New American Economy has developed a series of research briefs that examine the demographic and economic contributions of immigrant communities in counties and cities across the United States. The latest report in the series focuses on the Fargo-Moorhead metro area.

The report, New Americans in the Fargo-Moorhead Region, finds:

• In 2014, foreign-born residents contributed $542.8 million to the metro area’s GDP, including $13.8 million in state and local taxes. This groups also wields $149.4 million in spending power.
• Foreign-born residents in Fargo tend to have higher levels of educational attainment. In 2014, 27.6% of immigrants in Fargo held at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 23.6% of the U.S.-born population. About 11.3% of the immigrants held advanced degrees, compared with 5.8% of the U.S.-born population.
• In fall 2014, 1,597 students enrolled in colleges and universities in the metro area held temporary resident visas. These students supported 343 local jobs and contributed $36.5 million in spending in that academic year.
  • If Fargo retains one half of its international students with a bachelor’s degree or higher after graduation, 373 local jobs will be created within six years, boosting the metro area’s real GDP by $84 million.
• Because of the role immigrants play in the workforce helping companies keep jobs on U.S. soil, it’s estimated that in 2014, the 10,663 immigrants and refugees living in Fargo helped create or preserve 490 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise vanished or moved elsewhere.
• Foreign-born households also support federal social programs. In 2014, foreign-born households in Fargo contributed $23.5 million to Social Security and $5.9 million to Medicare

This report is released as part of the the Gateways for Growth Challenge, an opportunity from NAE and Welcoming America that invited communities across the United States to apply for support for the development and implementation of multi-sector strategic plans for welcoming and integrating new Americans.

Download the report.

Full press release here.