On the heel’s of my national Desi post, and Razib’s international Desi post, I got curious. What about California? That is a state where data was released for “Asian Indians only” by the Census data so far. A friend asked me for California numbers over the weekend (he wants to set up a practice in California and wanted to see where Desis were living – I never would have thought to use census data for that). To make it visually easier for him (and me) I dropped the data for California cities with Asian Indian populations on a google map.
View Asian Indian Population in California in a larger map
It’s no fancy GIS map nor does the data really tell you much beyond population and concentration – but it was quick and simple. The purple markers represent the top ten cities with Asian Indian populations and the yellow markers are for everything above a population of 3,000. The blue markers are for cities with high concentrations of Asian Indians but did not have a population of Asian Indians over 3,000 people. Once again, this map is for people that marked “Asian Indian only” – it does not account for mixed race, nor does it account for other South Asians like Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, etc…
To me what was the most surprising were the really small cities in the central valley that have a relatively large concentrations of Asian Indians. I’d love to do a Cali road trip based on this map, and hit up the Indian restaurants along the way. Because I imagine, where there’s an Indian population, there’s a saag paneer joint not too far away. Is there an app for that?
“To me what was the most surprising were the really small cities in the central valley that have a relatively large concentrations of Asian Indians”
There’s a long history of Punjabis in these areas.
Great Map, Taz! Someone should do the same for New York, New Jersey, and Texas.
Same w/Gujaratis, at least throughout CA.
Not sure if San Jose is marked, but you gotta try San Jose Pizza if you do go on any such Batali trip. Their desified pizzas are awesome. Berkeley, too, is rich in superior restaurants.
“To me what was the most surprising were the really small cities in the central valley that have a relatively large concentrations of Asian Indians”
Have done that Central Valley road trip a few times–Desi Cafe in Bakersfield, Brahma Bull North & South Indian Cuisine in Fresno, Priya Indian Cuisine in Chico. Taste of India, where Hwy 58 meets I-5 near Bakersfield/Buttonwillow-not often one finds a dhaba on fast food row.
Look carefully and you’ll see an ‘Om’ painted on that 18-wheeler that just passed by.
My most favorite vegetarian restaraunt is called MEHEK E PUNJAB DE, in Fresno. The central valley of California is home to many desi’s, South Asians and people that identify as “AMEMSA.” Small towns like Kerman are mostly South Asian. Kerman is also home to a Sikh Gurdwara with one of the largest collections of Sikh scriptures and books in the nation.
So basically, the take away from this map is a desi foodie adventure….. ?
I’m totes in.