Immigrant Small Business Owners: A Significant and Growing Part of the Economy

More than one in six small business owners in the United States is an immigrant, according to a new report from FPI’s Immigration Research Initiative. Immigrants – people born in another country – make up 18 percent of all small business owners in the United States. By contrast, immigrants are 13 percent of the population and 16 percent of the labor force, according to the American Community Survey from 2010. That’s a big change from 20 years ago, when immigrants made up 9 percent of the labor force and 12 percent of small business owners. The report includes national data, information about the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and information about the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the country.