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Immigration to Massachusetts
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 MASSACHUSETTS IMMIGRATION STATISTICS |
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Total Population: |
6,437,193 (2006 Census Bureau) |
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Foreign Born: |
938,590 (2006 FAIR estimate) |
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Illegal Immigrants: |
FAIR Estimate: 250,000 (2007) |
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USCIS/DHS Estimate: 87,000 (2003) |
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Pew Hispanic Center Estimate: 200,000 (2005) |
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About Massachusetts
“Massachusetts, it’s all here” is the state motto.
Massachusetts is home to Plymouth Rock, the Salem witch trials of 1962, the
American industrial revolution, and the celebration of the first Thanksgiving in
1621. Massachusetts’s economy is primarily based in agriculture and
industry.
The main agricultural commodities produced include: seafood, nursery stock,
dairy products, cranberries, and vegetables. The main industrial sectors include:
machinery, electric equipment, scientific instruments, printing, publishing, and
tourism.
Immigration to Massachusetts
As of 2006, FAIR estimates indicate that the immigrant population of
Massachusetts is 938,590 which equates to approximately 14.5% of the state’s
total population. The majority of immigrants are from China (10%), including Hong Kong and
Taiwan, former Soviet Union (8%), Dominican Republic (8%), Haiti (6%),
India (5%), and Vietnam
(5%). 67.8% of all immigrant settlements in Massachusetts are comprised of
an average of 31 different nationalities, ranking
the state as the seventh most popular location for immigrants.
There has been an increase in the foreign-born population both through new
immigrant residents in the state as
well as through the children born to immigrants. It is estimated the immigrant
population and immigrant births are adding nearly 49,400 persons to
Massachusetts each year, equating to 29.2% of
the state’s overall population increase.
The 2000 Census reports that 772,983 immigrants reside in Massachusetts, marking the
state home to the 15th
highest immigrant population in the US. This is an increase of 34.7% over the 1990 foreign-born
population figure, recorded at 573,733 immigrants. This increase is significantly higher
than the 2.5% increase in the native-born population for the state of
Massachusetts.
An indication of the change in the immigrant population in Massachusetts may be
seen from the 2000 Census. Data indicate that the share of non-English speakers at home
increased to 18.6% up from 15.2% recorded in 1990. Additionally, 41.2% of those
who said they spoke a language other than English at home also said they spoke
English less than very well.
Massachusetts’s naturalization rate of 45.7% is slightly higher than the
national average of 40.1% based upon data recorded during the 2000 Census. The
data collected in the 2000 Census shows a significant drop in the 43.7%
naturalization rate recorded in 1990, indicating an influx of new immigrants
including illegal immigrants.
A study was compiled by Professor Andrew Sum of Northeastern University's Center
for Labor Market Studies with the backing of the Massachusetts Institute for a
New Commonwealth (MassINC), a local think-tank for economic issues. Data from
this study indicate that the majority of the Massachusetts immigrant workforce only has attained
a high
school level of education. Immigrant family households were thirty-three percent
headed by unmarried females, and approximately forty-one percent of the immigrant family
householders did not hold a high school degree.
Illegal Immigration to Massachusetts
As of 2007, FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population to be around 250,000
persons, or almost four percent of the state's overall population. The annual
fiscal cost to Massachusetts taxpayers for emergency medical care, education and
incarceration projected by FAIR is currently $580 million. This figure is estimated to
rise to $992 million per year in 2010 and $1.7 billion per year in 2020.
Massachusetts Immigration Statistics
- Massachusetts receives an average of 1800 refugees per year
- FAIR estimates indicate that Massachusetts' illegal alien population is
around 83,000 persons
- The Center for Immigrant Studies estimates that 12.7% of mothers of children ages 4 and below are immigrants and 32.4% of foreign-born children live near or below the poverty level
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