A recent study estimates that nearly 43,000 immigrants arriving in Denver over the past two years have cost the city and surrounding areas $356 million. The research, conducted by the Common Sense Institute (CSI), examined the financial burden on the city, healthcare, and education systems.
Founded in 2010, CSI is a nonprofit organization based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, that focuses on fiscal and economic research. The study breaks down the costs as follows:
Hospitals: $228 million
City of Denver: $79 million
Schools: $49 million
To estimate healthcare expenses, CSI used data from UCHealth, which suggested that uncompensated care costs averaged $2,931 per immigrant. This brings the total cost of the immigration surge to approximately $8,000 per immigrant.
CSI’s director of policy and research, DJ Summers, noted that the financial impact extends beyond Denver itself. “The costs have never remained simply in Denver,” he said.
The influx began in December 2022 when 90 immigrants were dropped off in downtown Denver, forcing city officials to scramble for a response. Since then, an estimated 42,827 immigrants—many of them from Venezuela—have arrived. These individuals, mostly entering the U.S. illegally through the southern border, have come from countries experiencing political and economic crises, with Venezuela being the most significant source.
Although some immigrants have used transportation to other destinations, around half are believed to have stayed in Denver. If correct, this could mean the city’s population has effectively increased by the size of a city like Golden in just two years.
In a similar study last year, The Denver Gazette found that immigrant workers contribute approximately $2 billion to Colorado’s economy while costing taxpayers nearly $200 million annually. The Gazette’s analysis focused on key cost areas, such as healthcare, education, and incarceration.
Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for Denver Human Services, acknowledged that while the expenses have been high, they expect costs to decrease as the city transitions from an emergency response to a more sustainable long-term model. Ewing also highlighted the significant contributions immigrants have historically made to the local economy.
The CSI report did not include incarceration costs, which are difficult to quantify in Denver due to a lack of data on immigrants’ national origin. Both the CSI and The Denver Gazette studies acknowledge the limitations in assessing the full economic impact of the recent surge in immigration.
The $356 million estimate is significantly higher than the $180 million initially projected by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston earlier this year. This earlier estimate, which did not include education and healthcare costs, prompted the mayor to implement budget cuts. The Mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
The CSI study follows a similar analysis conducted in May, which estimated the cost of immigration at $340 million.
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