Gujarati Americans are

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

who trace their ancestry to

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. They are a subgroup of

Indian Americans Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

The highest concentration of the Gujarati American population by a significant margin, with over 100,000 Gujarati individuals, is in the

New York City Metropolitan Area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

, notably in the growing Gujarati diasporic center of

India Square India Square, also known as "Little India (location), Little India," is a commercial and restaurant district in the Journal Square and Marion Section neighborhoods of Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City, New Jersey. The area is home to the highest ...

, or ''Little Gujarat'', in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and Edison in Middlesex County in

Central New Jersey Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation of Central New Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. Geographic area and descriptions While the State of New Jersey is often divided into North and ...

. Significant immigration from India to the United States started after the landmark

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart–Celler Act and more recently as the 1965 Immigration Act, is a federal law passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The l ...

, Early immigrants after 1965 were highly educated

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

s. Since US immigration laws allow sponsoring immigration of parents, children and particularly siblings on the basis of family reunion, the numbers rapidly swelled in a phenomenon known as "

chain migration Chain migration is the social process by which immigrants from a particular area follow others from that area to a particular destination. The destination may be in another country or in a new location within the same country. John S. MacDonal ...

". Faith plays a big role in the rapidly growing Gujarati community in North Texas, which has three large Hindu temples. Census numbers showed that from 2000 to 2010, the population more than doubled, going from 49,181 to 106,964 for Collin, Dallas, Denton, Rockwall and Tarrant counties. Richardson has a long-established Gujarati population, and it was there that a group of businessmen founded the India Association of North Texas (1962). Changes in recent years have been more drastic. Given the Gujarati propensity for

entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and business enterprise, a number of them opened shops and

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

s. Now in the 21st century over 40% of the

hospitality industry The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism. It includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants and bars. Sector ...

in the United States is controlled by Gujaratis. Gujaratis, especially the

Patidar Patidar (Gujarati language, Gujarati: ) is an Indian landlord and agrarian Caste system in India, caste found mostly in Gujarat but also in at least 22 other states of India. The community comprises at multiple subcastes, most prominently the L ...

samaj, also dominate as

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

es of fast food restaurant chains such as Subway and

Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...

. The descendants of the Gujarati immigrant generation have also made high levels of advancement into

fields, including as

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

s and politicians. In August 2016,

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...

commenced direct, one-seat flight service between

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

and

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Count ...

in New Jersey, via

London Heathrow International Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

Notable people

Bharat Desai Bharat Desai (born November 1952) is an American billionaire businessman, and the co-founder and chairman of Syntel. Early life Bharat Desai was born in November 1952, in Kenya. He is of Gujarati Indian origin. In his childhood, he lived in ...

(b. 1952), billionaire and chairman Syntel * Vyomesh Joshi (b. 1954), CEO of 3D Systems *

Ami Bera Amerish Babulal "Ami" Bera (; born March 2, 1965) is an American physician and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, his district encompasses most of Sacramento's eastern and southern sub ...

(b. 1965), Representative for California *

Reshma Saujani Reshma Saujani (born November 18, 1975) is an American lawyer, politician, civil servant, and the founder of the nonprofit organization Girls Who Code, which aims to increase the number of women in computer science and close the gender employment ...

(b. 1975), lawyer and politician * Sonal Shah (b. 1968), economist, corporate lobbyist, and public official *

Sheetal Sheth Sheetal Sheth (born June 24, 1976 ) is an American actress, author, producer, and activist. She starred opposite Albert Brooks in his film ''Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World''. She debuted to rave reviews in the films ''ABCD'' and '' Ame ...

(b. 1976), actress and producer *

Kal Penn Kalpen Suresh Modi (born April 23, 1977), known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, academic lecturer, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration. As an actor, he is known for his role portrayin ...

(b. 1977), actor and comedian *

Raj Bhavsar Stephen Raj Bhavsar (born September 7, 1980) is an American artistic gymnast. He was a member of the 2001 and 2003 World Championships U.S. team. He earned a bronze medal as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. He was originally an alternat ...

(b. 1980), artistic gymnast *

Noureen DeWulf Noureen DeWulf ( née Ahmed) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles in ''West Bank Story'' (2005), ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'' (2009), and '' The Back-up Plan'' (2010). She also starred as Lacey on the sitco ...

(b. 1984), actress *

Halim Dhanidina Halim Dhanidina (born September 20, 1972) is an American lawyer and former judge from California. As of April 1, 2022, is a partner at the criminal defense firm of Werksman Jackson & Quinn LLP in Los Angeles. He was a justice of the California Co ...

, first Muslim judge in California *

Savan Kotecha Savan Harish Kotecha is an American songwriter and record producer from Austin, Texas. Kotecha is of Indian (Gujarati) descent. He was also the executive music producer of the 2020 film '' Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'', for ...

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated songwriter * Mafat and Tulsi Patel, founders

Patel Brothers Patel Brothers, Inc. (doing business as Patel Brothers) is an Indian-American supermarket chain based in Hanover Park, Illinois. Patel Brothers is the world’s largest supermarket chain serving the Indian diaspora, with 57 locations in 19 U.S. s ...

supermarket chain *

Rohit Vyas Rohit Vyas is an independent broadcast journalist and the longest-serving Indian American journalist in ethnic print and broadcast media covering the South Asian community throughout North America. Journalism career A member of the United Nations ...

, journalist * Avani Gregg, social media personality

References

{{Indian diaspora Gujarati diaspora

Notable people

See also

References