Insight
Indian-American wealth in Michigan: a physicians' picture
Michigan has about 138,600 residents of Asian Indian descent. In our data, almost half of the state's $1M+ people are identified through physician records.
Michigan has about 138,600 residents of Asian Indian descent, up about 14% from the 2015–2019 survey [1][2]. The community is centered in Metro Detroit's northern suburbs, around Troy, Novi and Farmington Hills, with a long history tied to the auto industry, engineering and medicine.
Our Michigan data is small but distinctive: it is driven by physician records far more than by property, which tells you as much about our coverage as about the community.
- 138,644 residents of Asian Indian descent (alone or in combination) in Michigan, 2020–2024 average [1], or 1.4% of the state's population [3] and 2.7% of the US total [1].
- +14.3% versus the 2015–2019 estimate of 121,305 [1][2] (our calculation).
- 525 people in the HeyAlbert database placed in Michigan at an estimated $1M+, of whom 166 are in our $5M+ bands [8].
Where Michigan's Indian-American residents live, by county
The Census Bureau's American Community Survey counts 138,644 people who report Asian Indian ancestry, alone or with another group, across Michigan's 83 counties [1][4]. Oakland County alone holds 41% of them, and the three largest counties together hold 76% [4] (our calculation).
| County | 2020–2024 | 2015–2019 | Change | Share of county |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland County | 56,764 | 48,256 | 18% | 4.4% |
| Wayne County | 31,371 | 27,648 | 13% | 1.8% |
| Macomb County | 16,969 | 12,809 | 32% | 1.9% |
| Washtenaw County | 10,169 | 9,765 | 4% | 2.7% |
| Ingham County | 4,808 | 5,448 | -12% | 1.7% |
| Kent County | 4,535 | 4,116 | 10% | 0.7% |
| Kalamazoo County | 2,778 | 2,083 | 33% | 1.1% |
| Genesee County | 1,501 | 1,690 | -11% | 0.4% |
| Eaton County | 1,133 | 877 | 29% | 1.0% |
| Berrien County | 947 | 1,235 | -23% | 0.6% |
Asian Indian alone or in any combination. Sources: ACS 5-year estimates [4][5]; county totals from Table B01003 (2020–2024). Change and share are our calculations. Estimates carry margins of error; small counties move a lot between surveys.
Oakland County has about 56,000 residents of Asian Indian descent, about 41% of the state total [4]. Wayne and Macomb counties follow, with Macomb growing about 32% [4][5]. Washtenaw (Ann Arbor) has about 10,000 [4]. Troy and Novi are the most concentrated larger places, at about 16% each [6][7].
The most concentrated communities
Raw counts favor big cities. Ranking places of 20,000+ residents by the share who report Asian Indian ancestry gives a different map [6][7]:
| Place | Asian Indian residents | Total population | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Troy | 14,365 | 87,898 | 16.3% |
| Novi | 10,700 | 66,717 | 16.0% |
| Okemos CDP | 2,604 | 26,396 | 9.9% |
| Farmington Hills | 8,055 | 83,515 | 9.6% |
| Auburn Hills | 2,316 | 25,105 | 9.2% |
| Rochester Hills | 4,956 | 77,089 | 6.4% |
| Warren | 7,190 | 137,928 | 5.2% |
| Hamtramck | 1,411 | 27,743 | 5.1% |
Places with 20,000+ residents and at least 1,000 Asian Indian residents. CDP = census-designated place. Sources: ACS 2020–2024 5-year, Tables B02018 and B01003 [6][7]; shares are our calculation.
What the HeyAlbert database shows in Michigan
HeyAlbert builds profiles of Indian-American individuals with an estimated net worth of $1M or more from public records, and every estimate is tied to a cited source. Our database currently places 525 such people in Michigan [8]. That is a count of people we have found and estimated, not a census of wealthy households: our coverage is partial and uneven, as the next section explains.
| Estimated net-worth band | People in our database |
|---|---|
| $1M–5M | 359 |
| $5M–15M | 110 |
| $25M+ (probable) | <25 |
| $25M+ (likely) | 44 |
| Total, $1M+ | 525 |
Source: HeyAlbert database [8]. Bands are estimates from public evidence; “likely” and “probable” describe our confidence in the $25M+ tier. Cells under 25 are suppressed.
| City | $1M+ | of which $5M+ | of which $25M+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomfield Hills | 38 | <25 | <25 |
Source: HeyAlbert database [8]. Cities with 25+ people at $1M+ (1 in Michigan); cells under 25 shown as <25. The city is where our sources place the person; for some records it is a workplace or filing address rather than a home.
