Telugu Americans

Telugu Americans (Telugu: అమెరికా తెలుగువారు, romanized: Amerikā Teluguvāru) are citizens of the United States of America who belong to the Telugu ethnolinguistic group. The majority of Telugu Americans can trace their roots back to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, but also from other neighboring states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharashtra, among others. Telugu Americans are not counted as a distinct group in the United States Census, so population estimates are based on the number of Telugu-language speakers reported.

Historically, majority of the Telugu immigrants to the United States during the 20th century hailed from the Krishna and Godavari delta regions of Andhra Pradesh. Later, during the early 21st century, they primarily came from all major cities of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, and from 2014 onwards, they have been immigrating from all rural and urban areas of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The rise in the Telugu American population is attributed to the increasing representation of South Indian diaspora in the technological field, especially following the Y2K incident. In fact, the Brookings Institution Report revealed that the Telugu states sent over 26,000 students between 2008 and 2012, with most pursuing degrees in STEM fields.

Telugu people constitute one of the largest groups of Indian Americans. The majority of Telugu Americans live in metropolitan areas with significant economic importance in STEM fields. These areas include the Bay Area, the Texas Triangle, Delaware Valley, Chicagoland, Central Jersey, Northern Virginia, as well as the Seattle and Baltimore metropolitan areas. Smaller, but significant populations of Telugu Americans exist throughout the country in other metropolitan and micropolitan areas of almost every state. These include Greater Boston, Kansas City, Metro Detroit, Greater Cleveland, and Minneapolis–Saint Paul.

The predominant faith among Telugu Americans is Hinduism, with a significant number also identifying as Christians, and a smaller portion as Muslims.

A recent study by the American Center for Immigration Studies showed Telugu as the fastest growing language in United States, which has grown by 86% in the last seven years.

During the 2020 United States elections, the Telugu language was first listed on voter registration and ballot boxes in select locales.

The states with the highest percentages of Telugu speakers are: