California Attracts More International Students Than Any Other US State, Especially Chinese

California is the US state that attracts the highest number of international students, most of them from China, according to a recent research conducted by MastersDegree.net, a leading education resource platform.

Based on data from the Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education (IIE), the research shows 138,393 international students attended universities and colleges in California. This marks a notable increase of 3.2 percent from a year earlier, Erudera.com reports.

"China leads as the primary source, accounting for 37.5 percent of the student population, followed by India at 18.4 percent. Apart from the laid-back culture, these students are drawn to prestigious institutions like the University of Southern California, the University of California – Berkeley, and others," the report by MastersDegree.net points out.

Students from China lead the pack, accounting for 37.5 percent of all international students in the state of California, followed closely by India at 18.4 percent. Additionally, the Golden State hosted 376 international students on prestigious Fullbright Program scholarships in the 2022/23 academic year.

The University of Southern California and the University of California—Berkeley are the two institutions in the state that accept most international students. International students contribute 6 billion to California's economy, making it the state with the highest GDP among US states.

California is followed by New York, which in the 2022/23 academic year welcomed 126,782 international students, an 11.5 percent increase from the previous year. Different from California, New York hosted a higher number of Fullbright recipients - 602.

New York is also popular among Chinese students, who comprise 38.2 per cent of the student population, India with 21.5 per cent, and South Korea with 4.7 per cent.

Texas makes the top three with 80,757 international students, the majority from India (38.5 percent), followed by Chinese (12.2 percent) and students from bordering Mexico (5.8 percent)

In these states, the universities accepting most international students are:

• New York University - New York
• University of Texas – Dallas - Texas
• Northeastern University – Boston - Massachusetts
• University of Illinois – Urbana – Champaign - Illinois

The study also revealed that during the same academic year, Connecticut experienced the highest growth rate in its international student enrollment - a significant 35.4 percent increase from the previous year - followed by New Hampshire which saw a 28 percent rise, and Tennessee, where the increase was 26.6 percent.

Overall, the US welcomed a total of 1,057,188 international students in the 2022/23 academic year. This is up from 948,519 international students studying in the United States a year earlier.

China and India remain the largest sources of international students to the US. Last academic year, 53 percent of international students in the US were from China and India.

© Victoriano Izquierdo | Unsplash

More from Erudera News:

>> New York University Leads in Hosting International Students in US

>> International Students Contributed Over $40 Billion to US Economy in 2022/23

>> Indian Student Enrollment in US Universities Hits Record High, 35% Increase