Building prosperity: How immigrants drive Pennsylvania’s economic growth

Pennsylvania has the 12th highest immigrant population in the nation which helps to contribute $30.1 billion in spending power to the state’s economy. 

Pennsylvania is the fifth most populated state in the U.S., and has the sixth largest economy.

One of the driving forces behind the commonwealth’s $915 billion gross domestic product (GDP)—the measure of economic activity—is its immigrant population, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition.

An immigrant is someone who was not born in the U.S. This group includes naturalized U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents (such as green card holders), refugees and asylees, people on temporary visas, and the undocumented. There were 45 million foreign-born individuals in the U.S. in 2021.

Pennsylvania ranks 12th in the nation with the highest total immigrant population, some 978,000 residents according to 2021 data. That total accounts for 7.3% of the state’s total population, according to the report, with Hispanic individuals making up the largest portion of the immigrant population..

The commonwealth ranks seventh in the nation with the fastest growing immigrant population.

So why are immigrants such an important aspect to the state’s economy?

Immigrants in Pennsylvania had a spending power of $30.1 billion and paid $11.5 billion in taxes in 2021, according to the report. Immigrant entrepreneurs generated $1.9 billion in income in 2021.

This population demographic also has a notably lower older population rate. Pennsylvania is an aging state, with 19.9% of residents age 65 years or older. Yet, only 15.8% of the immigrant population is 65 years or older.

The immigrant population also has a higher workforce population. According to the report, Pennsylvania native-born population has a workforce population share of 58.8% as compared to the immigrant workforce’s population share of 77.7%.

The industries with high representations of immigrant labor in Pennsylvania are agriculture, service, construction, and manufacturing. Immigrants in the state—specifically undocumented immigrants who, contrary to popular belief, pay nearly $135 million in state and local taxes—are saving the state nearly $6.4 billion in lost gross domestic product output through their participation in specific sectors in the workforce.

Recently, president-elect Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he would declare a national emergency to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. This could disrupt Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry, which generates $130 billion annually and employs close to 30,000 undocumented workers.