Our database places 525 people in Michigan at $1M+, a small number relative to the state's population, and 166 of them are in our $5M+ bands [8]. Only one city clears our 25-person threshold for the city table: Bloomfield Hills, with 38 people [8]. The rest are spread across many suburbs, each with too few records to publish.
Why our Michigan count looks the way it does
Each estimate in our database rests on a primary piece of public evidence. The mix of that evidence differs a lot from state to state, depending on which records we have been able to process, and it shapes the counts above more than any real difference in wealth does [8].
| Primary evidence for the estimate | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Other public signals (executive roles, company filings, gifts, pay) | 255 | 49% |
| Physician (licensed, specialty-based estimate) | 247 | 47% |
Source: HeyAlbert database [8], people at $1M+ in Michigan. Categories under 25 not shown.
Physician records are the evidence for 247 of our 525 Michigan estimates, almost half, and executive roles, filings and gifts account for most of the rest [8]. Home values contribute fewer than 25 [8]. That is a coverage gap rather than a fact about Michigan: we have not yet processed Michigan property records at scale, so the large professional and engineering households of Oakland County are mostly missing from our counts.
What it means if you work with these families
Michigan's Indian-American physicians are a well-established, highly visible segment, often affiliated with the large health systems in Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor. For advisors, physicians bring specific planning needs: practice ownership, liability protection and retirement plans. The state's engineering and auto-industry families are a second, larger market that is harder to see in public records.
Methodology
Census figures are American Community Survey 5-year estimates for 2020–2024 and 2015–2019, Table B02018, using “Asian Indian, alone or in any combination,” which counts people who report Asian Indian ancestry together with another group as well as alone [1][2]. Total population comes from Table B01003 [3]. The Census Bureau changed how it codes detailed race responses in 2020, so part of the change between the two periods may reflect coding rather than migration. All estimates carry margins of error; differences of a few percent between small areas should not be over-read. Shares and growth rates are our calculations.
HeyAlbert counts are aggregates from our database as of October 2026 [8]. They include people we identified as likely of Indian origin with an estimated net worth of $1M or more, based on public records such as property assessments, professional licenses, patents, SEC filings and donor rolls. Coverage is partial: we have not found everyone, and what we have found depends on which public records exist and which we have processed in each state. These counts are not population totals and should not be read as the number of wealthy Indian-American households in Michigan. Any cell under 25 is suppressed, and we publish aggregates only, never individual records.
Related research
- How many US doctors are of Indian origin?
- Why do Indian Americans gravitate to STEM and medicine?
- Which US states have the largest and wealthiest Indian American populations?
- How many businesses do Indian Americans own, and how big are they?
HeyAlbert finds Indian-American families worth $1M+ and tells you who to call, with every fact cited. See who is in Michigan at heyalbert.site.
Sources
- ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Table B02018 (Asian alone or in any combination by selected groups), all states. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B02018?g=010XX00US$0400000 (data: machine-readable)
- ACS 2015–2019 5-year estimates, Table B02018, all states. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2019.B02018?g=010XX00US$0400000 (data: machine-readable)
- ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Table B01003 (total population), all states. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=010XX00US$0400000 (data: machine-readable)
- ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Table B02018, all counties. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B02018?g=010XX00US$0500000 (data: machine-readable)
- ACS 2015–2019 5-year estimates, Table B02018, all counties. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2019.B02018?g=010XX00US$0500000 (data: machine-readable)
- ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Table B02018, places in Michigan. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B02018?g=040XX00US26$1600000 (data: machine-readable)
- ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Table B01003, places in Michigan. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=040XX00US26$1600000 (data: machine-readable)
- HeyAlbert database, aggregate counts (October 2026 snapshot); how we build it is described on our methodology page. HeyAlbert. https://heyalbert.site/research/methodology/
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