org.