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Indians most educated immigrant population in US, study finds
India stands out as the largest contributor to the educated immigrant population, providing approximately 2 million degree holders, or 14 percent of the total educated immigrant group in the U.S.
Migration Policy Institute is Washington D.C.-based think tank. / Facebook/MPI
An increasing number of Indian immigrants with college degrees are shaping the U.S. workforce, highlighting a significant trend within recent immigration patterns.
According to a study by Migration Policy Institute, (MPI), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank,
between 2018 and 2022, nearly 48 percent of immigrants arriving in the U.S. held a college degree, significantly contributing to the country's pool of highly educated individuals.
Indian immigrants played a substantial role in this shift, as they accounted for 14 percent of all college-educated immigrants in 2022, making India the top country of origin for this group.
This influx of skilled professionals has expanded the overall educational attainment of the U.S. immigrant population. Immigrants make up 17 percent of all college-educated adults in the country, a remarkable statistic given that they represent less than 14 percent of the U.S. population.
The share of immigrants with a bachelor’s degree or higher has rapidly grown, outpacing the increase in the native-born college-educated population. “The number of college-educated U.S. immigrants has grown rapidly since 1990,” the report notes, with growth rates of 89 percent between 1990 and 2000 and 56 percent between 2010 and 2022.
California remains a major hub for college-educated immigrants, hosting 22 percent of this group in the U.S., followed by states like Texas and New York, which also see large numbers of skilled Indian immigrants. The labor market has similarly benefited from this trend, with immigrants “accounting for 18 percent of all civilian employed workers.”
“However, they were a much higher shares of workers in occupations that typically require a college degree, including representing 44 percent of computer hardware engineers, 34 percent of computer and information research scientists, and 29 percent of physicians,” the report noted.
Indian immigrants, who are frequently categorized as Non-Latino Asian Americans, represent a substantial portion of the U.S. workforce in sectors demanding advanced degrees. Many of these immigrants not only arrive with strong educational backgrounds but also pursue further education in the U.S., with a significant number earning master's, professional, or doctoral degrees.
Despite their qualifications, not all educated immigrants find employment in roles that match their skills. The report estimates that around 2.1 million college-educated immigrants, or 20 percent of this group, were either unemployed or working in low-skilled jobs, such as dishwashing or taxi driving, in 2022. This phenomenon, often referred to as "brain waste," also affects around 7.8 million U.S.-born college graduates, or 16 percent of that population.
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