NEW AMERICANS IN THE NATURAL STATE: Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians are an Economic Powerhouse in Arkansas

Continuing a series of policy papers showing the positive economic impact of immigarnts on various states, the Immigration Policy Center has compiled research which shows that immigrants, Latinos, and Asians are an integral part of Arkansas’s economy and tax base. As workers, taxpayers, consumers, and entrepreneurs, immigrants and their children are an economic powerhouse. As the state works towards economic recovery, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political landscape of the Natural State.

Highlights from Arkansas include:

 • Immigrants make up 4.2% of Arkansas’s total population.

• Arkansas had the fastest growing Latino population of any state between 2000 and 2005 and the fourth fastest growing immigrant population in the nation.

• Nearly 30% of immigrants in Arkansas have become naturalized U.S. Citizens who are eligible to vote.

• The purchasing power of Arkansas’s Latinos totaled $2.7 billion and Asians totaled $972 million in 2008.

• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Arkansas, the state would lose $798 million in expenditures, $354 million in economic output and approximately 6,660 jobs.

There is no denying the contributions immigrants, Latinos, and Asians make and the important role they play in Arkansas political and economic future. For more data on their contributions to Arkansas’ economic future, view the IPC fact sheet in its entirety.   Download Arkansas

KJ