evidence: Washington, November 13, 2018–NAFSA: Association of International Educators announced results from its latest economic analysis of international students studying in the United States. The new data released today showed that the more than one million international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $39 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 455,622 jobs during the 2017-2018 academic year. This represents a 1.2 percent increase in job support and creation and a 5.8 percent increase in dollars contributed to the economy from the previous academic year. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, education currently ranks as the nation’s 6th largest services export. This year, once again the same 10 states broke the $1 billion mark in contributions from international students. California, New York, Massachusetts, Texas and Pennsylvania saw the largest benefits from spending by these students and their families on living expenses, tuition and fees. Further analysis showed that 3 U.S. jobs are created or supported for every 7 enrolled international students by spending in the following sectors: higher education, accommodation, dining, retail, transportation, telecommunications and health insurance. NAFSA also found that the nearly 100,000 international students attending U.S. community colleges contributed $2.7 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 15,000 jobs during the 2017-2018 academic year.