Immigrant labor has become essential to both homebuilding and residential remodeling in top metro areas with the highest levels of building permits, according to new research from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS).
The findings underscore the critical role that foreign-born workers play across the entire residential construction space—from new home construction to major renovations and improvements.
“While immigrants make up about one in five workers nationally, they make up one in three workers in the construction trades,” the JCHS research indicates. “Foreign-born trades workers were most commonly construction laborers or carpenters in 2024, but they played an outsized role in other occupations.”
Very notable though, according to the study, immigrants account for an even larger share of the construction trades workforce in the top homebuilding metros than they do nationwide.
From 2019 to 2023, the top seven metros that issued over 150,000 building permits had an average of 54% of their trades workforce being foreign-born. Metros that issued 75,000-149,999 permits had an average foreign‑born share of 40%, while those with fewer than 75,000 permits averaged 22%.
The study noted that even in the metros that issued fewer building permits, the foreign-born share of the trades remained disproportionate to the foreign-born share of the overall labor force.
Amid a chilling crackdown on immigration by the administration of President Donald Trump, the report notes that there was already a “chronic” shortage of skilled workers to build desperately needed homes across the country. An ongoing “steep slowdown” in immigration “could further constrain” both new construction and remodeling work, the report claims.
Other industry advocates, including the National Association of Home Builders, have warned against strict immigration enforcement and the impact on supply. Testifying before Congress last month, National Association of Realtors® Immediate Past President Kevin Sears declined to address specific questions about deportation efforts, but said he supported “skilled workers” being allowed to legally work in the country, “whatever that takes.”
Top homebuilding metros
The Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, metro led the nation in homebuilding, with nearly 350,000 permits. Relying heavily on immigrant labor, 61% of its construction trade workforce was foreign-born.
Following the DFW region, the Houston, Texas, metro—with just under 348,000 permits—had 63% of immigrants make up its supply of labor for homebuilding and remodeling.
Ranking third in its total number of permits, at just over 305,000, the New York City metro had 57% of immigrants working in the homebuilding sector.
With just over 228,000 permits, the Phoenix, Arizona, region had immigrant workers accounting for 41% of its homebuilding workforce.
The Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas, metro area had 46% of immigrants make up its supply of labor for homebuilding and remodeling. In Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia, that proportion was at 51%, and in Los Angeles, California, it reached 63%.
Top remodeling metros
The New York City metro spent just over $25 billion on remodeling expenditures and had 57% of immigrants working in that sector.
The Washington, D.C., metro area spent over $11 billion on remodeling expenditures and had 66% immigrant labor. In Los Angeles, it reached 63%. The Chicago region had a share of 38% of immigrant labor.
