Immigrants Are a Vital Part of New York State
Across the country, our communities are shaped by the people who live, work and invest in them—and immigrants are a central part to this story. As neighbors, workers, entrepreneurs, and caregivers, immigrants help to drive economic growth while enriching the social and cultural fabric of our communities.
In New York State, 4.5 million immigrants call the state home.
Workers who are immigrants are deeply woven into the fabric of our communities and play a vital role in essential industries across New York State. In healthcare, immigrants serve as doctors and registered nurses caring for patients and providing essential care across New York State communities. In construction, immigrants help build and maintain our homes and infrastructure we all rely on. In restaurants immigrants work as cooks, waiters and small business owners that help fuel New York’s local economies and add to the cultural richness of our communities. And in the domestic care economy, immigrants provide critical support as home health aides, childcare providers and housekeepers—making it possible for families to work and for our loved ones to receive dignified care.
Additionally, immigrants help to support the vital services and programs that New Yorkers rely on. Of the immigrants living in New York State, those without legal status contribute $3.1 billion in state and local taxes which help to support essential services such as roads, schools and public services.
If immigrants are pushed out by deportation policies and enforcement, it could harm all New Yorkers by increasing the cost of living and prices for goods and services, decrease the number of jobs for both U.S.-born workers and immigrants, reduce the tax revenue and lower the GDP of the state. Recognizing and supporting the role of immigrants is essential to building a stronger future. When our immigrant neighbors can thrive, our communities flourish and our economy grows.
To see how immigrants help to enrich your region of the state:
Long Island: Nassau and Suffolk
For counties in each region, click here.
Data notes: Immigration Research Initiative analysis of 2024 American Community Survey 5-year data. Business owners are people who are self-employed and have an incorporated business. Immigrant share of GDP (and at the local level, immigrant share of economic output) is the immigrant share of total earnings; see footnote 2 here for more. Number of farms is an IRI analysis of the 2022 Census of Agriculture.