Report: U.S.-born individuals have higher median household incomes than immigrants in R.I., gap fifth-largest in U.S.

THESE ARE THE TOP FIVE states where the gap between the median annual income of households led by a U.S.-born person compared with the median annual income of a household led by an immigrant is the greatest. / COURTESY NERDWALLET
THESE ARE THE TOP FIVE states where the gap between the median annual income of households led by a U.S.-born person compared with the median annual income of a household led by an immigrant is the greatest. / COURTESY NERDWALLET

PROVIDENCE – In Rhode Island, the median annual income of households led by a U.S.-born person is $61,213, compared with the $45,503 median annual income of households led by an immigrant, according to NerdWallet, a financial website.
NerdWallet, which released its results on Monday, said it looked at 2015 data to understand how immigrants’ earnings differ by state and how they compare with households led by someone born in the U.S.
It noted that immigrants across the country went on a one-day strike last month to highlight their importance to the U.S. economy.
The study found that the biggest income gap was in Wyoming, where the 2015 median annual income of households headed by an immigrant, $40,145, was nearly $20,000 less than that of households headed by a U.S.-born person, $59,689.
Rhode Island had the fifth-largest income gap between the two groups. North Dakota, Nebraska and Utah rounded out the remainder of the top five.
Connecticut and Massachusetts had the 15th and 16th largest income gaps, respectively, between U.S.-born households and immigrant households. The median household income of a U.S.-born person in Connecticut was $73,373, compared with $60,893 for an immigrant-led household. In Massachusetts, the average U.S.-born person’s median household income was $72,575, while the immigrant’s household income was $60,913.
U.S.-born households earned more than immigrant households in 45 states and Washington, D.C., while the opposite was true in only five states. Immigrant households have a higher median annual income in Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Delaware and Michigan.
The amount of remittances sent from the U.S. to other countries has climbed since 2010, the report also found. Immigrants from Guatemala send nearly 31 percent of their income back to their native country, followed by Honduras at 26 percent and China, 25.7 percent. Immigrants from Laos and Myanmar send less than 1 percent of their income home. The median remittance amount was approximately 6 percent of immigrants’ income across 63 countries analyzed, the report said.
U.S. Census Bureau and other data was used by NerdWallet to come up with its findings.

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