Where immigrants pay the most taxes
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The country's 47.8 million immigrants paid nearly $652 billion in taxes in 2023, per a recent analysis, with undocumented immigrants paying nearly $90 billion of that total.
Why it matters: The numbers underscore how immigrants, both documented and otherwise, contribute to the U.S. economy and government services, even as the Trump administration looks to increase mass detention and deportation.
How it works: These figures come from a recent report by the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit advocacy group, and are based on 2023 census data.
- The report has a wealth of other data about immigrants' economic contributions, including their spending power, housing wealth and more.
Zoom in: Washington, D.C. (about $26,700); Washington ($18,700) and New Jersey ($17,800) had the highest rates of taxes paid by immigrants per immigrant in 2023, per data from the report.
- South Dakota ($5,700), Idaho ($7,600) and Kentucky ($8,400) had the lowest such rates.
What they're saying: "Immigrants have paid up the hard-earned tax dollars that are now going to be used to punish all Americans through a wasteful and cruel mass deportation plan," Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council, said in a statement accompanying the report.
- The White House did not respond to Axios' request for comment.
Between the lines: Many undocumented immigrants pay federal, state and local taxes, even though they are not eligible for many government benefits.
What's next: President Trump recently asked Congress to better fund his deportation and border security goals, which will be nearly impossible to achieve without more money, as Axios' Brittany Gibson and Russell Contreras report.
