Mapping the Impact of Immigration on Public Schools
By Steven A. Camarota, Bryan Griffith, and Karen Zeigler on June 20, 2023
Steven A. Camarota is director of research, Bryan Griffith is multimedia director, and Karen Zeigler is a demographer at the Center for Immigration Studies.
This analysis merges Census Bureau data with Google Maps API to provide a visual representation of immigration’s (legal and illegal together) impact on public schools at the local level based on the 2,351 Census Bureau-designated Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs). Each PUMA very roughly includes seven high schools on average, which allows the most detailed look at the local level with public-use Census Bureau data. We also report statistics by state and metropolitan area. The findings show that, in many areas, immigration has an enormous effect on schools. The share of students from households headed by an immigrant (legal or illegal) is so large in parts of the country that it raises profound questions about assimilation.
What’s more, immigrant households tend to have more students in school on average than households headed by the U.S.-born. A larger share of students from immigrant households also come from low-income families and speak a foreign language at home. This likely creates significant challenges for many schools, often in areas that are already struggling to educate students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Full Screen Map - Map Picture
Click on the map for detailed data on each PUMA.
Percentage of Public School Students
from Immigrant Households
Click Map for More Data
Among the findings:
The 11 million public school
https://cis.org/Report/Mapping-Impact-Immigration-Public-Schools
