New American Economy (NAE) released a report documenting the critical impact immigrants have on the Upstate economies of Buffalo and Syracuse through their contribution to population growth, high rates of workforce participation, large tax contributions, and spending power. This report was released in conjunction with the launch of Map the Impact—an NAE campaign to highlight the power of immigrants in communities across the country through state- and sector-specific data available for every congressional district in the nation.

See key findings for New Americans in Buffalo and Syracuse below.

Buffalo: 

• Between 2000 and 2014, immigrants and refugees helped offset population decline—while the U.S.-born population declined by 4.9 percent, the foreign-born population grew by 32.3 percent.
• Foreign-born residents in Buffalo contributed $3.1 billion to the metro area’s GDP in 2014.
• In 2014, foreign-born households contributed $408.7 million in federal taxes, and $223.3 million in state and local taxes. They also held $1.4 billion in spending power.
• Foreign-born residents also support federal social programs. In 2014, foreign-born residents in metro Buffalo contributed $146.4 million to Social Security and $42.1 million to Medicare.
• There are 2,691 foreign-born entrepreneurs in Buffalo, and their businesses generated $121 million in business income in 2014.
• Between 2000 and 2014, the increase in the foreign-born population raised the total housing value in metro Buffalo by $964.5 million.
• Because of the role foreign-born residents play in the workforce helping companies keep jobs on U.S. soil, the foreign-born residents in metro Buffalo had helped create or preserve 3,116 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise vanished or moved elsewhere.

Syracuse:

• In 2014, foreign-born residents in Syracuse contributed $1.7 billion to the metro area’s GDP.
• The foreign-born population contributed $140.4 million in federal taxes and $93.9 million in state and local taxes, in 2014, and held $607.8 million in spending power.
• In 2014, foreign-born residents in Syracuse contributed $89.2 million to Social Security and $22.4 million to Medicare.
• Between 2000 and 2014, the increase in the foreign-born population raised the total housing value in metro Syracuse by $406.5 million.
• In Syracuse, the 1,681 foreign-born entrepreneurs generated $22.3 million in business income in 2014.
• By 2014, the 40,815 foreign-born residents in metro Syracuse had helped create or preserve 1,877 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise vanished or moved elsewhere.

Read the full report here.

Buffalo and Syracuse are included in a group of 20 communities selected in the Gateways for Growth Challenge, an opportunity from NAE and Welcoming America that invited communities across the United States to apply for research and technical assistance to support strategies for welcoming and integrating new Americans.