For the first time in recorded history, Caymanians find themselves outnumbered in their homeland, with the total population topping 83,000. Photo: Cayman Compass

Data from the Cayman Islands Labour Force Survey Report Spring 2023 reveals that expatriates now make up 53.5% of the total population. Meanwhile, Caymanians account for 46.5%, and of that, only 30.6% are Caymanian by birth.

This significant demographic shift has profound implications, especially for Caymanian millennials, who are most affected by these changes.

For three decades, the expatriate population in the Cayman Islands has risen steadily. However, the interval from 2021 to 2022 marked a pivotal moment. During this year, the expatriate count surged by 30%.

Over the same period, the Caymanian population increased by less than 2%, meaning for about every two additional Caymanians, 30 expatriates moved to the jurisdiction.

Millennials at the heart of the shift

Millennials are central to this demographic shift. They are defined as individuals aged 27 to 42, according to Beresford Research’s Age Range by Generation, which sources both the Pew Research Center and the US Census Bureau in its calculation.

According to the 2022 Labour Force Survey, conducted by the Economics and Statistics Office, millennials in the workforce account for more than half of the employed population.

In this age bracket, expatriates constitute a significant 75%. This statistic is even more noteworthy when considering data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which suggests individuals in this age range should be approaching their peak earning years, with older millennials already in it, at ages 35 to 54.

Dissecting the income landscape

On average, Caymanians earn more than expatriates. According to the ESO 2023 labour force spring survey, “a higher proportion of Caymanians (74.4%) earned CI$2,400 or more per month compared to Permanent Residents WRW (68.3%) and Non-Caymanians (56.2%)”.

However, when exploring specific sectors, a more nuanced disparity emerges.

Data from the Cayman Islands Compendium of Statistics 2022 points to an ‘income ceiling’ for Caymanians in industries that begins at median salaries over $51,000. For instance, in the ‘professional, scientific, and technical activities’ sector, which, according to the 2021 Census, carries a total median salary of $79,194, Caymanians earn 20% less than expatriates.

In ‘financial and insurance activities’, this disparity reaches 39%, despite Caymanians making up nearly 70% of the employees in the industry.

Conversely, in one high-income sector, real estate, Caymanians outpace expatriate earnings. Alternatively, in one low-income industry, accommodation, expats outpace Caymanians. These two industries are the exception.

Full details & stats on the anlysis can be found here.