By Sherri Welch
March 12, 2024
New data from the Chaldean Community Foundation shows significant growth in the Chaldean population in Southeast Michigan and a jump in its economic impact.
The Chaldean population’s economic impact has risen to an estimated $17.6 billion from $3.7 billion in 2008, according to a 2023 study commissioned by the foundation and Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and conducted by Walsh College in Troy.
In the last five years, the community’s economic impact rose nearly 65%, according to the study.
“Oftentimes people are trying to figure out are we friends or foe, why we came to this wonderful state,” said Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and Chaldean Community Foundation. “Once we are given religious and economic freedom, which we didn’t have in Iraq, this community has excelled here.”
The Chaldean people were traditionally a merchant community in Iraq, Manna said, and there’s heavy Chaldean presence in the local retail sector operating convenience stores and gas stations. But the population is more educated, more professional and more diversified in the types of businesses owned in Southeast Michigan vs. those in Iraq, he said.
Like other immigrants, the community has formed occupational patterns, Manna said. Chaldeans own a majority of hotels in the state, operating with major flags including Marriott, Hampton Inn and Hilton.
Real estate development is another active area for the community, he said, noting that a majority of the buildings in Birmingham are now owned by Chaldeans. Others have moved into development of retail strip malls, office buildings and multi-family apartment buildings.
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