Immigrants in Connecticut

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This profile of Connecticut's immigrants is intended to help policymakers, state planners, and service providers better understand the size, characteristics, and needs of the state's immigrant population. Beyond the basic demographics of the foreign-born population, the report focuses on immigrants in the labor force and health care access for different immigrant groups. Findings in the report are based on data from the 2000 Census, the 2004 American Community Survey (ACS), and the 2002-04 U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplements. The data were supplemented by focus groups in Hartford, Danbury, and New Haven with health care providers and Spanish-speaking immigrants who are uninsured or covered by HUSKY. Following are highlights from the report.

• The foreign-born share of Connecticut's population (12 percent) is about the national average, but Connecticut's immigrants have more diverse origins. Nationally, Latin American and Caribbean immigrants account for over half of all immigrants, and Mexican immigrants alone for almost a third. But in 2004, only 22 percent of Connecticut's immigrants were Latin American—equal to the share of Asians. A much higher share of immigrants in Connecticut came from Europe or Canada (38 percent), and a higher share than the national average came from the Caribbean (14 percent). The two most common countries of birth for Connecticut immigrants were Poland (8 percent) and Jamaica (7 percent).
• Half of Connecticut's immigrants are naturalized citizens, compared with a third nationally. In 2004 the share of Connecticut immigrants who were undocumented (20 percent) was lower than the national average (29 percent). Connecticut's immigrants have been in the United States a relatively long time and are more likely to come from countries in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean that have high naturalization rates.
• Latin Americans are the most recent and fastest growing immigrant population; European immigrants are an older, shrinking population. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Mexican and Central American immigrants in Connecticut grew by 310 percent, and the number of South Americans grew by 125 percent. The number of Asian immigrants increased by more than 75 percent, and the number of Caribbean immigrants rose by 68 percent. The number of European and Canadian immigrants, however, fell by 9 percent, as many older immigrants from the last great wave of migration passed away. Over half of Latin American and Asian immigrants entered the country between 1990 and 2000, while 60 percent of European immigrants entered before 1980.
• Connecticut's immigrants are concentrated in large cities and the suburban areas adjacent to New York City. The pattern of immigrant concentration shows clustering primarily in three areas: Fairfield County (including Stamford, Danbury, Bridgeport, and towns in between), the Hartford metropolitan area, and the New Haven-Waterbury area. In 2000 the half-dozen towns with the most immigrants were Stamford (35,000), Bridgeport (29,000), Hartford (23,000), Danbury (20,000), Norwalk (17,000), and New Haven (14,000).
• Latin Americans are the poorest immigrants; median incomes for some Asian immigrants exceed the incomes of U.S.-born Connecticut residents. Compared with the rest of the nation, Connecticut has a relatively low poverty rate. The state's immigrants, however, had a slightly higher poverty rate in 2000 than native-born residents (16 versus 12 percent). Nearly a third (31 percent) of immigrants from Mexico and Central America were poor, compared with only 11 percent of European immigrants. The median family income for Asian immigrants— excluding Southeast Asians—was slightly above the median for native-born residents ($40,000) and over twice as high as that of Mexican and Central American immigrants ($18,000).
• Latin American, Caribbean, and Southeast Asian immigrants are the least educated and the most likely to be limited English proficient (LEP); other Asian immigrants are more likely to have college degrees than U.S.-born adults. In 2000 over half (55 percent) of Mexican and Central American immigrants age 25 and over lacked high school degrees, compared with 40 percent of Southeast Asian immigrants, 34 percent of Caribbean immigrants, 30 percent of European immigrants, 29 percent of South American immigrants, and just 14 percent of native-born Connecticut residents. Two-thirds of Asian immigrants—excluding Southeast Asians—had four-year college degrees or more, compared with one-third of nativeborn residents and roughly one-tenth of Mexican/Central American and Caribbean immigrants. Two-thirds of Latin American immigrants and Southeast Asian immigrants were LEP, compared with about one-third of other Asian immigrants and one-quarter of Caribbean immigrants.
• The best-educated workers earn the highest wages, regardless of whether they are immigrants. In 1999 college-educated immigrants earned more than twice as much as high school dropouts ($23 versus $11 an hour), and natives earned about the same amount as immigrants at equivalent levels of education. Approximately 50 percent of foreign- and native-born workers with less than a high school degree earned below twice the minimum wage in 1999, compared with just 12 percent of native-born and 18 percent of foreign-born workers with a college degree or more.
