WASHINGTON (February 19, 2025) – Newly arrived adult immigrants are significantly larger in number, poorer, and less educated than those who arrived before the border surge.
That is the finding of a new analysis of Census Bureau survey data by the Center for Immigration Studies. The decline in education is in stark contrast to the steady improvement in the education levels of new immigrants in the years prior to the surge.
Although some immigrants are missed by the surveys, the primary reason for the decline is the enormous increase in the number of illegal immigrants from Latin America, who tend to be significantly less educated than legal immigrants. This deterioration in education levels has profound implications for new immigrants’ economic success as well as their impact on the United States.
“A large body of research shows education level is a key determinant of success in modern America,” said Steven Camarota, the Center’s Director of Research and the report’s lead author. “Significantly increasing the less-educated population has negative implications for immigrant social mobility, American taxpayers, and less-educated American workers who face increased job competition.”
The findings:
- The Current Population Survey (CPS) in the fourth quarter of 2024 showed that 41 percent of adult immigrants (also referred to as the foreign-born in government data) who had lived in the country for less than three years had at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to 46 percent of new arrivals in 2018 before the border surge.
- The CPS also showed that the share of new arrivals with no education beyond high school increased from 36 percent in 2018 to 46 percent in 2024. This was the first time in more than a decade that newcomers with no education beyond high school outnumbered those with a bachelor’s.
- The educational decline is even more pronounced when measured against the U.S.-born, whose education levels have improved. In 2018, the share of new adult immigrants with no education beyond high school roughly matched the U.S.-born. But by 2024, it was 46 percent for new immigrants and 35 percent for the U.S.-born.
- The decline in the education of newcomers is due to a huge numerical increase in the number of less-educated immigrants. The number of new adult immigrants with no education beyond high school is up 103 percent since 2018, while those with at least a bachelor’s is up 44 percent.
- The surge in illegal immigration is reflected in the dramatic increase in new arrivals from Latin America, who tend to be the least educated. Latin Americans increased from 39 percent of new arrivals in 2018 to 62 percent by 2024.
- The decline in education levels has increased the share of new immigrants with low incomes (<200 percent of the poverty threshold). Despite a strong economy, the income gap with the U.S.-born has widened, with 3.5 million low-income newcomers added to the country in just the last three years.
- Looking only at workers shows that the median earnings of new adult immigrant men fell from 80 percent of that of U.S.-born men in 2018 to only 52 percent in 2024.
- The Census Bureau’s other large survey, the American Community Survey (ACS), also shows a decline in the education and income of newcomers, though not as pronounced. This is because the ACS has data through only mid-2023, so it does not fully reflect the surge in illegal immigration during the Biden administration.
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