The recently settled teachers' strike in the Los Angeles Unified School district was a bitter dispute about resources, with class size and lack of staff support taking center stage. The tables below show that immigration's impact on the school system is enormous. Immigration has added large numbers of students to the county, but at the same time a very large share of both legal and illegal immigrants have modest levels of education and almost certainly pay less in taxes than natives who have higher levels of education and incomes. Immigration has also added significantly to the number of public-school students in the county who live in poverty and speak a language other than English at home. Overall enrollment has not increased in the district in recent years, but immigration has reduced the proportion of students whose families pay sufficient taxes to cover education costs, creating the ongoing strains on the district budget.
Although it is not possible to use Census Bureau data to look at only residents of L.A. Unified, it is possible to examine Los Angeles County to gain insight into what's happening. We identify legal and illegal immigrants based on the methodology used in this report. The data comes from the public-use files of the Census Bureau's 2012 to 2016 American Community Survey.
Among the findings for L.A. County:
- Public-school students from immigrant-headed households comprise 58 percent of public-school students in Los Angeles County (Table 2).
- Of all students in the county, 22 percent are from illegal-headed households and 36 percent are from legal immigrant households (Table 2).
- The poverty rate for students from both legal and illegal immigrant households is more than 50 percent higher than that of those from native-headed households (Table 1).
- Of students in poverty, 70 percent are from immigrant households — 28 percent from illegal households and 42 percent from legal households (Table 2).
- Of students who speak a language other than English at home, 82 percent are from immigrant households — 35 percent from illegal households and 47 percent from legal households (Table 2).
- 47 percent of illegal-immigrant-headed households are headed by a person who did not graduate high school; the figure is 30 percent for legal-immigrant-headed households. This compares to 7 percent of native-headed households (Table 3).
- The average income of illegal-immigrant-headed households is only 58 percent that of native-headed households; for legal-immigrant-headed households it is 79 percent of native-headed households (Table 4).
- Illegal-immigrant-headed households have three times as many students in public school on average as native-headed households; for legal-immigrant-headed households it is 50 percent higher. (Table 4).
- Illegal immigrants (ages 25-64) are more likely to hold a job (76 percent) than natives (74 percent). The rate for legal immigrants is somewhat lower at 70 percent (Table 5).
Characteristics of Los Angles County
Figures for students are only for those 5-17 in public schools.
Source: 2012-2016 public-use files of the American Community Survey.
Table 1. Students in Los Angles County Based on Household Head's Immigration Status |
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| Students Ages 5 -17 and in Public School |
Number | Number Who Speak a Foreign Language at Home |
Share Who Speak a Foreign Language at Home |
Number in Poverty |
Share in Poverty |
| Native-Headed Households | 607,610 | 149,595 | 25% | 118,771 | 20% |
| All Immigrant Households | 855,505 | 703,503 | 82% | 281,151 | 33% |
| Illegal-Headed Households | 326,660 | 299,433 | 92% | 111,926 | 34% |
| Legal-Headed Households | 528,845 | 404,070 | 76% | 169,225 | 32% |
| Total | 1,463,115 | 853,098 | 58% | 399,922 | 27% |
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Table 2. Population Shares by Immigration Status |
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| Students Ages 5 -17 and in Public School |
Share of Total Student Population |
Share of All Students Who Speak a Foreign Language at Home |
Share of All Students in Poverty |
| Native-Headed Households | 42% | 18% | 30% |
| All Immigrant Households | 58% | 82% | 70% |
| Illegal-Headed Households | 22% | 35% | 28% |
| Legal-Headed Households | 36% | 47% | 42% |
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Table 3. Characteristics of Household Heads in Los Angles County (figures are for only the household head) |
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| Students Ages 5 -17 and in Public School |
Number Less than High School |
Number H.S. Only |
Number Some College |
Number Bachelor's-Plus |
| Native-Headed Households | 128,746 | 313,352 | 646,221 | 768,972 |
| All Immigrant Households | 482,220 | 266,424 | 285,484 | 390,231 |
| Illegal-Headed Households | 166,221 | 81,673 | 60,022 | 47,370 |
| Legal-Headed Households | 315,999 | 184,751 | 225,462 | 342,861 |
| Total | 610,966 | 579,776 | 931,705 | 1,159,203 |
| Percentage of Households by Education | ||||
| Native-Headed Households | 7% | 17% | 35% | 41% |
| All Immigrant Households | 34% | 19% | 20% | 27% |
| Illegal-Headed Households | 47% | 23% | 17% | 13% |
| Legal-Headed Households | 30% | 17% | 21% | 32% |
| Total | 19% | 18% | 28% | 35% |
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Table 4. Average Income and Number of Students per Household) |
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| Students Ages 5 -17 and in Public School |
Average Household Income |
Average Household Income as Share of Native Income |
Number of Students per 100 Households |
Number of Students per Household Relative to Natives |
| Native-Headed Households | $94,900 | 100% | 31 | 1.0 |
| All Immigrant Households | $70,195 | 74% | 58 | 1.9 |
| Illegal-Headed Households | $55,000 | 58% | 92 | 3.0 |
| Legal-Headed Households | $75,245 | 79% | 47 | 1.5 |
| All Households | $84,177 | 89% | 43 | 1.4 |
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Table 5. Employment by Immigration Status (persons ages 25 to 64) |
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| Students Ages 5 -17 and in Public School |
Employed | Unemployed | Total | Employment Rate (share holding a job) |
| Natives | 2,106,404 | 181,153 | 2,839,671 | 74% |
| All Immigrants | 1,845,436 | 128,027 | 2,578,652 | 72% |
| Illegal Immigrants | 632,292 | 41,635 | 836,050 | 76% |
| Legal Immigrants | 1,213,144 | 86,392 | 1,742,602 | 70% |
| Total | 3,951,840 | 309,180 | 5,418,323 | 73% |
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