Immigrants and refugees are central to Detroit’s economic resurgence and vitality. Their contributions to small business growth, job creation, and workforce stability have helped reverse decades of decline and keep the city moving forward.
Small Business and Job Growth
Immigrants own a significant share of Detroit’s small businesses, especially in neighborhoods like Southwest Detroit. Programs from organizations such as Global Detroit provide resources and support that empower these entrepreneurs to launch and expand businesses—stabilizing jobs, boosting local tax income, and sustaining commercial districts. Over the past decade, metro Detroit saw its foreign-born population increase by more than 109,000, offsetting native-born population loss and helping revitalize entire communities.
Workforce Contributions
Immigrants make up nearly 10% of Detroit’s population and fill vital roles in industries such as health care, engineering, construction, and food service. Their labor is critical for the city’s ongoing development and adaptation, especially as the native-born workforce shrinks. In 2022 alone, immigrants in Michigan held $23.1 billion in spending power, paid $5.5 billion in federal taxes, and $2.6 billion in state and local taxes.
What Would Detroit Look Like Without Immigrants?
Without new arrivals, Detroit would likely see renewed population decline, slower economic growth, and more vacant homes. The city’s workforce would be strained, with key industries struggling to fill jobs and commercial districts losing hundreds of small businesses. Economic growth would stagnate, tax bases would shrink, and vibrant neighborhoods would risk falling back into decline. Pausing refugee resettlement alone could deprive Detroit of tens of millions of dollars each year in earnings, tax revenue, and economic activity.
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