Indians are most affluent in Silicon Valley

SILICON VALLEY: Indians in Santa Clara County, home of the Silicon Valley, have the highest median household income, own the most valuable homes, and are the best educated, according to a latest Census report.

The report which provides a snapshot of Santa Clara County, one of the only two counties in the country, shows that Indians have median income of $116,240, which is about 44 per cent above the county's median of about $81,000, said the San Jose Mercury News.

The report profiled the four largest immigrant communities, Indians, Mexicans, Chinese and Vietnamese. It found that although three-quarters of the Indian population was born abroad, they own the most valuable home of about median home price of $860,000, compared with the county's price of $743,000.

More than four in five Indian adults have at least a bachelors' degree and Indians are most likely to be white-collar professionals, with about 80 per cent engaged in management, professional and related occupations.

Kailash Joshi, a prominent Indian entrepreneur here, told the Mercury News that he believes Indians flourish in the US 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.

A significant share of the valley's Chinese population lacks an advantage its Indian counterpart enjoys - English.

Almost 40 per cent of Chinese, which is twice the share of Indians, is not fluent in English. Despite that they thrive in business.