How much revenue do undocumented immigrants contribute to Texas economy?

1. What the clearest, most recent tax number says

The most precise and recent statewide figure available in the reporting is that undocumented Texans paid $4.9 billion in state and local taxes in 2022, a figure produced in ITEP’s 2024 analysis and highlighted by Every Texan ^{[2] [1]}. ITEP’s methodology isolates taxes borne by undocumented residents—mostly sales, excise and property taxes in Texas’s no-income-tax system—and the organization notes this captures only direct tax payments, not the wider economic ripple effects undocumented residents produce ^[6].

2. Broader measures: wages, taxes at all levels, and economic output

When analysts look beyond state and local taxes to wages, federal taxes, and gross state product, the numbers rise: an advocacy analysis cites undocumented workers contributing more than $45 billion in wages to the Texas economy annually and more than $10 billion in combined federal, state and local taxes ^[4]. Other academic and think‑tank work finds that undocumented residents support larger slices of economic activity—state comptroller and academic reviews have estimated billions more in GDP and net fiscal benefit when costs for services are taken into account ^{[3] [7]}.

3. Net fiscal impact: revenues versus public costs

Some cost‑benefit studies attempt to subtract public expenditures—education, health care, corrections—from revenue receipts to estimate net fiscal impact. A Perryman Group / Texas reviews-style analysis and other recent reporting cite figures suggesting undocumented Texans have been a net fiscal benefit, with one estimate showing $11.8 billion in contributions after subtracting about $3.1 billion in state spending ^[3]. Earlier state comptroller work and university replications likewise found that tax receipts from undocumented residents exceeded certain state expenditures in mid‑2000s models ^{[7] [8]}.

4. Why estimates differ: methods, scope, and time

Differences in headline numbers reflect straightforward methodological choices: whether a study counts only state and local taxes or also federal taxes and payroll contributions; whether it measures wages, consumer spending, or GDP; how it imputes population size and tax behavior; and the vintage of the data ^{[2] [5] [3]}. ITEP’s $4.9 billion is narrowly focused and recent; other studies use input‑output modeling to estimate economic multipliers and net fiscal effects across many state services, producing larger and sometimes older estimates ^{[6] [9]}.

5. Caveats, political context, and the research limitations

All measures have limits: undocumented workers can be undercounted in surveys, some work off the books, and changing enforcement or legalization scenarios alter tax behavior—ITEP notes that granting work authorization would likely raise tax collections, while enforcement shifts can reduce willingness to participate in formal tax systems ^{[2] [6]}. Several sources advocating for policy changes also have implicit agendas—policy groups push for legalization to boost revenue, while some business‑backed studies emphasize labor needs—so the reader should weigh methodology and stated purpose when comparing claims ^{[4] [3]}.

6. Bottom line for policymakers and the public

For a direct, defensible answer: undocumented immigrants contributed about $4.9 billion in state and local tax revenue in Texas in 2022 ^{[2] [1]}. If broader metrics are considered—federal taxes, wages, consumer spending, GDP impacts, or net fiscal calculations after public spending—the contribution estimates can climb into the tens of billions or show a net benefit to the state depending on the study and timeframe cited ^{[4] [3] [5]}. The policy implication is consistent across sources: undocumented residents are economically significant in Texas, but exact dollar tallies change with definitions and assumptions ^{[6] [5]}.