New Americans in Montana

The Economic and Political Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in the Treasure State (Updated January 2012)

Download the Infographic

Download the Fact Sheet (2010 Census Data)

Download the Previous Fact Sheet (2008 Census Data)

Immigrants and their children are significant shares of Montana’s population and electorate.

• The foreign-born share of Montana’s population was 2.0% in 2010 (20,031 people), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• 57.4% of immigrants (or 11,506 people) in Montana were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2010—meaning that they are eligible to vote.

• 2.7% (or 13,937) of registered voters in Montana were “New Americans”—naturalized citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of immigration from Latin America and Asia which began in 1965—according to an analysis of 2008 Census Bureau data by Rob Paral & Associates.

3.5% of Montanans are Latino or Asian.

• The Latino share of Montana’s population grew from 1.5% in 1990, to 2.0% in 2000, to 2.9% (or 28,565 people) in 2010. The Asian share of the population was 0.6% (or 6,253 people) in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Latinos accounted for 1.7% (or 8,000) of Montana voters in the 2008 elections, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• In Montana, 97.6% of children with immigrant parents were U.S. citizens in 2009, according to data from the Urban Institute.

• In 2009, 99.5% of children in Latino families in Montana were U.S. citizens.
  

Latino and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add millions of dollars and thousands of jobs to Montana’s economy.

• The 2010 purchasing power of Latinos in Montana totaled $650.3 million—an increase of 661% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $219.4 million—an increase of 451.5% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

• Montana’s 646 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $142.8 million and employed 1,735 people in 2007, the last year for which data is available. The state’s 1,131 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $161 million and employed 2,436 people in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.
  

Immigrants are important to Montana’s economy as workers.

• Immigrants comprised 2.1% of the state’s workforce in 2009 (or 10,845 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Unauthorized immigrants comprised less than 1% of the state’s workforce (or fewer than 10,000 workers) in 2010, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Montana, the state would lose $96.3 million in economic activity, $42.8 million in gross state product, and approximately 720 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

Immigrants are important to Montana’s economy as students.

• Montana’s 1,226 foreign students contributed $30 million to the state’s economy in tuition, fees, and living expenses for the 2009-2010 academic year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

Immigrants excel educationally.

• The number of immigrants in Montana with a college degree increased by 34.5% between 2000 and 2009, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.

• In Montana, 91.3% of children with immigrant parents were considered “English proficient” as of 2009, according to data from the Urban Institute.

• The English proficiency rate among Latino children in Montana was 99.3% as of 2009. 

Published On: Wed, Jan 11, 2012 | Download File