Hmong Americans

{{More citations needed|date=September 2021}}

File:Ban Vinai Revisited a051.jpgInitially, only 1,000 Hmong people were evacuated to the US. In May 1976, another 11,000 Hmong were allowed to enter the United States. By 1978 some 30,000 Hmong had immigrated to the US and by 1998, there were 200,000 Hmong living in the US.{{Cite journal|last1=Vang|first1=Tony|last2=Flores|first2=Juan|title=The Hmong Americans: Identity, Conflict, and Opportunity|journal=Multicultural Perspectives|year=1999|volume=1|issue=4|pages=9–14|doi=10.1080/15210969909539923}} This first wave was made up primarily of men directly associated with General Vang Pao's Secret Army, which had been aligned with US war efforts during the Vietnam War. Vang Pao's Secret Army, which was subsidized by the US Central Intelligence Agency, fought mostly along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, where his forces sought to disrupt North Vietnamese weapons supply efforts to the communist Viet Cong rebel forces in South Vietnam. Ethnic Laotian and Hmong veterans, and their families, led by Colonel Wangyee Vang formed the Lao Veterans of America in the aftermath of the war to help refugees in the camps in Thailand and to help former veterans and their families in the United States, especially with family reunification and resettlement issues.{{cite web|url=http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org|title=Lao Veterans of America|website=www.laoveteransofamerica.org|access-date=January 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227015927/http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org/|archive-date=27 December 2016|url-status=dead}}

The passage of the Refugee Act of 1980 represented the second-wave of Hmong immigration.{{cite web|url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/foreign-born-hmong-united-states|title=The Foreign-Born Hmong in the United States|last=Yau|first=Jennifer|date=January 2005|website=Migration Policy|access-date=2020-03-08|archive-date=2020-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220075725/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/foreign-born-hmong-united-states|url-status=live}} The clans, from which the Hmong take their surnames, are: Chang (Tsaab) or Cha (Tsab), Chao (Tsom), Cheng (Tsheej), Chue (Tswb), Fang (Faaj) or Fa (Faj), Hang (Haam) or Ha (Ham), Her (Hawj), Khang (Khaab) or Kha (Khab), Kong (Koo) or Soung (Xoom), Kue (Kwm), Lee (Lis), Lor (Lauj), Moua (Muas), Pha (Phab), Thao (Thoj), Vang (Vaaj) or Va (Vaj), Vue or Vu (Vwj), Xiong (Xyooj) and Yang (Yaaj) or Ya (Yaj).

File:USA - HMONG Memorial.jpg Court House commemorating Hmong service.|275x275px]]Following the 1980 immigration wave, a heated global political debate developed over how to deal with the remaining Hmong refugees in Thailand. Many had been held in squalid Thai refugee camps, and the United Nations and the Clinton administration sought to repatriate them to Laos.{{Cite web|url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/foreign-born-hmong-united-states|title=Article: The Foreign-Born Hmong in the United States | migrationpolicy.org|date=January 2005 |access-date=3 December 2023}}

Reports of human rights violations against the Hmong in Laos, including killings and imprisonments, led most Thailand-based Hmong to oppose returning there, even as the conditions worsened of the camps in Thailand, because of their lack of sufficient funding.

One of the more prominent examples of apparent Laotian abuse of the Hmong was the fate of Vue Mai, a former soldier. The US Embassy in Bangkok recruited him to return to Laos under the repatriation program, in their effort to reassure the Thai-based Hmong that their safety in Laos would be assured. But Vue disappeared in Vientiane. The US Commission for Refugees later reported that he was arrested by Lao security forces and never seen again.{{cite book |last=Hamilton-Merritt |first=Jane |date=January 1, 1993 |title=Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942–1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dWIj5Q8l08wC&q=Vue%20Mai%20arrested%20Lao&pg=PA525 |publisher=Indiana University Press |page=525 |isbn=9780253207562 |access-date=2 September 2014}}

Especially following the Vue Mai incident, the Clinton and UN policy of returning the Hmong to Laos began to meet with strong political opposition by US conservatives and some human rights advocates. Michael Johns, a former White House aide to George H. W. Bush and a Heritage Foundation foreign policy analyst, along with other influential conservatives, led a campaign to grant the Thai-based Hmong immediate US immigration rights. In an October 1995 National Review article, citing the Hmong's contributions to US war efforts during the Vietnam War, Johns described Clinton's support for returning the Thai-based Hmong refugees to Laos as a "betrayal" and urged Congressional Republicans to step up opposition to the repatriation.{{Cite news|last=Johns|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Johns (policy analyst)|date=October 23, 1995|title=Acts of betrayal – persecution of Hmong|work=National Review|url=http://findarticles.com:80/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n20_v47/ai_17443642|access-date=2021-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206164352/http://findarticles.com:80/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n20_v47/ai_17443642|archive-date=2010-02-06}} Opposition to the repatriation grew in Congress and among Hmong families in the US. Congressional Republicans responded by introducing and passing legislation to appropriate sufficient funds to resettle all remaining Hmong in Thailand in the United States. Clinton vowed to veto the legislation.

