How immigration is affecting economic growth in the St. Louis area

By St. Louis Business Journal

While immigration has been a political flashpoint in recent years, new data shows metro-level economic growth has been strongest in communities with rising foreign-born populations.

That’s according to findings from Brookings Institution’s annual Metro Monitor research, which analyzed how economic growth among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas related to changes in their share of foreign-born, working-age population over a decade.

According to the data, the metros that ranked in the top quartile for increases in foreign-born population also posted stronger economic growth (as measured by gross metropolitan product), higher employment growth and higher average wages — among several other metrics.

In the St. Louis market, foreign-born workers increased only 1.7 percentage points, from 5.5% of the workforce in 2014 to 7.2% in 2024. St. Louis ranked 35th out of 55 markets with 1 million or more residents for growth of foreign-born workers.

For overall economic growth, the St. Louis metro ranked 40th among the 55 metros in its peer group, according to the Brookings rankings. Its Midwest peer Chicago ranked 46th, while Kansas City came in 24th, with most high-growth metros situated in the Southeast and on the West Coast, according to the rankings.

The St. Louis region ranked 35th among the 55 peer metros for prosperity, a measure that captures the changes of the average wealth and income produced by the population.

Wage growth ranked 39th among the 55 peer metro areas, with St. Louis' average annual wage rising 8.6% to $80,496 in 2024 from 2014.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis area's Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — the value of goods and services produced by a population — increased 19.1% between 2014 and 2024, placing the region 42nd among 55 peer metros.

Federal data consistently show that the St. Louis metro's population struggles would be worse but not for immigrants.

Read more here.