Pennsylvania immigrants pay billions in taxes
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Pennsylvania's immigrants paid $13.6 billion in taxes in 2023, per a recent analysis, with undocumented immigrants paying $1.2 billion of that total.
Why it matters: As the Trump administration looks to increase mass detention and deportation, these numbers underscore how immigrants, both documented and otherwise, contribute to the economy and government services on a state and federal level.
How it works: The figures come from a recent report by the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Zoom in: Pennsylvania is home to more than 1 million immigrants who paid $13.6 billion in taxes in 2023, or $13,300 per person.
- About 7.9% of Pennsylvania's residents are foreign-born, and 3.6% of its U.S.-born residents live with at least one immigrant parent.
- Immigrants make up 9.7% of the state's labor force, accounting for 12.5% of entrepreneurs, 17.2% of STEM workers and 16.2% of health aides in the state.
- The Pittsburgh metro area has about 92,000 immigrants — 3.9% of the population — who paid $1.2 billion in taxes, according to the report.
- An earlier report by the American Immigration Council found that while Pittsburgh's population decreased by 1.3% from 2014 to 2019, the city's immigrant population grew by nearly 19% — filling workforce gaps in the process.
Between the lines: Many undocumented immigrants pay federal, state and local taxes, even though they are not eligible for many government benefits.
Zoom out: The United States' 47.8 million immigrants paid nearly $652 billion in taxes in 2023, with undocumented immigrants paying nearly $90 billion of that total.
- Washington, D.C. (about $26,700); Washington ($18,700) and New Jersey ($17,800) had the highest rates of taxes paid by immigrants per person in 2023.
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, Axios' Brittany Gibson and Russell Contreras reported.