More than half of Gateway City downtowns are immigrant-serving
Of the 25 Massachusetts Gateway City downtowns, 14 (56%) are located in census tracts where at least 30% of the population is foreign-born.
14 immigrant-serving
11 not immigrant-serving
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 5-Year Estimates (B05001, B05002). Threshold: ≥30% foreign-born at census tract level. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Share of neighborhood retail districts that are immigrant-serving
42% of neighborhood commercial districts are immigrant-serving
Of 526 neighborhood commercial micro districts across the 25 Gateway Cities, 221 (42%) meet the immigrant-serving threshold.
221 immigrant-serving
305 not immigrant-serving
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 5-Year Estimates (B05001, B05002). Threshold: ≥30% foreign-born at census tract level. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Jobs in immigrant-serving downtowns as a share of all downtown jobs, 2023
Nine in ten downtown jobs are in immigrant-serving areas
Jobs in immigrant-serving downtowns as a share of all downtown jobs across Gateway Cities, 2023. 420,277 of 462,429 downtown jobs (91%) are in immigrant-serving downtowns.
420,277 jobs in imm-serving
42,152 jobs in non-imm-serving
Source: U.S. Census Bureau LODES 8 WAC 2023; ACS 2022 5-Year Estimates (B05001, B05002). Downtown jobs only. Threshold: ≥30% foreign-born at census tract level. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Excluding Boston, more than half of downtowns are still immigrant-serving
Of the 24 remaining Gateway City downtowns, 13 (54%) meet the 30% foreign-born threshold.
13 immigrant-serving
11 not immigrant-serving
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 5-Year Estimates (B05001, B05002). Boston excluded. Threshold: ≥30% foreign-born at census tract level. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Even without Boston, seven in ten downtown jobs are in immigrant-serving areas
Jobs in immigrant-serving downtowns as a share of all downtown jobs, 2023. Boston excluded.
104,981 jobs in imm-serving
42,152 jobs in non-imm-serving
Source: U.S. Census Bureau LODES 8 WAC 2023; ACS 2022 5-Year Estimates. Boston excluded. Downtown jobs only. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Job growth in immigrant-serving downtowns as a share of net job growth, 2019–2023
Downtown jobs declined across Gateway Cities from 2019 to 2023
Net change in downtown jobs, 2019–2023, excluding Boston. Immigrant-serving downtowns accounted for 89% of the total decline of 5,271 jobs.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau LODES 8 WAC, 2019 & 2023. Boston excluded. Downtown districts only. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Immigrant-serving downtowns saw a steeper drop in employment
Total downtown jobs in 2019 vs. 2023, excluding Boston. Immigrant-serving downtowns fell 4.3% while non-immigrant-serving fell 1.3%.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau LODES 8 WAC, 2019 & 2023. Boston excluded. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Immigrant-serving downtowns drove nearly nine-tenths of the job loss
Share of net downtown job decline (2019–2023) attributable to each category, excluding Boston.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau LODES 8 WAC, 2019 & 2023. Boston excluded. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Jobs in immigrant-serving neighborhood commercial areas as a share of all NC jobs, 2023
Immigrant-serving neighborhoods hold a slim majority of commercial district jobs
Jobs in immigrant-serving neighborhood commercial areas as a share of all neighborhood commercial area jobs, 2023. Excluding Boston.
57,400 jobs in imm-serving
51,680 jobs in non-imm-serving
Source: U.S. Census Bureau LODES 8 WAC 2023; ACS 2022 5-Year Estimates. Boston excluded. Neighborhood commercial districts only. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Job growth in immigrant-serving NC areas as a share of net NC job growth, 2019–2023
Non-immigrant-serving neighborhoods grew jobs faster since 2019
Neighborhood commercial job change, 2019–2023, excluding Boston. Non-immigrant-serving areas grew 6.1% vs. 3.1% for immigrant-serving.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau LODES 8 WAC, 2019 & 2023. Boston excluded. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Non-immigrant-serving areas captured nearly two-thirds of net job growth
Share of net neighborhood commercial job growth (2019–2023) by category, excluding Boston.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau LODES 8 WAC, 2019 & 2023. Boston excluded. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Four cities have every district classified as immigrant-serving
Share of micro districts classified as immigrant-serving in each Gateway City. Bold names with ○ indicate the downtown itself is immigrant-serving.
Immigrant-serving districts
Not immigrant-serving
Downtown is immigrant-serving
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 5-Year Estimates (B05001, B05002); LODES 8 WAC 2023. Classification threshold: ≥30% foreign-born at census tract level. REUTERS GRAPHICS
Immigrant-serving districts cluster in Greater Boston and the Merrimack Valley
Map of all downtown and neighborhood commercial micro districts across the 25 Gateway Cities. Click a city to zoom in.