• As the share of immigrants in Connecticut's labor force is increasing, the number of native-born workers in the state is falling. Between 1990 and 2000, the immigrant working-age population (18 to 64) in Connecticut increased by 40 percent for men, and 34 percent for women, at a time when the U.S.-born working-age population fell (by 4 percent for men and 3 percent for women). Without immigration, Connecticut's working-age population would have declined during the 1990s.
• The population of well-educated immigrants is growing faster than less-educated immigrants in Connecticut; as a result, the state's foreign-born population is becoming much better educated over time. Among men age 25 and over, the number of college-educated immigrants increased 53 percent between 1990 and 2000; the number of college-educated immigrant women almost doubled (88 percent). The number of U.S.-born men and women with college degrees grew much more modestly, by 8 and 25 percent, respectively. By contrast, the number of immigrants without high school degrees grew by less than 10 percent among men and actually fell among women.
• Connecticut's immigrants are most heavily concentrated in low-skilled industries, but their numbers are growing rapidly in high-skilled industries. In 2000, accommodation and food employed the highest share of immigrants (21 percent), followed by other services (18 percent), administrative/support (18 percent), manufacturing (17 percent), and construction (16 percent). The share of immigrant workers without high school degrees was over 25 percent in all these industries. Yet, between 1990 and 2000, the number of immigrants grew rapidly in professional, scientific, and technical (92 percent) and information (81 percent)—sectors where the share of immigrants without high school degrees was under 10 percent.
• Hispanic immigrant adults who are not U.S. citizens are the most likely to be uninsured. In 2001-03, almost half of Connecticut's Hispanic noncitizen adults age 19 to 64 were uninsured. Following national patterns, Hispanic noncitizens were about twice as likely as other noncitizens and native-born Hispanics to be uninsured; Hispanic noncitizens were four times as likely as non-Hispanic white natives to be uninsured. Uninsurance rates were about the same for naturalized citizens as for U.S.-born citizens.
• Hispanic children with noncitizen parents are the most likely children to be uninsured. In Connecticut, about a quarter of Hispanic children under age 19 with noncitizen parents were uninsured in 2001-03. Hispanic children with noncitizen parents are about three times more likely than Hispanic children with U.S.-born citizen parents to be uninsured. Among children from other ethnic groups, however, there are no major differences in insurance coverage between children with noncitizen parents and those with U.S.-born citizen parents.
• Uninsured immigrants have limited health care access, especially in areas not served by community health centers. In two of our study sites—Hartford and New Haven—uninsured adults and children can access primary care through community health centers (CHCs), hospitals, and other clinic settings. Primary care options are more limited in Danbury, which is not served by a CHC. The uninsured in smaller towns and rural areas have few options and often travel long distances to major urban areas for their health care. Uninsured immigrants in all three study sites have difficulty finding specialty, dental, and mental health care, as well as affording prescriptions. Up-front payment, billing, and HUSKY application requirements sometimes deter the uninsured from seeking care in emergency rooms (ERs) and other hospital facilities.
• Recent changes in HUSKY eligibility rules for noncitizens have created confusion and deterred legal immigrants from applying for coverage. There is considerable confusion about whether legal immigrants are eligible for HUSKY depending on how long they have lived in the United States. New requirements to verify their sponsors' income are deterring legal immigrants from applying for HUSKY and stoking their fears that applying for insurance coverage may prevent them from becoming citizens or sponsoring their family members to immigrate. Additionally, some immigrant parents have younger, U.S.-citizen children who are eligible for HUSKY and older noncitizen children who are ineligible noncitizens; these parents find it frustrating to have health care coverage for some children and not others.
• Long waiting times and difficulties setting appointments create significant barriers to health care access for immigrants, as well as other uninsured people. Health care providers for the uninsured have limited capacity, especially in Danbury where there is no CHC; when health care staff are absent or retire, providers' capacities are further reduced. The providers we interviewed have high no-show rates—above 30 percent in some cases—that make scheduling appointments and predicting patient load very difficult. Immigrants and other low-income patients often arrive at appointments too early or too late, and then have to wait a long time to see a health professional. They may also come to appointments with previously undiagnosed health conditions, which may lengthen visits and complicate scheduling. Immigrants may miss appointments because of transportation difficulties, illnesses or other family emergencies, and the reluctance of employers—especially in low-wage industries such as agriculture, construction, and housekeeping—to allow their employees to take sick leave.

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