Kentucky Ranks Sixth Nationwide for Immigrant Workforce Readiness
New research reveals that Kentucky’s foreign-born population is younger and has a higher concentration of working-age residents than many of America’s traditional immigrant gateway states.
Kentucky has emerged as one of the best-positioned states in America for immigrant workforce readiness, according to a new study examining the age profile of foreign-born populations across all 50 states.
Research by The Mendoza Law Firm awarded Kentucky an Immigrant Worker Dependency Score of 83.0 out of 100, placing it sixth nationally.
The state’s strong performance is driven by two key findings: 80.1% of its foreign-born residents are between the ages of 18 and 64, while its median immigrant age is just 40.5.
Together, these figures place Kentucky ahead of six of its seven bordering states and major immigrant destinations including California, New York, Florida and Texas.
Kentucky’s Immigrant Population Is Younger Than the National Average
Kentucky’s median immigrant age of 40.5 is 3.7 years younger than the national average of 44.2. Its proportion of foreign-born residents aged 18 to 64 is also 2.5 percentage points above the nationwide average of 77.6%.
The resulting dependency score of 83.0 is 12.7 points higher than the national average of 70.3.
| Metric | Kentucky | National average |
|---|---|---|
| Median immigrant age | 40.5 | 44.2 |
| Foreign-born residents aged 18–64 | 80.1% | 77.6% |
| Immigrant Worker Dependency Score | 83.0 | 70.3 |
Kentucky has the seventh-youngest immigrant population in the country and ranks within the top 12% of states for overall immigrant workforce readiness.
The findings do not measure employment rates or the number of foreign-born workers in each state. Instead, they show how strongly each state’s immigrant population is concentrated within the conventional working-age bracket and indicate its potential workforce longevity.
Kentucky Leads Six of Its Seven Bordering States
Among Kentucky’s bordering states, only Tennessee achieves a higher score.
Tennessee ranks fifth nationally with a score of 84.5, putting it just 1.5 points ahead of Kentucky. Indiana follows in 10th place with 81.2, while Missouri and Ohio rank 13th and 18th respectively.
| National rank | State | Median immigrant age | Working-age share | Dependency score |
| 5 | Tennessee | 39.9 | 79.6% | 84.5 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 40.5 | 80.1% | 83.0 |
| 10 | Indiana | 41.0 | 79.7% | 81.2 |
| 13 | Missouri | 41.5 | 78.4% | 78.9 |
| 18 | Ohio | 42.3 | 77.5% | 75.9 |
| 30 | Virginia | 45.3 | 78.2% | 67.2 |
| 31 | West Virginia | 44.6 | 74.3% | 67.0 |
| 43 | Illinois | 48.1 | 75.8% | 57.2 |
The greatest differences can be seen between Kentucky and the Appalachian states of Virginia and West Virginia.
Kentucky ranks 24 positions above Virginia and 25 positions above West Virginia. Its score is 15.8 points higher than Virginia’s and 16 points higher than West Virginia’s.
Kentucky’s immigrant population is also 4.8 years younger than Virginia’s and 4.1 years younger than West Virginia’s.
Kentucky Outperforms Traditional Immigrant Gateway States
Although Kentucky is not normally grouped with America’s largest immigrant destinations, its demographic profile outperforms every traditional gateway state included in the study.
Kentucky leads Texas by 13.5 points and California by 32.6 points. It also ranks considerably higher than Illinois, Florida and New York.
| National rank | State | Median immigrant age | Working-age share | Dependency score |
| 6 | Kentucky | 40.5 | 80.1% | 83.0 |
| 28 | Texas | 44.7 | 79.0% | 69.5 |
| 43 | Illinois | 48.1 | 75.8% | 57.2 |
| 47 | Florida | 49.3 | 71.6% | 51.1 |
| 48 | New York | 49.6 | 72.7% | 50.8 |
| 49 | California | 50.1 | 74.6% | 50.4 |
One of the most significant contrasts is between Kentucky and California.
California’s immigrant population has a median age of 50.1, compared with 40.5 in Kentucky. This creates a difference of 9.6 years between the two states.
Kentucky also has a …read more
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