Indians surpass Chinese as largest ‘Asian-alone' group in US

Indian Americans are now the most populous Asian-alone group in the United States, according to a new report from the Census Bureau.

They have surpassed Chinese Americans, who were previously the largest in that category, though when the populations are counted with multiracial people included, Chinese Americans still make up the largest share of the country’s Asian population at 5.2 million.

Those who identified as “Indian-alone” — that is, as 100% Indian — on the 2020 census numbered nearly 4,400,000. It represents a 55% growth over the course of a decade, and experts say the U.S. is already seeing the impacts. 

“It is momentous,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of nonprofit group AAPI Data. “Americans’ perception of who is Asian is still very much informed by demographic patterns from a century ago. They think of East Asians as quintessentially Asian and are less likely to think of South Asians as Asian … Well, the demographic realities have shifted away from the stereotype.”

The rapid increase in the population can be traced back to the 1990s, when the tech boom coincided with the start of the H1B visa program for high-skill workers, said Gaurav Khanna, an assistant professor of economics at the University of California at San Diego.

Among H1B petitioners, Indians make up almost 75%. Chinese nationals, the next largest pool of petitioners, make up only 12%. 

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