Illegal Immigration Figures in New Hampshire

Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that there were 73,843 immigrants in New Hampshire in 2011 and more than half of them, or 38,286 people, were naturalized U.S. citizens. Illegal immigrants accounted for about 1.2 percent of the state’s population, or about 15,000 people, according to the Pew Research Center.

Overall immigration rose from 3.7 percent of New Hampshire’s population in 1990 to 5.6 percent in 2011, Census figures show.

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Unauthorized immigrants made up about 1.6 percent of the state’s labor force with about 10,000 workers in 2010, the Pew research shows. Illegal immigrants still play a large role in economic activity and tax revenue in the state.

An analysis by the Perryman Group concluded that New Hampshire would lose $893.2 million in economic activity and about 5,220 jobs if illegal immigrants were removed from the state, the American Immigration Council noted.

Illegal immigrants paid some $5.5 million in state and local taxes in New Hampshire in 2010, according to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, including sales and property taxes. Legal status for unauthorized immigrants would slightly increase tax revenue to $5.8 million in state and local taxes, sales taxes and property taxes.

Overall immigration amounted to 6.5 percent of the state’s workforce in 2011 with 47,691 employees, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Latino share of the population grew from 1 percent of the state’s population in 1990 to 2.9 percent in 2011. The Asian share grew from 0.8 percent in 1990 to 2.2 percent in 2011.

Latino purchasing power in the state in 2012 amounted to $992 million, a 584-percent increase since 1990, according to a study at the University of Georgia. Asian residents increased their buying power in that time by 828 percent, totaling $1.4 billion.

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Foreign students in New Hampshire numbered 2,912 in the 2011-12 academic year and they contributed some $96.4 million to the state’s economy for tuition and living expenses, according to the Association of International Educators. Immigrants with college degrees increased by more than 84 percent between 2000 and 2011, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

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