Historically, many Telugu immigrants to the United States during the 20th century hailed from the
Krishna and
Godavari delta regions of the former Madras Presidency, and later, from a united
Andhra Pradesh prior to its bifurcation in 2014.
The Telugu American population in the United States numbered around 87,543 in the year 2000. In 2010, the population surged to 222,977, then to 415,414 in 2017, 644,700 in 2020, and finally nearly doubling to around 1,239,000 in 2024. The immense growth in the 2020s was the result of an influx of students and corporate employees from Telugu states post
COVID-19. It is also estimated that by 2030, the Telugu population may cross two million, potentially making Telugu the most spoken Indian language in the nation.
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.[3] 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.
The Telugu community in the United States is largely bilingual.[citation needed] 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.[6]
Vamsi K. Mootha - Physician-scientist, investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and professor of Systems Biology and of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
Dattatreyudu Nori - Vice Chairman of the Radiation Oncologist Department at The New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City
Rajeswari Udayagiri, Entrepreneur, founder, and president of Radio Surabhi - the first 24x7 Telugu FM Radio Channel in USA, RJ, Anchor, Theater personality, Artistic director, and Actress
Telugu Americans have suffered from hate crimes in America. The most notable of these incidents was the
2017 Olathe, Kansas shooting, in which a white supremacist, Adam Purinton, harassed two Telugu immigrants, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, under the pretense that Kuchibhotla and Madasani were Iranians or illegal immigrants; later shooting them, killing Kuchibhotla and wounding Madasani as well as Ian Grillot, a white American who had come to the defense of Kuchibhotla and Madasani. A victim of the
2023 Allen, Texas outlet mall shooting, Aishwarya Thatikonda, was a Telugu immigrant from Hyderabad who had moved to Dallas.