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February 14, 2017

Maine in lower tier of U.S. states for economic impact of immigrants

Maine ranks 37th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in WalletHub’s new analysis of the economic impact of foreign-born populations.

Using 18 key indicators, the Washington, D.C.-based firm determined which states benefit the most, and the least, from immigration.

The indicators range from “median household income of foreign-born population” to “jobs generated by immigrant-owned businesses as a share of total jobs” and cut across four key areas:

  • Immigrant workforce

  • Socio-economic contribution

  • “Brain gain” and innovators

  • International students.

  • Each metric was graded on 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing “most positive economic impact.” WalletHub then calculated the overall score for each state and the District of Columbia based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to construct its final ranking.

    Maine’s 37th overall ranking is based on these scores: Workforce, 44; socio-economic contribution, 25; “brain gain” and innovation, 31; international students, 48.

    The top five overall rankings are: California, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and District of Columbia.

    The lowest five overall rankings are: Wyoming, Louisiana, South Dakota, Kentucky and Mississippi.

    Other findings

    In other key statistics:

    • New Jersey has the highest share of foreign-born STEM workers, 41.0%, 19.5 times higher than in North Dakota, which has the lowest at 2.1%.
    • The District of Columbia has the highest share of foreign-born adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher, 51.5%, 3.1 times higher than in New Mexico, which has the lowest at 16.4%.
    • California has the highest share of the workforce who are foreign-born, 34.12%, compared to 1.88% in West Virginia, the lowest.

  • Maryland has the highest median household income for the foreign-born population, $71,081, 2.2 times higher than in New Mexico, which has the lowest at $32,489.

  • New Mexico has the highest homeownership rate for the foreign-born population, 62.8%, which is two times higher than in North Dakota, which has the lowest at 31.8%.

  • California has the highest share of foreign-born residents, 27.04%, 17.7 times higher than in West Virginia, which has the lowest at 1.53%.

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