Immigrant and Native Consumption of Means‐​Tested Welfare and Entitlement Benefits in 2016: Evidence from the Survey of Income and Program Participation

Abstract

The federal government spent more than $2.3 trillion in 2016 on the welfare state, an amount equal to approximately 60 percent of all federal outlays in that year. About $1.6 trillion of those expenditures went to Social Security and Medicare, and the other roughly $700 billion was used to fund means-tested welfare benefits. Based on data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we find that immigrants consume 21 percent less welfare and entitlement benefits than native-born Americans on a per capita basis. The per capita cost of providing welfare to immigrants is substantially less than the per capita cost of providing welfare to native-born Americans.

Keywords: Welfare, Immigration, Native-Born, Americans, Federal Spending, Social Security, Medicare, Survey of Income and Program Participation, SNAP, SSI, TANF, WIC

JEL Classification: H5, H50, H51, H53, H55, I30, I31, I32, I39