Hmong in the U.S. Fact Sheet (2024)

FAQs

Hmong in the U.S. Fact Sheet? ›

According to the 2021 American Community Survey by the US Census Bureau, the population count for Hmong Americans was 368,609. As of 2019, the largest community in the United States was in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area.

The Twin Cities boasts the largest urban Hmong population in the country. Hmong people are also the largest Asian group in Minnesota, with a population exceeding 94,000. In the U.S., most Hmong people live in Minnesota, California or Wisconsin.

Nationally, the Milwaukee metropolitan area became the fourth largest concentration of people of Hmong ethnicity. The largest concentration in the country is in the Twin Cities (St. Paul and Minneapolis), followed by two cities in California: Fresno and Sacramento.

Unlike past immigrant groups, the Hmong were political refugees who fled their country because of war and persecutions. The Hmong refugees were legally admitted to the United States by the U.S. government and were initially resettled by church organizations such as Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Service.

Most traditional Hmong elders, especially men, do not want strangers to touch their heads, or those of their children, due to their religious beliefs and personal values. It is considered dangerous to remark out loud about the cuteness or positive qualities of a child, as spirits may hear and steal the child's soul.

Given their history fighting in that region for the U.S., many Hmong feel strongly that they should be classified as Southeast Asian. But because China is considered the Hmong ancestral homeland, the U.S. Census Bureau categorized them as East Asian after the 2020 census.

Hmong History and Saint Paul. With the largest Hmong population of any city in the United States, Saint Paul is enlivened with the vibrant traditions and culture of the Hmong people.

With the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War, large numbers of Vietnamese, Cambodians, Lao, and Hmong sought refuge in the United States. In 1975, Hmong refugees began their move to Minnesota. Over the next years, close to 60,000 of these new immigrants made their home in Minnesota.

The Hmong are a Southeast Asian ethnic group that immigrated to Wisconsin as refugees in the 1970s and 1980s, after the Vietnam War. In Asia, most Hmong live in isolated mountain villages in Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand.

What is disrespectful in Hmong culture? ›

In the Hmong culture, there is no hugging, kissing, or direct eye contact in public. Eye contact may be construed as an insult or a sign of disrespect. Male and female Hmong differ in the ways they greet one another. Hmong men greet one another warmly with hand- shakes.

Hmong groups are often named after the dominant colors or patterns of their traditional clothing, style of head-dress, or the provinces from which they come. The Black Hmongs are best known for their handicraft and their traditional indigo blue dress. The clan remains a dominant organizing force in Hmong society.

Though Hmong restaurateurs and communities have been influenced by American culture, the four core components of Hmong dishes have a lasting power. Protein, freshly cooked or steamed vegetables, rice, and a hot sauce are pillars in every Hmong meal. Rice is the bedrock of the meal, with fluffy rice generally preferred.

Life expectancy of the Hmong is higher for those born in the U.S. compared to those of Hmong immigrants. However, median life expectancy of the Hmong in the U.S. is 57 years compared to 77 years among Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) (Yang, Mills, & Nasseri, 2010).

The Hmong religion is traditionally animist (animism is the belief in the spirit world and in the interconnectedness of all living things). At the center of Hmong culture is the Txiv Neeb, the shaman (literally, "father/master of spirits"). According to Hmong cosmology, the human body is the host for a number of souls.

The current consensus among Western linguists is that they constitute a family of their own, the lexical and typological similarities among Hmong–Mien and Sinitic languages being attributed to contact-induced influence.

The modern Hmong reside mainly in Southwest China (Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guangxi) and countries in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. There is also a large diasporic community in the United States of more than 300,000.

The Hmong, who were refugees, settled in Minnesota due to the actions of voluntary agencies (VOLAGS). Minnesota had many active VOLAGS who helped Hmong people when they arrived.

The Hmong population in California is the largest in the United States. Most fled to the United States as refugees in the late 1970s due to their cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency operatives in northern Laos during the Vietnam War, or are a descendant.