New research from New American Economy shows that immigrant households earned nearly $1.5 billion and contributed $402 million in taxes in 2017. The report was prepared in partnership with the Lowell Refugee and Immigrant Support and Engagement (RISE) Coalition and the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce.

The report, New Americans in Lowell, also finds that immigrants helped revitalize the city—they were responsible for almost 90 percent of the area’s population growth between 2012 and 2017. In addition to their financial contributions, like the $83.9 million to Social Security and $20 million to Medicare that immigrants contributed in 2017, the report shows how important immigrants are for Lowell’s economy and workforce.

Immigrants play a major role in Lowell’s key industries that are vital to the economic stability of Lowell, representing 44.4 percent of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workers, 47 percent of construction workers, and 32.7 percent of healthcare workers.

Read the full research brief here.