Research: What are the 5 heaviest South Asian Congressional Districts?
By our executive team at SAATH
South Asian Americans, though often overlooked, are an emerging powerhouse electorate block that have the ability to change the outcome in several high profile districts. There may be no more consequential election in recent memory than the quickly approaching 2026 Midterm elections and South Asians will be at the center of it.
We here at SAATH, alongside the work of amazing pollsters and data-scientists and through reviewing data from the American Community Survey, have identified the 5 Congressional districts in America with the heaviest South Asian population. This is one of the first reports of its kind that focuses solely on South Asian Americans. Below you will find the list of the 5 districts and a breakdown of each one.
South Asian Youth have the potential to bring about American change. If you are someone who lives in this district, or know someone who lives in any of these districts, contact us here and let’s get to work.
TOP 5 MOST SOUTH ASIAN HEAVY DISTRICTS IN AMERICA
CA-17: ~21%
CA-17 tops our list with around 153,749 residents, or ~20% of its population, being of South Asian descent. A district combining the Southern and Eastern parts of the SF Bay Area, this is also the most Asian district in the mainland United States. This district, represented by Congressman Ro Khanna, is so South Asian that several election cycles have seen Ro Khanna run against Ritesh Tandon— a South Asian on South Asian battle in America’s most desi district.
NJ-12: ~14%
NJ-12 comes next on our list with around 108172 residents, or ~14% of its population, being of South Asian descent. This district is notably home to Princeton University, which attracted large-scale South Asian immigration to Central Jersey throughout the 2000s. The district also includes the South Asian hubs of West Windsor, Plainsboro Township, and South Brunswick. Overall, New Jersey’s 12th district is one of the most diverse in the country with large Hispanic, African-American, South Asian, and White populations. A fun historical fact is that this district is home to the turning point of the revolutionary war, which won us our freedom as Americans from a tyrannical monarch (sounds familiar).
CA-14: ~13-14%
CA-14 is third on our list with 100379 residents, or ~13/14% of its population, being of South Asian descent. Similarly to the neighboring CA-17 listed above, CA-14 is a heavily South Asian district in the East bay of the SF Bay Area. As the housing market of Silicon Valley exploded, many new South Asian immigrants moved to the suburbs of the East Bay and Tri Valley region in the mid to late 2000s. Today, alongside the existing hubs of Fremont and Union City, the South Asian population is rapidly rising in the suburbs of Dublin and Pleasanton, demonstrating the strength of the South Asian population here.
NJ-6: ~13%
NJ-6 is fourth on our list with 101575 residents, or ~13% of its population, being of South Asian descent. The South Asian population is very concentrated in the Indian cultural hubs of Edison, Iselin, and Piscataway NJ and more recently have been receptive towards conservative politics and the Republican Party. This community swung right during 2024, swung back left in 2025. One heavily Indian precinct—The housing complex of Trafalgar gardens— shifted 98% to the left between 2024 and 2025 elections, proving widespread unhappiness with the policies of the Trump administration, particularly on the issue of immigration and H1B visas.
NY-5: ~12%
NY-5 is fifth on our list with 92663, or ~12% of its population, being of South Asian Decent. Home of the Indo-Caribbean community in the United States with large Bangladeshi, Punjabi Sikh and Indo-Guyanese and Trini populations, this is one of the most diverse areas of Queens, NY. Furthemore, this district is a great representation that the South Asian diaspora is NOT a monolith. The South Asian population here is more working class and lower income than South Asian-Americans as a whole. Famously, Zohran Mamdani, who ran on a working class economic empowerment agenda, broke records with supercharging turnout in these areas of NYC.
CONCLUSION
But what does all of this mean? South Asian Americans are a rapidly growing part of the melting pot we call the United States, and have historically been slow to get involved in politics and civic affairs. Many of us come from countries with failing and corrupt political systems, causing cynicism that doesn’t go away after immigrating to a new country. Congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti highlights this: saying that when he was young, he thought the Bengali word for “crook” and “politician” was the same.
Today, masked gangs roam the street and cause terror in our neighborhoods. Immigrants are constantly attacked by a president who believes they are “poisoning the blood of the country.” The country our families envisioned when they moved here is rapidly fading away. If you are a South Asian living in any of these communities, you not only have the ability to decide your district’s future, but can also play a significant role in our country’s future. In these troubled times, there is no other option besides getting involved. Join SAATH.