As a record construction boom collides with chronic labor shortages, the U.S. construction industry is more reliant on immigrant workers than ever, and a new study says nearly half of all construction workers in Gainesville are immigrant. In Georgia, that number is 29.1 percent.
Nationwide, over a quarter of the construction workforce is foreign-born—and in several major metros, that figure exceeds 50%. As federal immigration enforcement ramps up, these markets in particular could see crews thin out, costs climb, and key projects delayed.
A new analysis from Construction Coverage identifies the U.S. metros and states where the construction industry depends most on foreign workers, analyzing the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau to rank locations by the percentage of construction employees who are foreign-born.
Key Findings:
- Immigrant workers in Gainesville metro construction: The Gainesville metro construction industry employs a total of 4,362 foreign-born workers. Overall, 40.0% of its construction industry workforce is foreign-born—the 5th largest share of any small U.S. metro.
- Nationwide, 1 in 4 construction workers are immigrants: The share of foreign-born workers in the construction industry has trended upward for more than a decade, rebounding after the Great Recession and standing at 26% today.
- Drywallers, roofers, and painters are most likely to be foreign-born, with immigrants making up over half of the country’s workers in each trade. Other high-dependence roles include flooring and tile installers and construction laborers.
The full report covers over 260 U.S. metros and all 50 states, with a detailed breakdown of the share and number of foreign-born construction workers, total construction employment, and the percentage of all workers who are foreign-born in each location.
The full report is available here: https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-where-the-construction-industry-depends-most-on-foreign-workers