How international students benefit the US economy – Report

The US$43.8 billion that 1.1 million international students in the United States contributed to the American economy during the 2023-24 academic year supported 378,175 jobs, according to new data released by NAFSA: Association of International Educators in partnership with JB International, published online on 18 November.

This year’s economic contribution by international students surpasses last year’s figure by 7%, when spending by international students supported 368,339 jobs, according to NAFSA’s analysis of enrollment data from the 2023-24 Open Doors® initiative Report prepared by of the US Department of State and the Institute of International Education.

According to Open Doors®, 502,291 international graduate students (8% more than last year) comprise the largest group of the 1.1 million international students in the US. The number of undergraduate international students in the US declined by 1% to 342,875.

Non-degree students – mainly students who go to the US for intensive English training – fell to 38,742, a 12% year-over-year decline. Further, almost a quarter of a million (242,782) were enrolled in Optional Practical Training courses, post-graduation work programmes that provide practical experience in the student’s field of study.

Warning notes

While welcoming the news that the economic activity generated by international students was the highest NAFSA has recorded in 25 years of tracking this metric, NAFSA’s Executive Director and CEO, Fanta Aw, sounded notes of warning, one concerning the international student trendlines and the other informed by Donald J Trump’s re-election last week.

“We cannot be complacent. The annual increase is about half of what it was the year before, signalling the pent-up demand for US education following the pandemic is subsiding. Meanwhile, competition for the world’s best and the brightest is increasing,” said Aw in a press release issued on 18 November.

Aw continued by calling for the US to “adopt more proactive policies to attract and retain global talent. We cannot afford to lose international students’ meaningful positive impact on American students’ global competence, our economies, and our communities, particularly in the areas of STEM-related research and innovation”.

Aw told University World News: “We’ll be paying close attention as we transition from one administration to another to things like visa denials and the time it takes international students to get visas, which can slow down international students.

“We know that policies matter. We can look at other countries [like Canada or Britain] where policies to limit international students are in place and what has happened there.”

Which states benefit most?

According to NAFSA, New York State benefits the most per international student: its 135,000 international students contribute US$6.3 billion, for an average of US$46,487, that supports 51,719 jobs.

Each of the 140,858 international students in California spent an average of US$45,434 (for a total of US$6.4 billion) that supported 55,114 jobs. The economic contribution to Massachusetts made by the 82,306 international students is US$3.9 billion, which supported 35,849 jobs.

These are global centres, said Aw, so it isn’t surprising that they would attract a large number of international students and that the economic impact would be so large. However, she added that it is important to pay attention to smaller states too.

In fact, NAFSA’s analysis shows that states that are decidedly cool to immigrants, such as Florida and Texas, benefitted greatly from international students, as did smaller states like Iowa. In the past year the Republican governors of the two states have put tens of thousands of asylum seekers on buses to New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other Democratic-run cities.

The 89,546 international students in Texas paid into the Lonestar State’s economy US$2.5 billion, which supported 22,112 jobs. In Florida, 12,555 jobs were supported by the US$1.5 billion international students contributed to the Sunshine State’s economy.

Forty-two per cent of Iowans surveyed by Emerson College Polling (Boston, Massachusetts) in the month before the election, said that immigration has had a “negative impact” on Iowa, while 32% said it had a ‘positive impact’ and 24% were ‘unsure’.

Iowa hosts 8,515 international students. Their contribution to the state is US$217.9 million, which supports 1,858 jobs; on average, each international student contributes US$31,935.

Opposition to immigrants is five percentage points higher in the nearby state of Kansas (47%), while only 28% think it is positive for the state. Here too, the state benefits from international students: 8,685 contribute US$236.1 million, which produces more than 1,500 jobs.

Aw’s analysis of these figures is twofold. First, she pointed out that smaller cities and towns are benefiting from international students because there are very good institutions in many of these cities and towns.

