What percent of jobs in California are held by immigrants?
Data updated August 20, 2024
About 32.6% in 2022. Immigrants are foreign-born residents, including those who became US citizens, are authorized to work in the US, or are undocumented.
Showing data for
In 2022
1 in 3
employed workers were immigrants
In 2022
32.6%
of employed workers were immigrants
While immigrants hold 32.6% of jobs, they make up 32.0% of the working-age population in the state. This indicates a slightly higher employment rate than expected. The working-age population includes everyone aged 16 and above.
Immigrant percentage of employed workers in California
Immigrant workforce participation varies across industries. In California, the largest difference between foreign-born and native-born workers was in the agriculture/mining industry, where 3.7% of the foreign-born working-age population were employed compared to 1.2% of native-born workers.
Percentage of employed population in California, by sector of employment (2022)
Subscribe to get unbiased, data-driven insights sent to your inbox weekly.
The labor force participation rate for immigrants in California was 63.8%, slightly higher than the 63.2% rate for the native-born population. This shows that immigrants were seeking work at a slightly higher rate than the native-born population in the state.
Comparing immigrant percentage of employed workers of California metro areas to others
