A new report by New American Economy (NAE), in partnership with the Long Beach Office of Equity, finds that  immigrants in the Cities of Long Beach and Signal Hill earned $3.4 billion in annual income in 2016 and paid more than $833 million in federal taxes and $280 million in state and local taxes.

In addition to their financial contributions, the new report, New Americans in Long Beach, outlines the critical role immigrants play in the Long beach labor force, as drivers of population growth, and as entrepreneurs. Immigrants, more than a quarter of the total population, represent an outsized 32 percent of the employed labor force, and nearly 36 percent of all entrepreneurs.

The report features profiles of two Long Beach area immigrants: Pasin Chanou and Josefina Cruz-Molina.

The brief, New Americans in Long Beach, finds:

• Immigrants in the Long Beach area paid more than $1 billion in taxes in 2016. Immigrant households earned $3.4 billion in income in 2016. Of that, $833.4 million went to federal taxes and $280.7million went to state and local taxes, leaving them with $2.3 billion in spending power.
• Immigrants made up more than a quarter of the population, and played an outsize role in the labor force. In 2016, the foreign-born accounted for 26.6 percent of the total population, 32.6 percent of the working age population, and 32.1 percent of the employed labor force.
• Immigrants in Long Beach are more likely to be entrepreneurs. While 26.6 percent of the population, immigrants account for 35.9 percent of entrepreneurs in the Long Beach area, and are 18.5 percent more likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to be business owners. The more than 8,400 immigrant entrepreneurs in Long Beach in 2016 generated $162.1 million in business income.
• Immigrants were responsible for the creation or preservation of 5,895 local manufacturing jobs. Immigrants, who represent 49 percent of all manufacturing workers in the Long Beach area, help keep manufacturing jobs on U.S. soil by bolstering the local workforce, allowing companies to stay and create jobs in the area. Were it not for immigrants, these jobs would have vanished or moved elsewhere

Read the full research brief here.

Long Beach is one of 25 communities selected for the 2017-2018 Gateways for Growth Challenge, a competitive opportunity from New American Economy and Welcoming America where local communities receive tailored research on the contributions of immigrants, direct technical assistance to develop multi-sector plans for welcoming and integrating immigrants, or matching grants.