New research from New American Economy shows that immigrants held 15.6 percent of all spending power in Tarrant County. The report, New Americans in Tarrant County, was prepared in partnership with the Fort Worth Chamber. 

In addition to their financial contributions, which included paying $1.6 billion in federal taxes and $783.3 million in state and local taxes, the report highlights how immigrants fill crucial workforce gaps. Although the foreign-born population made up 16.1 percent of the county’s overall population, they represented 21.1 percent of its working-age population. 

Tarrant County immigrants also helped strengthen the local job market by helping to preserve or create 15,200 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise vanished or moved elsewhere by 2019.

Key Findings: 

• Immigrants are driving population growth. Between 2014 and 2019, the population in the county increased by 8.8 percent, and the immigrant population increased by 13.1 percent. Growth in the foreign-born population accounted for 23.1 percent of the overall population growth during that period.
• Immigrants play an outsize role in entrepreneurship. Despite making up 16.1 percent of the overall population, immigrants made up 25 percent of the entrepreneurs in the county in 2019. 
• Immigrants are helping the county meet its growing labor needs. Immigrants had an outsize impact on key industries vital to the economic stability of Tarrant County. Despite making up 16.1 percent of the overall population, immigrants accounted for 24.3 percent of construction workers, 19.8 percent of general services workers, and 18.4 percent of STEM workers.

The report is based on NAE’s analysis of microdata from 5-year samples of the American Community Survey from 2014 and 2019 and figures refer to Tarrant County. Click here to read the full report, New Americans in Tarrant County.

To read the press release, click here.