A report from the Carsey Institute says immigrants are just as likely to hold a job as native-born Americans in rural areas but twice as likely to be part of the working poor, reports the Daily Yonder. Nearly one in six rural immigrants don’t earn enough money for their household income to top the federal poverty level.
“This finding is part of a research brief … that paints a tough economic picture for many of the 1.6 million immigrants who call rural America home,” said the Yonder. The authors of the study say “economic stability is out of reach from many rural immigrants, particularly those without U.S. citizenship.”
Immigrants are a much smaller share of the rural population than in cities and slightly less likely to be U.S. citizens. “Other data in the report shows immigrants can be a demographically steadying influence in rural areas,” said the Yonder. “Rural immigrants are more likely to be married and have children than native-borns. And they are also more likely to be of working age. That’s a switch for rural America, which overall has a higher percentage of children and retirees than urban areas do.”