Immigrants are crucial to Florida’s economy

Immigrants make up nearly a third of Florida’s labor force (30%), according to a FWD.us analysis of the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, nearly doubling the share from three decades ago. With more than 3.5 million workers, Florida has America’s third-largest immigrant labor force, after California and Texas.

Florida benefits from the contributions of immigrants to grow its economy, and the immigrant labor force cannot be taken for granted. Immigrants in Florida’s workforce contribute an estimated $179 billion to the Florida economy annually in personal income, making up more than 1 in 5 of all spending-power dollars in the state. Lawmakers in Tallahassee should prioritize pro-immigrant policies that support families, and that further expand immigrants’ ability to contribute to Florida’s economy.

FWD.us analysis shows that immigrants in Florida make up significant shares of workers in industries like construction (39%), business services (30%), and manufacturing (30%). Immigrants make up even larger shares of more specific essential industries, like 77% of crop production, 64% of taxi services, 50% of building services, 42% of landscaping services, and 26% of restaurant and food services. 

Florida’s total immigrant workforce is highly integrated into Florida’s society. Some 88% of immigrants in Florida speak English, about 54% are homeowners, and 68% have lived in the U.S. since 2015 or earlier. Nearly 10 million Floridians, or more than a third of Florida’s population, live in a household with at least one immigrant. 

Immigrants of many different backgrounds and various legal statuses make up the total labor force in Florida. More than 1.6 million workers are naturalized U.S. citizens, an estimated 700,000 are lawful permanent residents, and 200,000 are members of the workforce with nonimmigrant status, like H-1B visa workers, or other temporary immigrant visas. Together, these U.S. citizens and people with some form of legal status make up 22% of Florida’s total labor force.

Additionally, FWD.us estimates that nearly 1 million workers in Florida are immigrants without legal status or with temporary protections, representing about 8% of the total workforce, one of the highest levels among U.S. states. An estimated 470,000 had a protected status as of the end of 2024, such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), an active asylum claim, or other deportation-deferred status, with individuals waiting in an immigration backlog. Most of these individuals work in Florida with lawful work authorization.