New research from  New American Economy shows that immigrants contributed $5.3 billion to the GDP of the Dayton region in 2018. The report, New Americans in Dayton, was prepared in partnership with the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. 

In addition to their financial contributions, which included paying $564.9 million in federal taxes and $268.2 million in state and local taxes, the report highlights how immigrants fill crucial workforce gaps. Although the foreign-born population made up 4.6 percent of the region’s overall population, they represented 5.8 percent of its working-age population. Additionally, immigrants had an outsize impact on key industries vital to the economic stability of the Dayton region. Immigrants accounted for 7.4 percent of professional services workers, 6.6 percent of manufacturing workers, and 6.6 percent of infrastructure workers. 

Dayton immigrants also helped strengthen the local job market by helping to preserve or create 3,552 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise vanished or moved elsewhere by 2018. 

• Immigrants are driving population growth. Between 2013 and 2018, the population in the region increased by 1 percent, and the immigrant population increased by over 17 percent. 
• Immigrants are filling critical workforce gaps. Although foreign-born residents  made up 4.6 percent of the region’s overall population, they represented 12.7 percent of its STEM workers in 2018.
• Immigrants are bringing much-needed talent. In 2018, 45.4 percent of immigrants in the Dayton area age 25 and older had at least a bachelor’s degree and 23.6 percent had an advanced degree (either a master’s, professional or doctoral degree).

The report is based on NAE’s analysis of microdata from 5-year samples of the American Community Survey from 2013 and 2018 and figures refer to the counties of Butler, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby, and Warren. Click here to read the full report, New Americans in Dayton.