How large and affluent is the Indian American community in the New York metro area?

The largest Indian American metro in the country

With 709,466 Asian Indian residents in 2024, the New York metro area has more than twice as many as any other US metro; Dallas-Fort Worth is second with 345,345¹. Asian Indians make up 3.6% of the metro's population^1,2. The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) ranks greater New York as the top metro destination for Indian immigrants, based on pooled 2020-24 Census data⁴. Of the metro's Asian Indian residents, 487,031, about 69%, were born abroad¹.

Growth has been slower than in newer hubs. The metro's Asian Indian population rose from about 651,900 in 2019 to 709,500 in 2024, roughly 9%, though the metro's boundaries were redrawn in between^1,5. Our comparison of the most affluent Indian American metro areas puts New York in national context, alongside Chicago, the largest community in the Midwest.

What HeyAlbert data shows

Income: high overall, wide spread inside the region

The metro's Asian Indian median household income of $164,130 is close to the national Asian Indian figure of $165,721^1,6, but the regional median hides very different communities. County-level data show the range³:

County	Asian Indian residents	Median household income	Homeownership
Middlesex County, NJ	150,831	$189,764	67.7%
Queens County, NY	110,887	$94,440	51.1%
Nassau County, NY	66,235	$175,019	84.7%

ACS 2024 1-year, Asian Indian alone; only counties meeting the Census Bureau's publication threshold are shown³.

Queens has one of the oldest Indian American communities in the region, and its educational profile differs: 44.7% of Asian Indian adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, against 82.7% in Middlesex³. Queens's Asian Indian population also fell, from 127,714 in 2019 to 110,887 in 2024^3,7, consistent with movement to the suburbs.

The New Jersey side

Most of the metro's suburban Indian American population lives in New Jersey. The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 five-year estimates count about 147,100 Asian Indian residents in Middlesex County, 54,100 in Hudson County (7.5% of residents), 38,800 in Somerset County (11.1%), 33,000 in Bergen County and 29,100 in Morris County⁸. We cover the New Jersey story in depth in why New Jersey and Middlesex County became a hub.

The New York side: Queens, Long Island and Manhattan

On the New York side, the five-year estimates count about 120,700 Asian Indian residents in Queens, 56,400 in Nassau County, 36,600 in Manhattan (New York County), 29,000 in Brooklyn, 20,000 in Suffolk County and 18,700 in Westchester County⁹. Statewide, New York had 380,742 Asian Indian residents in 2024, with a median household income of $124,215, lower than New Jersey's $188,317¹⁰.

What the community does for a living

The region's economy shapes its Asian Indian workforce. In the metro, 16.2% of employed Asian Indians work in finance, insurance and real estate, against 6.5% of all US workers, and 23.9% work in education and health care^1,6. Professional, scientific and management services account for another 22.4%¹. Wall Street and the region's hospitals are both major employers, topics we cover in Indian Americans on Wall Street and in private equity and Indian American physicians.

Small business is another thread, from retail and restaurants to hotels and real estate. See Indian American small business ownership.

Not a monolith

The county data are a reminder that "Indian American" covers many different economic situations. In Queens, 11.4% of Asian Indian residents lived below the poverty line in 2024, compared with 4.7% in Nassau County and 5.5% in Middlesex County³. Occupations differ just as much: 41.0% of employed Asian Indians in Queens worked in management, business, science and arts occupations, against 77.6% in Middlesex³. Households are larger than average across the region, at 3.02 people per Asian Indian household in the metro and 3.66 in Nassau County, compared with 2.85 for Asian Indian households nationally^1,3,6.

Anyone using the metro average to size a market would miss these differences. Suburban counties hold the highest incomes and homeownership; the city holds a larger, more varied population with deep community institutions. For the national spread, see how income is distributed among Indian Americans.

Housing and wealth

The median home value for Asian Indian homeowners in the metro was $738,600 in 2024, and the homeownership rate was 60.1%¹. In Nassau County, where 84.7% of Asian Indian households own their homes, the median home value was $765,700³. Home equity is a large part of household wealth for many families, but the Census Bureau does not publish net worth for Indian Americans at the metro level. For what is known about wealth nationally, see Indian American household net worth.