Second of a series on the community.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: This is the second installment in our ongoing series on immigration figures pertaining to the Indian American community. You can find the first installment here.
The number of Indians immigrating to the US has increased tremendously over the past several years. With IT companies needing large numbers of skilled technical workers, and opportunities in fields from medicine to business multiplying annually, the US has become the destination of choice for young Indians looking to make the most of life.
The looming immigration reform bill currently being fought over in Congress may have a huge effect on India-to-US immigration, if the provisions regarding higher fees for H-1B visa applicants and Green Cards come to fruition.
The following are some statistics and figures regarding where Indians have settled within the US (all data come from MigrationInformation.org and the US Census Bureau):
33.33% — the percentage, equal to 1/3 the total Indian population of the entire US, that resides in just two states: New Jersey and California; 12% are in California and 11% in NJ.
27% — roughly the percentage of Indian immigrants living in three major metropolitan areas: Chicago, New York, and San Jose; 6% in Chicago, 16% in New York, and 5% in San Jose.
20% — total percentage of Indian immigrants in other major metropolitan areas with Indian populations of over 60,000. Philadelphia is 3%;Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC each are 4%, and San Francisco is 5%.
15% — percentage of total immigrant population of Trenton, NJ that is India-born.
14% — percentage of total immigrant populations of Richmond, VA and Raleigh-Cary, NC that is India-born.
12% — percentage of total immigrant populations of the state of Delaware that is India-born.
11% — percentage of total immigrant populations of the state of New Jersey that is India-born.
10% — percentage of total immigrant populations of the state of Ohio that is India-born.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com