OHIO

 

The Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in  the Buckeye State

 

Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians account for large and growing shares of the

economy and population in the electoral swing state of Ohio. Immigrants
(the foreign-born) make up 4.1% of the state’s population, and half of them are
naturalized U.S. citizens eligible to vote. “New Americans”—immigrants and the
children of immigrants—account for 4% of all registered voters in the state.
Latinos and Asians (both foreign-born and native-born) account for one in 20
Ohioans and wield nearly $19.6 billion in consumer purchasing power. At last
count, businesses owned by Latinos and Asians had sales and receipts of $9.1
billion and employed more than 63,000 people. Ohio is also home to the nation’s
second largest Somali population, whose many businesses contribute to the state’s
economy. As the economy continues to grow, Ohio can ill-afford to alienate such
an important component of its labor force, tax base, and business community.

 

 

Immigrants and their children are growing shares of Ohio’s population and electorate. 

• The foreign-born share of Ohio’s population rose from 2.4%, to 3.0% in 2000, to 4.1% in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Ohio was home to 477,337 immigrants in 2013, which is more than the total population of Atlanta, Georgia.
• 49.7% of immigrants (or 237,404 people) in Ohio were naturalized U.S. citizens — meaning that they are eligible to vote.
• Unauthorized immigrants comprised roughly 0.8% of the state’s population (or 95,000 people) in 2012, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.
• 4% (or 241,073) of all registered voters in Ohio are “New Americans”—naturalized citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of immigration from Latin America and Asia which began in 1965—according to analysis of 2012 Census Bureau.