DiNapoli: New York owes its success to immigrants, and the data backs it up

New York is widely known as a cultural mosaic because of the variety of immigrants that have chosen to call it home. There is no other place in the country where you will find such a wide array of backgrounds.

And this much-needed variety is what helps to make New York the great state that it is.

My office recently issued a report focused on the growing Hispanic population in New York state. My office routinely produces reports that examine the contributions of New Yorkers across the state. These reports help shine a light on how state and local policies impact New Yorkers and serve as a resource as decisions are made that will help shape the future of our state for generations to come.

Our report, “The Hispanic Community in New York State,” shows that the contributions of Hispanics have played a key role in shaping the state as we know it today.

According to our report, nearly 3.7 million New York residents are Hispanic – about 20 percent of our total population.

Nearly half of Hispanic New Yorkers were born in New York.

While there are Hispanic New Yorkers living in every city and county across the state,

87 percent of Hispanics reside in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County.

While a number of Hispanics have relocated to New York from many different places, our report shows that more than 30 percent of Hispanic New Yorkers are of Puerto Rican heritage and nearly a quarter have roots in the Dominican Republic.

Our report also examined other factors that impact our state’s economy such as education, employment and business ownership in the Hispanic community.

As of 2013, more than 75 percent of Hispanic New Yorkers aged 18 to 24 had earned a high school diploma (or its equivalent), up sharply from 57 percent in 2000. And Hispanics accounted for 17 percent of New York’s labor force.

Entrepreneurship and business ownership are on the rise in the Hispanic community. The report found that between 1997 and 2012, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses more than doubled, from 104,000 to nearly 268,000. This means that 13 percent of all businesses in New York are owned by Hispanics.

Sales and receipts of Hispanic-owned businesses in New York totaled more than $24 billion in 2012.

The growth and impact of the contributions of Hispanics are visible across the country.

From the United States’ earliest days, Hispanic Americans have been vital to this nation’s progress – defending our country in war, running successful businesses and pioneering scientific and technological breakthroughs.

The contributions of the Hispanic community are an important reminder that much of our success is due to the hard work and talent of immigrants. If not for immigrants, we simply would not be where we are today.

In order to continue building a stronger New York, I encourage everyone to remember that individually we are unique, but together we can move our state forward.

Thomas DiNapoli is the state comptroller.