An estimated 20,000 people in the United States identified as Bhutanese in 2023, according to estimates published by the U.S. Census Bureau.1 Bhutanese Americans are the 25th-largest Asian origin population living in the U.S., accounting for approximately 0.1% of the country’s Asian population.
The Bhutanese population includes people living in the United States who self-identify as Bhutanese. This includes people who trace their or their family’s origins to Bhutan, including immigrants from Bhutan and those born in the U.S. or elsewhere. It also includes people who identify as Bhutanese alone and no other race or Asian origin – who account for 73% of the population – as well as people who identify as Bhutanese in combination with any other race, ethnicity or Asian origin.
Due to data limitations, the following facts about the Bhutanese population are based on people who identify as Bhutanese alone and no other race or Asian origin.
This fact sheet is a profile of the geographic, social and demographic, and economic characteristics of the Bhutanese-alone population in the U.S. It at times compares the characteristics of Bhutanese Americans with characteristics of the U.S. Asian population overall. These detailed tabulations are based on Pew Research Center analysis of the 2021-23 American Community Survey (ACS). (For more information, refer to the methodology.)
Detailed tables: U.S. Asian population data by origin groups
Population
About 14,000 people in the U.S. identify as Bhutanese alone and no other race or Asian origin, according to Center analysis of the 2021-23 ACS. The Bhutanese-alone population shrunk by roughly 12,000 since 2019, down from 25,000 – a 45% decrease over roughly the last half decade.
Immigrants made up 75% of the Bhutanese-alone population in the U.S. in 2023, a decrease from 85% in 2019. The number of Bhutanese immigrants in the country decreased from 22,000 to 11,000 people over that same period.
(Data on the Bhutanese population in the U.S. is not available prior to 2012.)
Bhutanese population in the U.S., 2019-2023
U.S. Bhutanese (alone) population, by nativity
| Year | Total | Immigrant | U.S. born |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 25,000 | 22,000 | 4,000 |
| 2023 | 14,000 | 11,000 | 4,000 |
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of the 2017-19 and 2021-23 American Community Surveys (IPUMS).
Note: The population shown includes only those who identify as Bhutanese alone and no other race or Asian origin. All figures are rounded according to rules shown in the methodology.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Time in the U.S. and citizenship status
- Among Bhutanese immigrants, 59% have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years and 68% are naturalized U.S. citizens.
Language2
- 35% of Bhutanese ages 5 and older speak English proficiently. This share includes 6% who speak only English at home and 28% who speak another language at home but say they speak English very well. By comparison, 74% of Asian Americans 5 and older are English proficient.
- 32% of Bhutanese immigrants ages 5 and older are English proficient.
- Other top languages spoken at home by Bhutanese Americans 5 and older include Nepali (87%), other Asian languages (2%), Tibetan (1%) and Hindi (1%).
Geography
- 4,000 out of the nation’s Bhutanese-alone population of 14,000, or 25%, live in Ohio. Pennsylvania has a Bhutanese population of about 3,000 people.
- Other states with large Bhutanese populations include New York (1,000), Virginia (1,000) and Texas (800).
- Metropolitan areas with the largest Bhutanese populations include the Columbus, Ohio (2,000), Pittsburgh (2,000) and Cincinnati (900) metro areas.
Age
- The median age of Bhutanese is 34.6, similar to the median age of Asians overall (34.7).
- The median age of Bhutanese immigrants is 37.7. Some 6% of the Bhutanese immigrant population is under 18 years old and 8% are 65 and older.
Educational attainment
- 20% of Bhutanese Americans ages 25 and older have a bachelor’s (13%) or advanced degree (7%). Among Asians overall, 56% have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Marital status
- 70% of Bhutanese adults are married, compared with 58% of Asian adults overall.
- 72% of Bhutanese immigrants ages 18 and older are married.
Poverty status
- 5% of Bhutanese in the U.S. are living in poverty, a smaller share than among Asians overall (10%).
- 6% of Bhutanese immigrants live in poverty.
Note: Some topics covered for other Asian origin groups are not shown for the Bhutanese population because of insufficient sample sizes in the surveys used.
Find out more
Explore fact sheets on other Asian origin groups in the U.S.
For detailed information on the data and analysis used for these fact sheets, read the methodology.
This fact sheet was written and compiled by Carolyne Im, research analyst. It is an update of a fact sheet originally published on April 29, 2021, compiled by Abby Budiman, former temporary research associate.
The following individuals provided research and editorial guidance: Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research; Jens Manuel Krogstad, senior writer and editor; Sahana Mukherjee, associate director of race and ethnicity research; Jeffrey S. Passel, senior demographer; Neil G. Ruiz, head of new research initiatives; and Ziyao Tian, research associate. Research Assistants Alexandra Cahn and Gracie Martinez and Research Associates Luis Noe-Bustamante, Khadijah Edwards and Tian provided research support.
This fact sheet was produced by Sara Atske, digital producer. It was copy edited by David Kent, senior copy editor. John Carlo Mandapat, information graphics designer, provided guidance on charts. The communications and outreach strategy was led by Tanya Arditi, senior communications manager, with support from Talia Price, communications associate.
Find related reports online at www.pewresearch.org/AsianAmericans.