Cities Where the Construction Industry Depends Most on Foreign Workers

As federal immigration enforcement intensifies, industries that depend heavily on foreign-born workers are beginning to feel the strain. One of the most exposed is the U.S. construction sector, where immigrants—both documented and undocumented—make up a substantial share of the workforce. These workers are integral not only to residential and commercial building projects, but also to the maintenance and repair of the nation’s aging infrastructure.

Recent data reveal that in several major U.S. cities, foreign-born workers account for more than half of all construction industry employment. These concentrations are especially notable in parts of the country with large immigrant populations, long-standing labor pipelines, or occupational niches historically filled by foreign workers. As immigration enforcement measures ramp up, these metro areas may face disproportionate labor disruptions, with potential consequences for timelines, costs, and the broader economy.

Key Statistics: Immigrant Labor in the U.S. Construction Industry

• The construction industry has a growing reliance on foreign-born employees. The share of foreign-born workers in the construction industry has trended upward for more than a decade, rebounding after the Great Recession and reaching 26% nationally.
• Immigrant employees make up a majority of the construction industry workforce in several major metros. In cities like Miami, Los Angeles, DC, and Houston, more than half of all construction industry employees are immigrants.
• Drywallers, roofers, and painters are most likely to be foreign-born. More than half of employees in each of these construction-related occupations are immigrants—far above the overall industry average.

Historical Trends: Growth of Foreign-Born Workers in Construction (2009–2025)

With nearly 2.9 million immigrants employed, the construction industry is increasingly made up of foreign-born workers

Data: Foreign-Born Construction Industry Employment Time Series

Year	Total foreign-born employment	Foreign-born employment share
2009	2,443,883	23.3%
2010	2,376,548	23.6%
2011	2,271,770	23.6%
2012	2,169,577	23.5%
2013	2,112,364	23.8%
2014	2,139,427	24.2%
2015	2,221,697	24.6%
2016	2,317,551	25.0%
2017	2,442,213	25.5%
2018	2,537,197	25.6%
2019	2,627,394	25.7%
2020	2,657,558	25.4%
2021	2,734,133	25.5%
2022	2,797,064	25.6%
2023	2,879,267	26.0%

The construction industry workforce includes a wide range of occupations—from traditional roles like construction laborers, plumbers, and carpenters to support roles such as office clerks, accountants, and company executives. Across this full spectrum of construction industry employment, the share of foreign-born workers has steadily increased for more than a decade.

In 2009, immigrants made up 23.3% of all construction industry employees. That share has grown nearly every year since, reaching 26.0% by 2023. Over the same period, the total number of foreign-born employees in the construction sector rose by more than 435,000, from over 2.4 million to nearly 2.9 million. This suggests a gradual but sustained increase in the industry’s reliance on foreign-born workers—a shift that continued through the economic recovery after the Great Recession and into the post-pandemic construction boom.

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Construction Trades With the Highest Concentration of Immigrant Workers

While over 750,000 U.S. construction laborers are foreign-born, 56.9% of drywallers are immigrants

Data: Foreign-Born Construction Employment by Occupation

Occupation	Foreign-born employment share
Drywall & ceiling installers	56.9%
Painters & paperhangers	50.2%
Roofers	50.0%
Flooring & tile installers	46.7%
Construction laborers	42.4%
Brick, block & stonemasons	38.4%
Concrete & terrazzo workers	35.0%
Carpenters	33.3%
Welders & metalworkers	23.6%
Civil engineers	23.1%
Construction supervisors	20.8%
Plumbers & pipefitters	18.8%
Truck & delivery drivers	17.9%
HVAC technicians	17.4%
Sheet metal workers	17.0%

Occupation	Total foreign-born employment
Construction laborers	754,476
Carpenters	364,941
Painters & paperhangers	250,940
Construction managers	151,655
Construction supervisors	120,856
Electricians	115,821
Roofers	105,806
Plumbers & pipefitters	90,874
Drywall & ceiling installers	74,830
HVAC technicians	63,262
Flooring & tile installers	57,631
Brick, block & stonemasons	50,012
Equipment operators	45,602
Truck & delivery drivers	37,391
Civil engineers	29,036

Some of the most essential construction occupations are also the most reliant on foreign-born labor. There are three occupation groups where foreign-born workers make up a majority of the workforce: drywall and ceiling installers (56.9%), painters and paperhangers (50.2%), and roofers (50.0%). Other high-dependence trades include flooring and tile installers (46.7%) and construction laborers (42.4%). These roles represent a large portion of on-site construction work and are among the most physically intensive occupations in the industry.

By total headcount, the largest group of foreign-born employees are construction laborers, with 754,476 immigrant workers nationwide. Carpenters (364,941) and painters and paperhangers (250,940) also account for a significant portion of the workforce. These figures highlight both the concentration and scale of immigrant employment in key construction trades.