“Secondly, it’s important to keep in mind – and I have experienced this on visits to some of these places – that those places are welcoming to students, especially once the students are part of the community. Whether it’s Kansas or some other place, the students going there are often graduate students who live off campus.

“So even in areas where we’re seeing tensions over immigration, once people get to know the students and once people understand what the students can bring to the community, they are not as unwelcoming as they are portrayed.”

Aw went on to address why thousands of international students choose small places in Idaho or Kansas. “Based on my talks with international students, they like the ‘small town’ feel. They like the wide, expansive spaces that, in some way, remind them of home,” she said.

International students at community colleges

More than 43% of American college students are enrolled in two-year community colleges which, in addition to hands-on training and certificates in such traditional fields as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, in many cases now offer BAs in fields like interior decorating and supply management.

Almost all two-year colleges are part of the ‘escalator’ system that allows students to take general courses (for example, essay or business writing) at these much less expensive schools and then enter their state university system as an advanced sophomore (second year) or directly into junior, or third year, of the four-year BA universities in their state.

NAFSA provides an analysis of the financial contribution of the 59,000 international students who go to the US to study in community colleges. These students contribute an additional US$2 billion to the American economy and create almost 8,500 jobs.

The state with the largest number of international students studying in community colleges is California with 13,989 students. These students contribute US$591.1 million to the economy, which produces 2,534 jobs.

According to Open Doors®, 11,676 international students enrol in Texas’ community colleges, making Texas the second most popular destination. These students contribute $327.8 million (or $28,074 each), which generates 1,403 jobs.

The third most popular state for these students to study in is Washington State. The 5,630 who study in Washington contribute $163.7 million, which produces 651 jobs in this Pacific Northwest state.

Financial benefit of English language programmes

Open Doors® also supplies economic data on a third group of international students often forgotten: those who come to the US to study in English language programmes. The 9,782 international students who are in English language programmes contribute US$371.3 million, which translates into 2,691 jobs nationwide.

“For every three international students enrolled in a college or university English language programme,” stated Open Doors®, one US job is created.

The 1,410 international students studying English in Texas’ universities and junior colleges contributed $42.8 million that created 259 jobs. California’s 1,248 international students studying English pumped $63.6 million into the state and produced 541 jobs. Florida’s 1,094 was the second largest group; together they contributed $36.3 million, which produced 239 jobs.

Even small states benefitted. Mississippi hosted 175 students studying English, who contributed US$1.4 million that supported 11 jobs in one of the poorest states in the nation. Nine jobs were created by the US$1.2 million that 389 English Second Language students contributed to Oklahoma.

The significance of education expenses

According to Open Doors®, overall 51% of the $43.8 billion international students contribute to the American economy is spent on education expenses, for example, tuition and fees. Almost 20% is spent on accommodation, 12% on dining and 10% on retail purchases. Two per cent is spent on telecom, health insurance and transport each.

NAFSA’s International Student Economic Value Tool (ISEVT) shows regional variations when it comes to the cost of higher education. In Rhode Island, higher education accounts for 64% of each student’s contribution to the economy, meaning it is 11% more expensive.

In Washington State the figure is 47% while in California accommodation is 49% of each student’s contribution to that state’s economy. In Texas the figure is 48%, as it is in Kansas, and 47% in Nebraska.

International students ‘unnerved’

NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the world’s largest and most comprehensive non-profit association dedicated to international education and exchange, with a network of more than 10,000 professionals in the field at some 3,500 institutions in more than 150 countries.

At the end of the interview, Aw spoke directly to international students who, following Donald Trump’s re-election, are ‘unnerved’.

NAFSA and its partners, Aw told University World News: “Understand that this is a challenging time. What we say to those international students is: ‘You are welcome here. And you are welcome for a myriad of reasons.

“Our institutions are keen on having international students. We have communities that are keen on having international students. And furthermore, we know through our US for Success Coalition and other stakeholders, ‘we know what you bring to our shores’.”

Open Doors® is sponsored by the US Department of State and the Institute of International Education as well as Education USA and USA Study Abroad.