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

Year Population
2000 1,224,000
2010 1,737,000
2015 1,980,000
2019 2,183,000

Pew Research Center

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

Category English proficient
All 54%
U.S. born 90%
Foreign born 35%
Adults 48%
All Asians 72%

Pew Research Center

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

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

Category High school or less Some college Bachelor's degree Postgrad degree
All 45% 23% 22% 10%
U.S. born 19% 26% 37% 18%
Foreign born 51% 22% 19% 8%
All Asians 27% 19% 30% 24%
All Americans 39% 29% 20% 13%

Pew Research Center

U.S. Vietnamese population living in poverty, 2019

Group All Americans All Asians All Vietnamese
All 13% 10% 12%
U.S. born 13% 9% 12%
Foreign born 14% 11% 12%

Pew Research Center

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

Metro area Vietnamese population
Los Angeles 346,000
Houston 143,000
San Jose, CA 143,000
Dallas 96,000
San Francisco 84,000
Seattle 74,000
Washington 69,000
San Diego 58,000
Atlanta 55,000
Sacramento, CA 42,000

Pew Research Center

Demographic characteristics of U.S. Vietnamese population, 2019


% (unless otherwise noted)

Among Vietnamese in the U.S.
All Asians
in the U.S.
All U.S. born Foreign born
MEDIAN AGE (in years) 34 37 17 49
AGE
Younger than 5 7 5 12 <0.5
5-17 17 17 38 4
18-29 18 18 30 11
30-39 17 13 12 14
40-49 14 16 4 24
50-64 16 19 2 29
65+ 11 12 1 19
NATIVITY
U.S. born 43 38
Foreign born 57 62
YEARS IN U.S. (among foreign born)
0-5 years 21 13
6-10 years 13 10
11-15 years 11 9
16-20 years 12 9
21+ years 44 60
CITIZENSHIP (among foreign born)
U.S. citizen 59 76
Not a U.S. citizen 41 24
MARITAL STATUS (18 and older)
Married 59 55 25 65
Divorced/Separated/Widowed 11 13 5 15
Never married 30 32 70 20
FERTILITY (among women ages 15 to 44)
Women who have given birth in the past 12 months 6 5 3 6
HOUSEHOLD TYPE, BY PERSONS
Married-couple household 71 69 69 70
Other family household 13 18 17 18
Non-family household 15 13 15 12
IN A MULTIGENERATIONAL HOUSEHOLD
Multigenerational household 27 34 26 38

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. Figures for Vietnamese and 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. Vietnamese population, 2019


% (unless otherwise noted)

Among Vietnamese in the U.S.
All Asians
in the U.S.
All U.S. born Foreign born
MEDIAN ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME $85,800 $69,800 $82,400 $66,000
MEDIAN ANNUAL PERSONAL EARNINGS (ages 16 and older with positive earnings)
All $40,000 $31,000 $30,000 $32,000
Full-time, year-round workers $60,000 $45,000 $50,000 $42,000
EMPLOYMENT STATUS (civilians ages 16 and older)
Employed 64 64 63 64
Not employed 3 3 4 2
Not in labor force 34 34 33 34
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (civilians ages 16 and older in the labor force) 4 4 5 3
LIVING IN POVERTY
All ages 10 12 12 12
Younger than 18 10 12 11 17
18-64 10 11 12 11
65 and older 12 16 11 16
HOMEOWNERSHIP (households)
Owner-occupied 59 67 50 70
Renter-occupied 41 33 50 30

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. Figures for Vietnamese and 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


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