NRIs are US' model minority

Indian Americans, with highest levels of education and high-income levels, are living up to their name.

Indian Americans, often labelled the "model minority" with the highest levels of education and high-income levels, are living up to their name, according to the latest statistics released by the US Census Bureau.

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The Census Bureau report titled, "We the People: Asians in the United States 2000" says there are 1.65 million Americans purely of Indian origin and 1.86 million when including some mixed parentage in the US.

The figure is occasionally questioned by Indian Americans as an undercount.

The report shows that as a whole, Asians do pretty well for themselves and are among the top rung in the ladder of success. But it is a diverse group that has many sub-groups not doing so well.

Indian American men had the highest year-round, full-time median earnings ($51,900), followed by Japanese, with earnings of $50,900.

The median income of Asian families was over $9,000 higher than the median for all families at $59,300 compared with $50,000.

Interestingly, the data shows a majority of Indians in this country came after 1990 (54 per cent), and nearly 82 per cent came after 1980.