What you need to know about the Georgia economy and immigrant workers

1.3 million immigrants reside in Georgia, comprising 11.6% of the total population in the state. That’s more than 1 out of every 9 Georgians. 49% of immigrants in Georgia are naturalized citizens. 653,000 U.S.-born Georgians live with at least one immigrant parent, accounting for 6.7% of the total U.S.-born resident population in the state.

Immigrant workers fill 15% of all jobs in Georgia and contribute 14.4% of the state’s economic output.

The industries in Georgia with the highest share of immigrant workers are:

1. Construction 27%
2. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting 19%
3. Other services 19%
4. Manufacturing 17%
5. Professional and business services 17%

The occupations in Georgia with the highest share of immigrant workers are:

1.  Manicurists and pedicurists 78%
2. Taxi drivers 43%
3. Construction laborers 41%
4. Carpenters 40%
5. Software developers 40%

Immigrants are not just workers but also entrepreneurs and business owners who are vital to the Georgia economy and workforce.

108,000 immigrants in Georgia are entrepreneurs, 19.9% of the state’s entrepreneurs.

Immigrant household income in Georgia is $52.4 billion, nearly all of which is funneled directly back into the Georgia economy through consumer spending.

Deporting Georgian workers will rob city and state coffers of nearly $929 million in tax revenue, making it more difficult to provide basic services to all residents, harming all workers and families in our state.

Pursuing the mass deportation agenda will tank economic growth, lead to massive job losses, disrupt key industries, spike inflation, separate families, and create a culture of fear in our workplaces and communities.

This fact sheet has been developed with EPI and the Latino Community Fund:

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank working to counter rising inequality, low wages and weak benefits for working people, slower economic growth, unacceptable employment conditions, and a widening racial wage gap. 

The Latino Community Fund (LCF Georgia) is a 501(c)3 organization supporting Latino-serving organizations and families with advocacy, capacity building, program development and collective investments.  Our mission is to be a catalyst for investment, collaborative work, and positive narrative with and within the Latinx/Hispanic Community in Georgia.