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Diverse Metros Mean Higher Wages For All

San Antonio, Texas. Gainesville, Florida. Gainesville, Georgia. These three metros have one thing in common: Between 1990 and 2011, each saw a significant expansion of its foreign-born population. If critics of immigration are to be believed, the native-born residents of these metros—especially the “the least-educated and poorest” ones—would have felt a pinch when these new arrivals squeezed into their corner of the job market. Perhaps some did. But overall, the data show a different picture.

In San Antonio, residents across the income spectrum saw their wages rise between 16 and 25 percent over this period. In Gainesville, Georgia, the lowest earners saw a 20 percent increase in wages, and the highest ones experienced a 45 percent increase. In its namesake in Florida, that range was 9 to 35 percent.

While there were other factors at play, the diversity explosion, both at the lower and higher ends of the income spectrum in these metros, had a huge role in making all native workers a little bit richer. That’s according to a new study by the Partnership for a New American Economy, an organization led by a bipartisan group of political and business leaders that advocates for immigration reform.

Read the full report: “Diverse Metros Mean Higher Wages For All
Related NAE Report: The Riches of the Melting Pot

About NAE

New American Economy is a bipartisan research and advocacy organization fighting for smart federal, state, and local immigration policies that help grow our economy and create jobs for all Americans. More…