One major benefit of the EB-5 Program is that investors and their families don’t have to live near their investment, they can live in any state. So where are EB-5 investors living?

What state are EB-5 investors living in? According to a report from the Department of Commerce, more than half of all EB-5 investors who invested in the EB-5 Program between 2009 and 2014, chose to live in California.

The report states that there were more than 8,000 EB-5 investors living in California. The runner up state was New York with about 1,500 EB-5 investors. Why are so many EB-5 investors living in California?

The majority of EB-5 investors are from Mainland China and there are a few reasons that they may prefer California over New York.

California has been experiencing major grow in the last decade. It’s large population, major cities, and favorable cap rates attract a lot of EB-5 investors, especially in the downtown Los Angeles area. Although the majority of EB-5 investments are in California so it would make sense that EB-5 investors may want to live near their investment, they don’t have to, and it may not be a primary reason they choose to live in California.

There are 3 primary reasons Chinese EB-5 investors are choosing to live in California.

The first is the price. Buying a large single-family home is more affordable in California than it is in New York. For $2-$10 million, an EB-5 investor could purchase a mansion in California with a yard, while in New York, the same amount may only get an investor a condo.

The second reason is California offers many cities that already have significant populations of Chinese nationals living there. One such city is Arcadia. The other California cities that attract numerous wealthy investors include Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Holmby Hills.

The third reason California appeals to many EB-5 investors are the schools and colleges. Los Angeles, in particular, offers many popular public and private school options. California also has some of the top universities in the world including UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford, and Cal Tech.

For these three reasons, plus the amount of construction growth California has experienced over the last few years, it’s no surprise that EB-5 investors chose to live in California.