New research from New American Economy (NAE) shows that immigrants in Warren County, KY contributed $564.3 million to the county’s GDP in 2016 and paid $43 million in federal taxes and $21.1 million in state and local taxes. The report, New Americans in Warren County, was prepared in partnership with the City of Bowling Green, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, and the South Central Workforce Development Board.

In addition to their financial contributions, our report shows the role immigrants plays in the local labor force and as contributors to the county’s recent growth in population. Though they account for 9.3 percent of the county’s population, immigrants represent 10.7 percent of the county’s working-age population and 10.3 percent of the employed labor force. The report also shows that immigrants were responsible for nearly a third of total population growth in Warren County from 2011 to 2016.

The report also features profiles of Amira Zukic and Victor Puga, two Bowling Green-area immigrant entrepreneurs who, together, employ approximately 200 people.

New Americans in Warren County finds:

• Immigrants contributed $564.3 million to Warren County’s GDP in 2016. Immigrant households earned $234.7 million in income in 2016.
• Immigrants contributed over $64 million in total taxes in 2016, of which $43.0 million went to federal taxes and $21.1 million went to state and local taxes. Immigrant households were left with $170.6 million in spending power.
• Immigrants were responsible for 32.2 percent of the total population growth in Warren County between 2011 and 2016. Over those 5 years, the population in the county increased by 15.4 percent, while the immigrant population increased by 86.6 percent.
• Despite making up just 9.3 percent of the overall population, immigrants represented more than their share of the working-age population and the employed labor force in 2016. Foreign-born workers represented 10.7 percent of Warren County’s working-page population and 10.3 percent of its employed labor force that year.
• Immigrants play a critical role in several key industries in the county, making up significant shares of key industries in 2016. Foreign-born workers made up 23.7 percent of all workers in manufacturing, as well as 20.8 percent of the transportation and warehouse industry and 7.8 percent of the education industry.
• Over one-third of immigrants and refugees in the county—or over 3,700 individuals— were naturalized citizens in 2016. 8 percent of the non-citizen population were likely eligible to naturalize.

Read the full research brief here.