Immigrants account for close to 15% of the Alamo City’s GDP, the new survey found.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio is now the sixth-largest city in the nation, just having passed Philadelphia as the population in the Alamo City explodes. And a new report shows how committed the city is to diversity, history and immigrants who, according to the study, are integral to the fabric of the city.
The City of San Antonio worked with the American Immigration Council to look at the demographics and importance of economic contributions of immigrants in the Alamo City. The numbers show how important immigrants are to the backbone of the city.
“They came to San Antonio because of opportunities. Some of them tried smaller towns or smaller cities, other states. It is just not as big as an opportunity is here,” said Alicia Kuder, talking about many of her friends who are immigrants and moved to the Alamo City.
She knows how important immigrants are to this melting pot.
“They keep a lot of things running,” she said. “A lot of the work here.”
“This is something we knew in District 3,” said Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran. “The importance of the immigrant community, the importance of how they contribute to our community and our growth, and how we build this city and tell our story here in San Antonio.”
The report found more than 12% of the population of San Antonio is made up of immigrants. It also found more than 21% of the population’s growth is directly attributable to immigrants.
And about 20% of households in San Antonio, or one in five, has at least one immigrant.
When it comes to the city’s gross domestic product (GDP), about 14% of the total GDP of San Antonio comes from immigrants spending money right here, totaling more than $25 billion.
Viagran said that as the city keeps growing, immigrants are essential to its survival, especially in her district on the city’s south side that has a high concentration of Hispanics.
“We really have grown up with that and understanding the importance of that,” she said. “To understand that, to make sure that we have rules and opportunities available so that people can work and contribute.”