Bhutanese population in the U.S., 2000-2019

Year Population
2000 200
2010 19,000
2015 24,000
2019 24,000

Pew Research Center

English proficiency of Bhutanese population in the U.S., 2019

Category English proficient
All 36%
U.S. born*** ***
Foreign born 32%
Adults 30%
All Asians 72%

Pew Research Center

Length of time in the U.S. for Bhutanese immigrants, 2000-2019

Educational attainment of Bhutanese population in the U.S., 2019

Category High school or less Some college Bachelor's degree Postgrad degree
All 75% 10% 11% 4%
U.S. born*** *** *** *** ***
Foreign born 75% 10% 11% 4%
All Asians 27% 19% 30% 24%
All Americans 39% 29% 20% 13%

Pew Research Center

U.S. Bhutanese population living in poverty, 2019

Group All Americans All Asians All Bhutanese
All 13% 10% 13%
U.S. born*** 13% 9% ***
Foreign born 14% 11% 13%

Pew Research Center

Top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas by Bhutanese population, 2019

Metro area Bhutanese population
Rochester, NY 2,000
Columbus, OH 2,000
Atlanta 2,000
Harrisburg–Carlisle, PA 2,000
Burlington, VT 1,000
Pittsburgh 1,000
Denver 1,000
Des Moines, IA 1,000
Cleveland 1,000
Erie, PA 1,000

Pew Research Center

Demographic characteristics of U.S. Bhutanese population, 2019


% (unless otherwise noted)

Among Bhutanese in the U.S.
All Asians
in the U.S.
All U.S. born Foreign born
MEDIAN AGE (in years) 34 32 *** 35
AGE
Younger than 5 7 10 *** 1
5-17 17 17 *** 14
18-29 18 19 *** 21
30-39 17 21 *** 25
40-49 14 13 *** 15
50-64 16 13 *** 15
65+ 11 8 *** 9
NATIVITY
U.S. born 43 15 100
Foreign born 57 85 100
YEARS IN U.S. (among foreign born)
0-5 years 21 29
6-10 years 13 57
11-15 years 11 7
16-20 years 12 1
21+ years 44 6
CITIZENSHIP (among foreign born)
U.S. citizen 59 41
Not a U.S. citizen 41 59
MARITAL STATUS (18 and older)
Married 59 71 *** 72
Divorced/Separated/Widowed 11 11 *** 11
Never married 30 18 *** 17
FERTILITY (among women ages 15 to 44)
Women who have given birth in the past 12 months 6 *** *** ***
HOUSEHOLD TYPE, BY PERSONS
Married-couple household 71 84 *** 83
Other family household 13 12 *** 13
Non-family household 15 3 *** 4
IN A MULTIGENERATIONAL HOUSEHOLD
Multigenerational household 27 56 *** 56

The symbol *** indicates insufficient number of observations to provide a reliable estimate.
Note: Family households are those with a household head and one or more persons living in the household who are related to the household head by birth, marriage or adoption. Households with a household head and an unmarried partner are only considered family households if there are other persons in the household who are related to the household head by birth, marriage or adoption. Multigenerational households are households with two or more adult generations or one that includes grandparents and grandchildren. Figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding. Due to data limitations, figures for Bhutanese based on single-race population only, regardless of Hispanic origin. Figures for all Asians based on mixed-race and mixed-group populations, regardless of Hispanic origin. See methodology for more detail.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 2017-2019 American Community Survey (IPUMS).

Pew Research Center


Economic characteristics of U.S. Bhutanese population, 2019


% (unless otherwise noted)

Among Bhutanese in the U.S.
All Asians
in the U.S.
All U.S. born Foreign born
MEDIAN ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME $85,800 *** *** ***
MEDIAN ANNUAL PERSONAL EARNINGS (ages 16 and older with positive earnings)
All $40,000 $25,000 *** $25,000
Full-time, year-round workers $60,000 *** *** ***
EMPLOYMENT STATUS (civilians ages 16 and older)
Employed 64 61 *** 62
Not employed 3 3 *** 3
Not in labor force 34 36 *** 36
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (civilians ages 16 and older in the labor force) 4 5 *** 5
LIVING IN POVERTY
All ages 10 13 *** 13
Younger than 18 10 *** *** ***
18-64 10 13 *** 13
65 and older 12 *** *** ***
HOMEOWNERSHIP (households)
Owner-occupied 59 *** *** ***
Renter-occupied 41 *** *** ***

The symbol *** indicates insufficient number of observations to provide a reliable estimate.
Note: The household population excludes persons living in institutions, college dormitories and other group quarters. Households are classified by the race or detailed Asian group of the head. “Full-time, year-round workers” are defined as people ages 16 and older who usually worked at least 35 hours per week and at least 48 weeks in the past year. The share of the population ages 16 and older who are not employed differs from the unemployment rate because the share not employed is based on the total population, while the unemployment rate is based on those who are in the labor force (i.e. working or looking for work). Poverty status is determined for individuals in housing units and non-institutional group quarters. It is unavailable for children younger than 15 who are not related to the householder, people living in institutional group quarters and people living in college dormitories or military barracks. Due to the way in which the IPUMS assigns poverty values, these data will differ from those provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding. Due to data limitations, figures for Bhutanese based on single-race population only, regardless of Hispanic origin. Figures for all Asians based on mixed-race and mixed-group populations, regardless of Hispanic origin. See methodology for more detail.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 2017-2019 American Community Survey (IPUMS).

Pew Research Center


Find out more

Explore fact sheets on other Asian groups in the U.S.

Read the methodology.