Indian immigrants began arriving in the United States in notable numbers in the early 19th century, when workers from the Punjab region settled primarily in California to work in agriculture, lumber, and railroad construction. Although their numbers remained relatively modest compared to European arrivals, Indian and other non-European immigrants faced growing political opposition through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, culminating in restrictions such as the Immigration Act of 1917, which effectively banned immigration from most of the Asia-Pacific region. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 reversed course, abolishing national-origin quotas and opening pathways through family reunification and employment-based visas for skilled professionals. In the wake of passage of this law, the Indian immigrant population grew rapidly, roughly doubling each decade between 1960 and 1990.
Today, approximately 3.2 million Indian immigrants reside in the United States, comprising 6 percent of the total foreign-born population of 50.2 million people. Immigrants from India rank as the second largest immigrant group in the country, after Mexicans.
Indian immigrants tend to have considerably higher levels of education than both the overall immigrant population and the U.S. born, particularly at the advanced degree level. Their prominence in high-skilled sectors is reflected in visa data: In fiscal year (FY) 2024, Indian nationals received 71 percent of all H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. And in the 2024-25 academic year, India was the leading source of international students in the United States, most of whom were enrolled in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) program. Partly because of their prominence in STEM programs, Indian nationals have been particularly affected by the Trump administration’s tightened immigration policies, including imposition of a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions, enhanced vetting for H-1B and H-4 dependent visa applicants and for international students, and significantly longer wait times for in-person visa interviews.
This Spotlight provides an overview of various demographic characteristics of Indian immigrants in the United States, including their U.S. destinations, top job sectors, educational attainment, age, and English language proficiency.
Size of Immigrant Population over Time
Most immigration of Indians to the United States has occurred over the past 25 years. The Indian immigrant population increased fivefold from 1980 to 2000 and then tripled from 2000 to 2024 (see Figure 1). The rate of growth for this population has been significantly higher than that of the overall foreign-born population in the United States, increasing 78 percent from 2010 to 2024, triple the 26 percent for all immigrants.
Figure 1. Indian Immigrant Population in the United States, 1980-2024
Destination by State and Key Cities
One in five Indian immigrants resided in California as of the 2020-24 period, followed by Texas (12 percent), New Jersey (10 percent), Illinois (6 percent), and New York (5 percent). Together, these states were home to 53 percent of all Indian immigrants. Santa Clara County, California; Alameda County, California; Middlesex County, New Jersey; and King County, Washington were the top four counties of residence, together accounting for 15 percent of all Indian immigrants in the United States.
Click here for an interactive map highlighting the states and counties with the most immigrants from India or another country.
The top cities for Indian immigrants were the greater New York, Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, and San Jose metropolitan areas. About 35 percent of all Indian immigrants lived in one of these five cities as of 2020-24 (see Figure 2). Indian immigrants made up more than 7 percent of San Jose metro area residents and more than 3 percent of the San Francisco area population.
Please visit the following link to read the full article: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/indian-immigrants-united-states
(This article appeared on migrationpolicy.org on April 15, 2026. Used with express permission)
Parikh Worldwide Media is the largest Indian-American publishing group in the United States. The group publishes five periodicals – “News India Times,” a national weekly newspaper; “Desi Talk in New York,” a weekly newspaper serving the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region; and “Desi Talk in Chicago,” a weekly newspaper serving the Greater Chicago area and the Midwestern states; and “The Indian American,” a national online quarterly feature magazine, and the Gujarat Times, a Gujarati language weekly. The combined circulation and readership of these publications make the media group the most influential in the ethnic Indian market.
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