Cities Can Turn Migration into Economic Growth and Shared Prosperity, New Report Finds
WASHINGTON, DC / NEW YORK, NY — May 19, 2026 — A new report from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and the Mayors Migration Council (MMC) released today finds that cities can significantly boost local economic growth, expand their tax base, and fill critical labor gaps by helping migrants and refugees access good jobs, grow businesses, and contribute their skills to local economies.
Drawing on city experiences across the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe, Creating Inclusive Urban Economies for Migrants and Refugees shows how cities can invest strategically in economic inclusion at a time of shrinking budgets and toxic political narratives around migration.
“Migrants and refugees are some of a city’s greatest assets — filling jobs, opening businesses, paying taxes, and raising the next generation of workers, voters, and leaders,” said Vittoria Zanuso, Executive Director of the Mayors Migration Council. “This report shows how cities are turning migration into shared prosperity. Now national governments and funders need to back them with stronger evidence, direct investment, and policies that put pragmatism over political paralysis.”
“Cities are already showing what works,” said Samer Saliba, Director of City Practice at the MMC. “In Boston, immigrant-led homecare cooperatives are helping meet rising demand in the care economy. In Turin, a city-led labor mobility pathway is connecting refugees in Uganda to job vacancies in Italy. In Cali, digital credential verification aims to help thousands of migrants access better jobs faster.”
Yet too many migrants and refugees remain locked out of opportunity by work restrictions, unrecognized credentials, language barriers, limited access to credit, and weak professional networks.
The report argues that cities can make progress by focusing on three priorities:
- Help migrants advance, not just enter, the labor market. Economic inclusion should lead to stable, quality jobs, not just the first available work.
- Align inclusion with real economic needs. Cities should connect migrants and refugees to sectors facing labor gaps, from care work to green infrastructure.
- Build programs that benefit everyone. The strongest policies help both newcomers and long-term residents by expanding the tax base, filling skills gaps, and supporting local growth.
“By focusing on what is achievable, sequencing reforms and aligning inclusion measures with broader economic and urban priorities, cities can transform familiar principles into tangible progress to ensure that migrants and refugees contribute to urban economies’ adaptation and shared prosperity for all residents,” write MPI analysts Kate Hooper, María Jesús Mora, Abigail Goldfarb, and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan.
To scale this potential, the report calls on national governments, funders, and partners to back cities with better data, flexible financing, and policy support.
About the Report
Creating Inclusive Urban Economies for Migrants and Refugees is a partnership between the Migration Policy Institute and the Mayors Migration Council as part of the MMC’s Inclusive Economies initiative, supported by the IKEA Foundation. It draws on research and consultations with city officials, civil-society actors, and experts with lived experience of migration and displacement in cities.
Read the report: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/inclusive-urban-economies
Watch the webinar: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/events/future-ready-cities-immigrant-inclusion
About the Mayors Migration Council
The Mayors Migration Council (MMC) is a mayor-led coalition accelerating global action on migration and displacement. With most migrants and displaced people living in cities, the MMC helps mayors influence policy and access resources to implement inclusive, city-led solutions. Learn more at www.mayorsmigrationcouncil.org or follow Mayors Migration Council on LinkedIn.
About the Migration Policy Institute
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national and international levels. For more on MPI, please visit www.migrationpolicy.org.
