NYC Has 3 Million Immigrants, And That's Good News For Its Economy

A lot of New York City immigrants make their living and boost the economy by owning a business.

According to Voice of America, half of New York City's 70,000 small businesses are owned by immigrants. 

And almost 30 percent of all of the state's businesses are owned by immigrants. 

Nationwide, immigrants are actually more likely to start a business than someone born in the U.S. 

In NYC, about 37 percent of people are immigrants. And that number is growing. 

With more people, comes a greater economic impact.

In 2013, immigrants contributed $257 billion to the city's economy — a number that's nearly doubled since 2000. 

As for the cities with the largest immigrant population, NYC comes in fifth behind Miami, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  

This video includes clips from Voice of America, Make the Road New York and images from Vladimir Kud / CC BY 2.0, David Jones / CC BY 2.0 and Kathryn, / CC BY 2.0.