According to a new report from the New American Economy, Detroit Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Affairs, and Global Detroit, between 2010 and 2014 the foreign population in Detroit grew by 4,137 individuals, creating a 12.1 percent increase in immigrant population growth.
“Detroit is an early pioneer in the rapidly emerging field of immigrant community and economic development, and the data released today suggests that our efforts are paying dividends in population growth, business creation, and jobs,” says Steve Tobocman, executive director of Global Detroit, a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing Michigan’s economy.
Due to the rise in new immigrants from 2010 to 2014, the report shows that 1,117 U.S.-born residents were attracted to the city. Immigrants in Detroit also contributed $67.2 million to Social Security and $17.6 million to Medicare in 2014. Increased immigration between 2010 and 2014 also raised the total housing value in Detroit by $127.7 million.
The report also estimates that in 2014, immigrants living in Detroit helped to create or preserve 1,768 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise disappeared or relocated. The businesses of the 1,397 self-employed immigrants in Detroit in 2014 totaled $15.5 million in income.
In terms of educational impacts, if half of Detroit’s international students with bachelor’s degrees or higher stay in the city, the report projects 549 local jobs would be created within six years, and the population would grow by 6,147 people in the next 50 years.
Data comes from one-year samples of the American Community Survey sent to approximately 295,000 addresses monthly. To read the full report, click here.
