In 1970, nine percent of California's population was comprised of immigrants; by 2008 it was 27 percent. A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) finds that as a result of immigration, California now has the least-educated labor force of any state. Historically, California was not a state with a disproportionately large unskilled population, like Appalachia or parts of the South. However, immigration has transformed the state. Absent a change in immigration policy, other parts of the country may be transformed in a similar fashion.
The report, "A State Transformed: Immigration and the New California," can be found at
http://www.cis.org/california-education. Among the findings:
* In 1970 California had the 7th most educated work force of the 50 states in terms of the share of its workers who had completed high school. By 2008, it ranked 50th, making it the least-educated state. One in six workers in the state has not graduated high school.
* The decline in education in California is large relative to other states. The percentage of Californians who have completed high school has increased since 1970; however, all other states made much more progress in improving education levels. As a result, California has fallen behind the rest of the country.
* The large relative decline in education in California is a direct result of immigration. Without immigrants, the share of California's labor force that has completed high school would be above the national average.
* There is no indication that California will soon close the educational gap. California ranks 35th in terms of the share of its 19-year-olds who have completed high school. Moreover, one-third of the adult immigrants who settled in the state in 2007 and 2008 had not completed high school, adding 91,000 new unskilled adults to the state.
* In 1970, California was right at the national average in terms of income inequality, ranking 25th in the nation. By 2008, it was the 6th most unequal state in the country based on the commonly used Gini coefficient, which measures how evenly income is distributed.
* California's income distribution in 2008 was more unequal than was Mississippi's in 1970.
* While historical data on welfare are not available, we can say that in 2008 California ranked 11th highest in terms of the share of its households accessing at least one major welfare program and 8th highest in terms of the share of the state's population without health insurance.
* The large share of California's adults who have very little education is likely to strain social services and make it challenging for the state to generate sufficient tax revenue to cover the demands for services made by its large unskilled population.
