The Center for Immigration Studies has reported that 70.3% of immigrant-headed households in New York utilized at least one major welfare program, compared to 45.2% of households led by U.S.-born residents. This announcement was made in a recent report.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), household participation in major means-tested programs, such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), housing assistance, and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is measured to analyze trends across demographic groups and states.
In New York, the report highlights that 70.3 percent of immigrant-headed households used one or more major welfare programs in 2021, compared with 45.2 percent of U.S.-born-headed households — marking a 25.1 percentage-point difference. The rate for non-citizen households in the state was noted as being 22.8 percentage points higher than that of the U.S.-born population, with both differences described as statistically significant.
The report further notes that both New York and California maintain relatively generous welfare systems, particularly towards immigrants. The high participation rates in New York are cited as the highest among the four largest U.S. states. Lower rates were found in Texas and Florida, attributed partly to less extensive state welfare provisions.
Established in 1985, the Center for Immigration Studies is an independent nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C., focusing on immigration’s demographic, economic, and fiscal impacts. The center regularly publishes data analyses and policy reports related to immigration trends within the United States.
