SALON

Monday, Nov 19, 2007 6:25 PM UTC

The richest immigrants in Silicon Valley

Why are Indians flourishing in Santa Clara County? Could it be because extraordinary diversity is like mother's milk?

By

Topics: Silicon Valley, Globalization, How the World Works, India, Immigration,

“Indians Most Affluent, Educated, in Silicon Valley” reads the headline on ExpressIndia.com.

The headline on the San Jose Mercury News story that originally broke the news was a little different: “Valley’s faces of diversity: Census offers snapshots of 4 immigrant groups.” The Merc looked at populations of four different groups in Santa Clara County: Mexicans, Vietnamese, Chinese and Indians. Of those four groups, Indians have proven best able to land the American dream: They boasted the highest median household income — $81,000 — and owned the most valuable homes — $860,000.

The irresistible quote, which ExpressIndia repeated in full, and so must How the World Works, comes from Kailash Joshi, described as “a prominent Indian entrepreneur in Silicon Valley,” who “thinks Indians flourish in the United States not just because of their commitment to education, but because their native country prepared them for America’s ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity, and its aggressive market economy.”

“By that, I mean India has 21 national languages. Every religion in the world lives in India,” Joshi said.

“We are very competitive. We come from a very diverse upbringing, so coming to the U.S. is a very easy move. We understand the U.S. like the palm of our hand.”

Neither ExpressIndia nor the San Jose Mercury News mentioned how many Indians live in Santa Clara County, but the Merc included a helpful link to the raw Census data, there for anyone with Excel to crunch to their geeky heart’s delight.

There are 101,551 Indian immigrants living in the county, as compared to 155,597 Chinese, 382,777 Mexicans and 110,869 Vietnamese. That’s 750,794 people out of a total of 1,731,281 residents.

That’s some serious diversity.

Andrew Leonard

Andrew Leonard is a staff writer at Salon. On Twitter, @koxinga21. More Andrew Leonard.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 8 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations