Immigrants consumed 21 percent less welfare and entitlement benefits per capita than native-born Americans in 2022, according to Cato researchers. Alex Nowrasteh and Jerome Famularo break down the numbers in a new paper titled “Immigrant and Native Consumption of Means-Tested Welfare and Entitlement Benefits in 2022” that relies on data collected from the Survey of Income Program Participation. 

“The dollar differences are most pronounced for the two largest entitlement programs, Medicare and Social Security,” the authors note. “Noncitizens consume the least, and naturalized immigrants consume more than natives because they are older and thus consume greater per capita quantities of Medicare and Social Security.”

This analysis updates earlier Cato briefs on the topic and incorporates revisions that enhance accuracy. Yet the findings remain consistent in demonstrating that immigrants use less welfare per capita than native-born Americans. 

If you would like to speak to Alex on this, please reach out to mmiller@​cato.​org.