Rebuilding Houston

Who will be rebuilding Houston?

We know Houston is struggling to get back on its feet after Hurricane Harvey. It is a particularly tough time for its immigrant population, who make up approximately 23% of the population in the Houston-Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Area. A few points to consider:

• The education level of foreign-born residents in Houston is significantly lower than the foreign-born in the U.S. as a whole. For example, 38% of the foreign-born in Houston have not earned a high school degree as compared to 30% of the foreign-born across the country.
• In Houston, incomes of the foreign-born lag behind those of the native-born. The estimated median personal income of foreign-born residents of the Houston metropolitan area is $33,579 as compared to $50,877 for the native-born.

When it comes to rebuilding, however, the area’s newest Americans will be doing much of the heavy lifting:

• Overall in 2015, 66% of the immigrants in Houston were employed, as compared to 61% of the native-born.
• 14% of immigrant workers were employed in construction, as compared to 4% of the native-born.
• 10% of immigrant workers were employed in building and grounds, cleaning, or maintenance occupations, as compared to 2% of the native-born.
• 55% of the immigrant population in the area were homeowners.

So, now you know who will be rebuilding Houston: Houston’s New Americans.

To view the full iDod fact sheet, click here.