Immigrant-Origin Adults without Postsecondary Credentials: A 50-State Profile

Why are immigrant-origin adults, i.e. immigrant and their U.S.-born children, without post-secondary credentials an important segment of the U.S. workforce and a group deserving special attention by policymakers and workforce practitioners? This fact sheet attempts to answer this question. Not only are they a large segment of the workforce (currently 30 million of the 100 million U.S. adults without post-secondary credentials), they will likely be the main source of new U.S. workers in the years ahead. The fact sheet provides a state-level profile of these 30 million adults, focusing on key characteristics that need to be taken into consideration in designing appropriate upskilling initiatives. In looking at where investments might produce the greatest gains, the authors focus on states with the largest numbers of such adults, as well as states with the largest percentages. For example, in 2017, nearly 19 million, or 63 percent of the 30 million immigrant-origin adults without post-secondary credentials were living in just six states: California, Florida, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey. In 14 states, the immigrant-origin share of adults without post-secondary credentials exceeded the national average of 30 percent, with California being the highest at 58 percent. The report goes on to examine immigrant-origin adults by generation (foreign-born vs U.S.-born), educational attainment (high school graduate or not), and limited English proficiency. (American Immigrant Policy Portal)

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