Business Small Los Angeles Owned Immigrants Owners Eslpod

Some have called the United States the "land of opportunity," a place where your hopes, dreams, and plans can come true, if you're willing to work hard for them. Whether you believe that to be true or not, there are some interesting "statistics" (information in the form of numbers) about "immigrants" (people who move to the U.S.) that may surprise you.

As of 2012, in California, about 27% of its "residents" (people who live in a place) are from a foreign country. In "the greater Los Angeles area" (the city of Los Angeles and its surrounding area), the numbers are even higher: 34% are "foreign-born" (born in another country). And in Los Angeles, a surprising 44% of the small businesses are owned by people who were foreign-born. The city of Miami, Florida, actually has the highest number of businesses owned by foreign-born residents - 45%. (A business is considered a small business if it is "privately-owned" (its stock is not publicly traded on the stock market and it is not owned by the government) and has a small number of employees.)

Nationally, immigrants "constitute" (make up; total) 13% of the population, and make up 18% of small business owners. These numbers are up from 20 years ago when immigrants were 9% of the population and 12% of the small business owners. In the L.A. area, foreign-born business owners most often come from Mexico, Korea, Iran, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Just as certain cities or states attract immigrants from particular countries, certain types of businesses attract immigrant business owners. According to a 2011 report in the Los Angeles Times, about 37% own restaurants and 49% own grocery stores. Other common immigrant businesses include laundries and "dry cleaners" (clothing cleaning businesses), doctor's offices, real estate companies, and truck transportation services.