Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Big Cities

Immigrant entrepreneurs have emerged as key engines of growth for big cities from New York to Los Angeles—and with a little planning and support, they could provide an even bigger economic boost in the future.

As the stakes of economic competition grow ever-high in America’s cities, mayors have sought to kick-start local economies by embracing everything from artists and biotechnology companies to sports arenas. For many of the nation’s urban centers, however, a more rewarding—if decidedly less glamorous—answer is hiding in plain sight: tapping their growing immigrant populations.

During the past decade, immigrants have been the entrepreneurial sparkplugs of cities from New York to Los Angeles—starting a greater share of new businesses than native-born residents, stimulating growth in sectors from food manufacturing to health care, creating loads of new jobs, and transforming once-sleepy neighborhoods into thriving commercial centers. Immigrant entrepreneurs in big cities are also becoming one of the most dependable parts of  the cities economy. While elite sectors like finance (New York), entertainment (Los Angeles) and energy (Houston) fluctuate wildly through cycles of boom and bust, immigrants have been starting businesses and creating jobs during both good times and bad.

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