Minnesota Leads The Nation In Foreign-born Worker Employment

UNDATED (WJON News) -- A new report indicates Minnesota and the Upper Midwest overall rank high in the foreign-born worker participation rate.

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The James A. Welcome Law Firm says that in 2025, Minnesota ranked #1 in the nation with an 85% employment rate.  Minnesota is followed closely by Iowa and Nebraska at 84%, and South Dakota and Wisconsin at 82%.

Between January and June of 2025, the U.S. Immigrant population fell from 53.3 million to 51.3 million, the first mid-year decline since 1960.  Yet immigrants still make up 19 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force, totaling 32 million workers.

James A. Welcome's analysis of the Migration Policy Institute American Community Survey estimates.  They say states with tighter labor markets, aging workforces, and sustained demand in construction, manufacturing, and healthcare are absorbing immigrant workers at higher rates.  Midwestern states have fewer available workers, which means immigrants enter the workforce more quickly.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says as of 2023, more than 344,000 foreign-born workers accounted for 10.9% of Minnesota's labor force.  The state's foreign-born participation rate is much higher than the native-born participation rate of 68.1%, which ranks #6 in the nation.

The Pew Research Center report estimated that there may be as many as 70,000 unauthorized immigrants in Minnesota's labor force as of 2022, which would be as much as 2.2% of the state's total labor force.  Pew reports that the manufacturing industry has the highest number of unauthorized immigrant workers, while agriculture has the largest share.

The U.S. added an estimated 500,000 immigrants in 2025, down sharply from 2.2 million in 2024, tightening labor supply nationwide.