A new briefing paper from the Cato Institute finds that immigrants increase U.S. housing wealth and strengthen local government finances.
The paper, co-authored by David J. Bier, Jacob L. Vigdor, and Michael Howard, shows that immigrants paid nearly $110 billion in property taxes in 2023 alone and generated over $3.3 trillion in state and local property revenues from 1994 to 2023.
Beyond direct taxes, immigrants raise property values, generating an additional $33 billion in indirect revenue in 2023. These gains help fund schools, infrastructure, and public services across the country.
If you’d like to speak with Bier on this new analysis, please reach out to mmiller@cato.org.
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