Assessing Language Barriers for Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Date: August 13, 2020
As job creators for local communities, many immigrant entrepreneurs face significant language barriers to access financial aid and other assistance as they struggle to recover from the recession caused by COVID-19.
Our analysis of data from the American Community Survey shows that more than one in five immigrant entrepreneurs in the United States, or nearly 773,000 people, had limited English proficiency in 2018. This includes almost 182,000 immigrant business owners who reported being unable to speak English at all and more than 591,000 who could not speak it well.
Figure 1: Immigrant Entrepreneurs With Limited English Proficiency
| Number of Immigrant Entrepreneurs | Share of All Immigrant Entrepreneurs | |
| Limited English Proficiency | 772,925 | 23.8% |
| - Unable to speak English at all | 181,776 | 5.6% |
| - Unable to speak English well | 591,149 | 18.2% |
Seven states have a higher than national average share of immigrant entrepreneurs with limited English proficiency, including Texas (35.2 percent), followed by Arizona, Louisiana, Tennessee, California, South Carolina, and Florida.
Figure 2: Immigrant Entrepreneurs With Limited English Proficiency in Select States
| Share of Immigrant Entrepreneurs With Limited English Proficiency | |
| National Average | 23.8% |
| Texas | 35.2% |
| Arizona | 28.1% |
| Louisiana | 27.8% |
| Tennessee | 27.3% |
| California | 27.3% |
| South Carolina | 26.3% |
| Florida | 25.7% |
Source: NAE analysis of 1-year sample from the 2018 American Community Survey
In the industries hit the hardest by COVID-19, more than one in three immigrant business owners in general services, including barber shops and laundry services, three in 10 in construction, and one in four in hospitality do not speak English well.
Figure 3: Immigrant Entrepreneurs With Limited English Proficiency in Select Industries
| Number of Immigrant Entrepreneurs With Limited English Proficiency | Share of Immigrant Entrepreneurs With Limited English Proficiency | |
| General Services | 192,986 | 35.3% |
| Construction | 176,924 | 30.8% |
| Hospitality | 48,998 | 29.1% |
| Manufacturing | 20,268 | 23.1% |
| Professional Services | 132,261 | 21.1% |
| Retail Trade | 48,888 | 19.7% |
Language assistance is particularly in demand among Hispanic immigrant entrepreneurs, with more than one third (37.0 percent), or 567,500 people, having limited English proficiency, and Asian immigrant entrepreneurs, with nearly one in five (19.0 percent), or 140,500 people, not speaking English well.
Among immigrant entrepreneurs with limited English proficiency, Spanish is the top language spoken at home other than English (67.6 percent), followed by Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Portuguese.
Figure 4: Common Languages for Immigrant Entrepreneurs With Limited English Proficiency
| Number of Immigrant Entrepreneurs With Limited English Proficiency | Share of Immigrant Entrepreneurs With Limited English Proficiency | |
| Spanish | 568,148 | 67.6% |
| Chinese | 45,627 | 8.0% |
| Vietnamese | 38,810 | 6.4% |
| Korean | 30,500 | 5.0% |
| Portuguese | 12,934 | 1.7% |
These language barriers underscore the importance of targeted efforts for supporting immigrant entrepreneurs. To help local communities better understand the challenges facing immigrant entrepreneurs and promote an inclusive economic recovery, New American Economy has released a new toolkit, developed in partnership with Bloomberg Associates, the philanthropic consulting arm of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Find the full toolkit, Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Entrepreneurs, here.
For more information, please check out our research portal of Immigration and Covid-19 with weekly updates. If you have any specific questions about our data, please reach out to us at info@newamericaneconomy.org.
