The Most District: What's the most Asian district in America? Welcome to California's 17th
Of the nation’s 435 congressional districts, no seat has a higher proportion of Asian-American residents than California’s 17th District. According to the Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey, 52 percent of the district is non-Hispanic Asian, compared to 5 percent nationwide. CA-17 narrowly edges Hawaii’s 1st District, located in Honolulu, for the title.
The 17th takes up a big share of Silicon Valley. It includes a large portion of San Jose but is mainly concentrated in its suburbs and smaller nearby cities. The district contains Cupertino, the headquarters of Apple Inc. and the location of plenty of other tech companies. Another district landmark is the San Fransisco 49ers new Levi’s Stadium, which is located in Santa Clara.
The 17th also contains the cities of Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Fremont, and Newark. Most of the district is concentrated in Santa Clara County, with about a quarter of the population living in Alameda County to the north. Like most districts in the Bay Area, the 17th is safely Democratic: Barack Obama carried it 72-26.
The 17th has a few other distinctions. Eighteen percent of the population is of Asian Indian descent, making this the most Indian-American district in the nation. The district is very affluent, with a median household income of $103,316, the fourth-highest in the nation. However, it costs more to rent here than in any seat in the nation, so plenty of newcomers won’t have an easy time getting settled.
This area has been represented by Democrat Mike Honda since 2001. Honda was born just before the Unites States entered World War II, and he spent much of his childhood in a Japanese American internment camp in Colorado. Honda worked as a teacher and principal and became active in local politics. Honda served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and in the state Assembly before he sought a previous version of this seat in 2000 when Republican Rep. Tom Campbell left to unsuccessfully run for the Senate.