State Differences: Reliance on Foreign Labor in Construction

521,000 foreign-born workers account for 41.5% of California’s construction industry employment

Data: Foreign-Born Construction Industry Employment by State

State	Foreign-born employment share
California	41.5%
Texas	40.2%
New Jersey	38.7%
Florida	37.9%
New York	37.1%
Nevada	36.3%
Maryland	35.1%
Georgia	29.1%
Connecticut	28.0%
Virginia	27.9%
North Carolina	27.4%
Arizona	26.9%
Massachusetts	26.4%
Illinois	25.5%
New Mexico	23.8%
Colorado	21.4%
Oklahoma	20.8%
South Carolina	20.0%
Arkansas	19.7%
Utah	19.7%
Tennessee	18.9%
Delaware	18.8%
Hawaii	18.7%
Washington	18.5%
Kansas	18.4%
Rhode Island	18.3%
Nebraska	17.6%
Louisiana	16.9%
Oregon	15.7%
Alabama	13.3%
Indiana	10.7%
Idaho	10.2%
Kentucky	8.9%
Wyoming	8.7%
Pennsylvania	8.7%
Michigan	8.3%
Mississippi	8.1%
Iowa	8.0%
Minnesota	7.7%
New Hampshire	7.2%
Missouri	6.5%
Wisconsin	6.2%
Ohio	6.1%
Alaska	5.3%
South Dakota	4.9%
West Virginia	3.4%
North Dakota	3.4%
Vermont	3.2%
Maine	3.1%
Montana	2.9%

State	Total foreign-born employment
California	521,249
Texas	491,132
New Jersey	111,226
Florida	317,831
New York	202,790
Nevada	41,129
Maryland	81,888
Georgia	102,493
Connecticut	31,474
Virginia	77,050
North Carolina	102,158
Arizona	68,723
Massachusetts	59,377
Illinois	86,931
New Mexico	15,704
Colorado	52,280
Oklahoma	27,537
South Carolina	33,939
Arkansas	19,126
Utah	25,893
Tennessee	43,080
Delaware	6,334
Hawaii	9,121
Washington	50,770
Kansas	16,910
Rhode Island	6,404
Nebraska	12,943
Louisiana	28,339
Oregon	21,372
Alabama	20,336
Indiana	23,014
Idaho	8,354
Kentucky	11,626
Wyoming	2,089
Pennsylvania	33,007
Michigan	23,105
Mississippi	6,972
Iowa	8,984
Minnesota	14,475
New Hampshire	3,915
Missouri	13,099
Wisconsin	11,808
Ohio	20,572
Alaska	1,223
South Dakota	1,640
West Virginia	1,694
North Dakota	1,032
Vermont	825
Maine	1,680
Montana	1,439

While 26% of U.S. construction industry employment is foreign-born, this immigrant dependence is not distributed equally. Foreign-born workers make up a substantial share of the construction workforce along the West Coast, the Southwest, and the Northeast. California leads the nation with 521,249 foreign-born construction industry employees, representing 41.5% of the state’s total construction workforce. Texas follows with 491,132 foreign-born workers (40.2%), while New Jersey (38.7%), Florida (37.9%), and New York (37.1%) round out the top five. Together, these five states account for more than 1.6 million immigrant construction industry employees nationwide.

At the other end of the spectrum, foreign-born workers make up only a small fraction of the construction workforce in many Mountain West and New England states. In Montana, Maine, and Vermont, fewer than 3.5% of construction industry employees are foreign-born. These regional differences reflect long-standing immigration settlement patterns as well as variations in local labor supply and industry demand.

These statewide trends are even more pronounced at the metro level. In several large urban areas, foreign-born workers make up more than half of all construction industry employment. The share is highest in Miami (66.2%), followed by Los Angeles (53.7%), Washington, D.C. (51.7%), and Houston (51.4%). Other major metros with high immigrant concentrations include New York (48.9%), San Francisco (47.0%), and San Jose (47.0%). These patterns reflect the geographic clustering of immigrant populations, the scale of urban construction activity, and the deep integration of foreign-born labor into local building trades.

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Below is a complete breakdown of foreign-born construction industry employment across more than 260 metropolitan areas and all 50 states. The analysis was conducted by researchers at Construction Coverage, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For more information, refer to the methodology section.

Top & Bottom Cities for Immigrant Construction Labor

Top & Bottom States for Immigrant Construction Labor

*Percentage of construction employees who are foreign-born

Full Results: Foreign Construction Worker Dependency by Location

Methodology

To determine the locations where the construction industry depends most on foreign workers, researchers at Construction Coverage used the latest available data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Locations were ranked by the percentage of construction employees who are foreign-born, and in the event of a tie, locations with the greater number of construction employees who are foreign-born were ranked higher. The total construction industry employment and the percentage of all workers who are foreign-born were also calculated.

For relevance, only metropolitan areas with complete data were included, and metros were grouped into the following population cohorts: small (less than 350,000), midsize (350,000–1,000,000), and large (more than 1,000,000).

References

1. U.S. Census Bureau (2023). American Community Survey. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs.