Population estimates
Data on the foreign-born population (including totals, shares, naturalized immigrants, the number of U.S.-born residents living with one or more foreign-born parents, and the immigrant share of the labor force) are derived from EPI analysis of American Community Survey, 2023 microdata, accessed via IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org.
Economic contributions of immigrants
Data on the economic contributions of immigrants are calculated as the sum of all individual wage, salary, and business income. These estimates are derived from EPI analysis of American Community Survey, 2019–2023 pooled microdata, accessed via IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org.
Top industries and occupations
Top industry and occupation estimates are derived from analysis of American Community Survey, 2019–2023 pooled microdata, accessed via IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org.
Note: Industry data are aggregated into census major industry groups, viewable at Microdata.epi.org, variable Mind03. Industry data estimates are omitted if the coefficient of variation exceeds 0.15 or if the sample size is less than 100. As a result, not all states may have five top industries listed. Some states had fewer than three top industries that resulted from the analysis. The top industry section was omitted for those states. Armed forces industries are excluded from the analysis.
Note: Occupation data estimates are omitted if the coefficient of variation exceeds 0.15 or if the sample size is less than 100. As a result, not all states may have five top occupations listed. Some states had fewer than three top occupations that resulted from the analysis. The occupation section was omitted for those states. Armed forces occupations are excluded from the analysis.
Immigrant entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs refer to foreign-born, self-employed individuals with an incorporated business. These estimates are derived from EPI analysis of American Community Survey, 2019–2023 pooled microdata, accessed via IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org.
Household income
Aggregate household incomes represent the total money income of all members in households headed by a foreign-born individual. These estimates are derived from EPI analysis of American Community Survey, 2019–2023 pooled microdata, accessed via IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org. All income figures are inflation-adjusted to 2023 dollars.
Tax payments by undocumented workers
Tax payments by undocumented workers are from Carl Davis, Marco Guzman, and Emma Sifre, Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, July 2024.
Precarious/liminal and undocumented status totals
These estimates come from the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), Estimates of Undocumented and Eligible-to-Naturalize Populations by State [data map], 2026, except for estimates for TPS status, which come from Jill H. Wilson, Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure, Congressional Research Service Report RS20844, August 2025, and the number of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients by state comes from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), “Count of Active DACA Recipients by State or Territory, as of September 30, 2024.” For the total number of those with precarious/liminal status, we adjust the CMS totals by subtracting the CMS DACA estimate and replacing it with the USCIS DACA estimate.
Deportation job loss estimates
Trump’s deportation targets and job losses (overall, U.S.-born, and construction) are from Ben Zipperer, Trump’s Deportation Agenda Will Destroy Millions of Jobs, Economic Policy Institute, July 2025. Estimates based on enforcement in cities come from Marcela Escobari, Ian Seyal, and Paul Beach, Shock, Awe, and Economic Fallout: The Employment Effects of ICE Enforcement in U.S. Cities, The Brookings Institution, May 2026; the state-specific figure is a modeled allocation from their Appendix C, applying the national effect in proportion to metro-level employment for “surge” cities in that state.
Benefits of citizenship
Wage effects due to citizenship assume a 10% wage increase, as in Giovanni Peri and Reem Zaiour, Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants Would Boost U.S. Economic Growth, Center for American Progress, June 2021. This 10% increase is applied to the 30th percentile wage in the state, using the EPI CPS ORG microdata extracts and annualized by multiplying by 2080 hours.