New Americans in Colorado

(Fact sheet, infographic posted by Immigration Policy Center)

The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in the Centennial State (Updated January 2012)

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Dowload the Fact Sheet (2010 Census Data)

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Immigrants and their children are growing shares of Colorado’s population and electorate.

• The foreign-born share of Colorado’s population rose from 4.3% in 1990, to 8.6% in 2000, to 9.8% in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Colorado was home to 497,105 immigrants in 2010, which is more than the total population of Sacramento, California.

• 35.7% of immigrants (or 177,346 people) in Colorado were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2010 – meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 5.9% (or 143,765) of all registered voters in Colorado were “New Americans” – naturalized citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of immigration from Latin America and Asia which began in 1965—according to an analysis of 2008 Census Bureau data by Rob Paral & Associates.

1 in 5 Coloradans are Latino—and they vote.

• The Latino share of Colorado’s population grew from 12.9% in 1990, to 17.1% in 2000, to 20.8% (or 1.1 million people) in 2010.  The Asian share of the population grew from 1.7% in 1990, to 2.2% in 2000, to 2.6% (or 131,276 people) in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Latinos comprised 8.4% (or 195,000) of Colorado voters in the 2008 elections, and Asians 2.1% (or 48,000), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  The number of Latino and Asian voters exceeds the margin of victory (214,987 votes) by which Barack Obama defeated John McCain.
• In Colorado, 87% of children with immigrant parents were U.S. citizens in 2009, according to data from the Urban Institute.
• In 2009, 90.5% of children in Asian families in Colorado were U.S. citizens, as were 92.6% of children in Latino families.

Latino and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add tens of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs to Colorado’s economy.

• The 2009 purchasing power of Colorado’s Latinos totaled $21.9 billion – an increase of 456.8% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $5 billion – an increase of 557.1% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

• Colorado’s 33,762 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $6.6 billion and employed 37,629 people in 2007, the last year for which data is available.  The state’s 14,482 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $3.4 billion and employed 27,393 people in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants are integral to Colorado’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 11.7% of the state’s workforce in 2010 (or 322,253 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Immigrants accounted for 10% of total economic output in the Denver metropolitan area as of 2007, according to a study by the Fiscal Policy Institute.

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised 4.6% of the state’s workforce (or 120,000 workers) in 2010, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Colorado, the state would lose $8 billion in economic activity, $3.6 billion in gross state product, and approximately 39,738 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

Unauthorized immigrants pay taxes.

• Unauthorized immigrants in Colorado paid $167.5 million in state and local taxes in 2010, according to data from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, which includes:

• $30.9 million in state income taxes.
• $22 million in property taxes.
• $114.6 million in sales taxes.

• Colorado employers paid between $12 million and $15 million in unemployment insurance taxes to the state on behalf of unauthorized workers in 2005, according to a study by the Bell Policy Center. Unauthorized workers are prohibited by state law from collecting unemployment insurance benefits.

Immigrants are integral to Colorado’s economy as students.

• Colorado’s 6,980 foreign students contributed $202.1 million to the state’s economy in tuition, fees, and living expenses for the 2009-2010 academic year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

Naturalized citizens excel educationally.

• In Colorado, 34.5% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2009 had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to 18.4% of noncitizens. At the same time, only 19.4% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 49.9% of noncitizens.

• The number of immigrants in Colorado with a college degree increased by 45.8% between 2000 and 2009, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.

• In Colorado, 78.8% of children with immigrant parents were considered “English proficient” as of 2009, according to data from the Urban Institute.

The English proficiency rate among Asian children in Colorado was 88.2%, while for Latino children it was 85.9%, as of 2009.

Published On: Wed, Jan 11, 2012 | Download File