Immigrants are crucial to Nevada’s economy

Immigrants make up nearly a quarter of Nevada’s labor force (24%), according to a FWD.us analysis of the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, nearly doubling the share from three decades ago.¹ With nearly 400,000 workers, Nevada has one of America’s largest immigrant labor forces. 

Nevada benefits from the contributions of immigrants to grow its economy, and the immigrant labor force cannot be taken for granted. Immigrants in Nevada’s workforce contribute an estimated $20.2 billion to the Nevada economy annually in personal income, making up nearly 1 in 5 of all spending-power dollars in the state. Lawmakers in Carson City should prioritize pro-immigrant policies that support families, and that further expand immigrants’ ability to contribute to Nevada’s economy.

FWD.us analysis shows that immigrants in Nevada make up significant shares of workers in industries like construction (36%), leisure and hospitality (31%), transportation and utilities (25%), agriculture (24%), manufacturing (23%), and business services (23%). Immigrants make up even larger shares of more specific essential industries, like 76% of landscaping services, 61% of building services, 58% of taxi services, and 43% of hotel services. 

Nevada’s total immigrant workforce is highly integrated into Nevada’s society. Some 87% of immigrants in Nevada speak English, about 58% are homeowners, and 80% have lived in the U.S. since 2015 or earlier. Some 28% of Nevada’s population lives in a household with at least one immigrant. 

Immigrants of many different backgrounds and various legal statuses make up the total labor force in Nevada. More than 180,000 workers are naturalized U.S. citizens, an estimated 90,000 are lawful permanent residents, and more than 10,000 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 17% of Nevada’s total labor force.