Gujaratis in North America are a large, diverse and unreached people group segment. Approximately 940,000 Gujaratis call North America home. Gujaratis originate from the Gujarat state in India, which is located on the Western coast of the Indian peninsula. Gujaratis speak the Gujarati language. However, the Gujarati language has several dialects: Kachchi, Kathiawadi, and Surati. Many Gujarati can also understand and speak Hindi.
Gujaratis can currently be found in almost every North American major metro city but significant populations of the diaspora live in Metro New York, Toronto, San Franciso, Chicago, Washington D.C, and Dallas. Edison, New Jersey, has become the “Little India” of Metro New York and has the highest concentration of Gujaratis of any community in the United States. Gujaratis have immigrated in three distinct phases. First, educated doctors and engineers came in the mid-1960s. Their extended families started moving in the second phase as those in the first wave sponsored them. In the latest wave, all classes of Patidars started moving to North America and didn’t mind taking up low-level service jobs that would not have been appropriate for them to do back home.
Gujaratis in North America have proven to be successful entrepreneurs. Gujaratis own over 40% of motels in the United States. A majority of these owners are from the Patel community. The first Gujarati hotelier in the United States was Kanji Manchhu Desai, who joined two Gujarati farmworkers in California in 1942 to take over a 32-room hotel in Sacramento, California. In addition, Gujaratis, especially the Patidar, also dominate as franchisees of fast food restaurant chains such as Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts.
