New Report Links High Non-Citizen Welfare Use to Educational Gaps Rather Than Employment Status

A 2026 report finds 47% of non-citizen households use traditional welfare, citing low education rather than lack of work as the primary cause.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 18, 2026, 7:20 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)

The Correlation Between Schooling and Self-Sufficiency

The most significant finding of the report is the nearly linear relationship between a non-citizen’s years of education and their reliance on means-tested programs. Using the Current Population Survey (CPS ASEC) data from 2023 to 2025, researchers identified a strong negative correlation ($r = -0.83$) between average years of schooling and benefit eligibility. Specifically, every additional year of average education in a sending country’s population corresponds to a seven percentage point drop in welfare use.

Regional and National Disparities in Program Use

Welfare participation varies dramatically based on the region of birth. Non-citizen households from Central America (74 percent) and the Caribbean (65 percent) show the highest combined use of traditional welfare and tax credit eligibility. Conversely, households from South Asia (19 percent) and Europe (34 percent) report the lowest rates.

Among specific top-sending nations, the report highlights a wide gap in self-sufficiency:

Highest Use: Afghanistan (87%), Dominican Republic (78%), and Guatemala (77%).