In addition to internal US opposition to the repatriation, the government of Laos expressed reservations about the repatriation, stating that the Hmong remaining in Thailand were a threat to its one-party communist government and the Marxist government in Vientiane, Laos. In a significant and unforeseen political victory for the Hmong and their US Republican advocates, tens of thousands of Thai-based Hmong refugees were ultimately granted US immigration rights. The majority were resettled in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The defeat of the repatriation initiative resulted in the reunifications in the US of many long-separated Hmong families. In 2006, as a reflection of the growth of the minority in the state, the Wisconsin State Elections Board translated state voting documents into the Hmong language.{{cite press release |date=June 16, 2006 |author=Kyle R. Richmond |title=Elections Board Translates Voting Documents Into Spanish and Hmong for 2006 Elections |publisher=Wisconsin State Elections Board |url=http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid%3D11397%26locid%3D47 |access-date=2008-08-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080806055918/http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=11397&locid=47 |archive-date=2008-08-06 }}

Throughout the Vietnam War, and for two decades following it, the US government stated that there was no "Secret War" in Laos and that the US was not engaged in air or ground combat operations in Laos. In the late 1990s, however, several US conservatives, led by Johns and others, alleged that the Clinton administration was using the denial of this covert war to justify a repatriation of Thailand-based Hmong war veterans to Laos. It persuaded the US government to acknowledge the Secret War (conducted mostly under President Richard Nixon) and to honor the Hmong and American veterans from the war.

On May 15, 1997, in a total reversal of US policy, the federal government acknowledged that it had supported a prolonged air and ground campaign in Laos against the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong. That day it dedicated the Laos Memorial on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery in honor of the Hmong and other combat veterans from the Secret War.{{cite book |last=Youyee Vang |first=Chia |date=2010 |title=Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora |series=Asian American experience |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_b5V2W7crmAC&q=Laos%20Memorial%20Arlington%20National%20Cemetery%20secret%20war&pg=PA130 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |page=130 |isbn=9780252077593 |access-date=2 September 2014}} In 1999 there were about 250,000 Hmong people living in the United States, living in numerous medium and large cities.Kaiser, Robert L. "After 25 Years In U.S., Hmong Still Feel Isolated". Chicago Tribune. December 27, 1999. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/12/27/after-25-years-in-us-hmong-still-feel-isolated/ 1] . Retrieved April 14, 2012.

Some Hmong remained in refugee camps in Thailand at the time of the September 11, 2001, attacks. This resulted in the tightening of US immigration laws, especially under the Patriot Act and the Real ID Act, and the immigration of Hmong refugees to the US has significantly slowed. Most Hmong refugees in Thailand had been engaged in documented armed conflict (although under US sponsorship) during and after the Vietnam War. The anti-terrorism legislation created barriers to such people being accepted as immigrants.{{cite news |title=Laotian, Hmong immigrants protest Patriot Act |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2007/12/16/laotian-hmong-immigrants-protest-patriot-act/ |access-date=2019-12-16 |work=San Jose Mercury News |agency=AP |date=16 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502203852/https://www.mercurynews.com/2007/12/16/laotian-hmong-immigrants-protest-patriot-act/ |archive-date=2017-05-02 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=(title unavailable) |url=http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/16736791.htm?source=rss&channel=inquirer_nation |work=Philadelphia Inquirer}}{{Dead link|date=April 2012}}{{Cite journal|last=Barnett|first=Don|title=A New Era of Refugee Resettlement|journal=Center for Immigration Studies}}

File:20110404 Hmong Village Recycling Award 109.jpg]]

According to the 2010 US Census, 260,073 people of Hmong descent reside in the United States up from 186,310 in 2000.{{cite web |title=Southeast Asian Americans at a Glance |url=http://www.searac.org/sites/default/files/SEAAs_At_A_Glance_Jan_2011.pdf |publisher=Southeast Asia Resource Action Center |access-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304133722/http://www.searac.org/sites/default/files/SEAAs_At_A_Glance_Jan_2011.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} The vast majority of the growth since 2000 was from natural increase, except for the admission of a final group of over 15,000 refugees in 2004 and 2005 from Wat Tham Krabok in Thailand. Of the 260,073 Hmong-Americans, 247,595 or 95.2% are Hmong alone, and the remaining 12,478 are mixed Hmong with some other ethnicity or race. The Hmong-American population is among the youngest of all groups in the United States, with the majority being under 30 years old, born after 1980, with most part-Hmong are under 10 years old.{{cite web | url=https://www.census.gov | title=U.S. Census website | access-date=2020-02-09 | archive-date=2020-08-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820053605/https://www.census.gov/ | url-status=live }}

States with the largest Hmong population include: California (86,989; 0.2%), Minnesota (63,619; 1.2%), Wisconsin (47,127; 0.8%), and North Carolina (10,433; 0.1%), Michigan (5,924; 0.1%), Colorado (4,530; 0.1%), Georgia (3,623; 0.03%), Alaska (3,534; 0.5%), Oklahoma (3,369; 0.1%), and Oregon (2,920; 0.1%).{{cite web|url=http://www.hmong.org/page33422626.aspx |title=2010 Census Hmong Populations by State |last1=Moua |first1=Dr. Mai |year=2010 |work=2010 United States Census |publisher=Hmong American Partnership |access-date=4 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214024603/http://www.hmong.org/page33422626.aspx |archive-date=14 December 2012 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_states&lang_id=722&mode=lang_tops|title=Data Center States Results|access-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930194110/http://www.mla.org/map_data_states%26lang_id%3D722%26mode%3Dlang_tops|archive-date=2007-09-30|url-status=dead}} The metropolitan areas of Fresno and Minneapolis-St. Paul have especially large Hmong communities.[http://www.hmongcenter.org/top50metarby.html "Top 50 Metropolitan Areas by Hmong Population"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111091459/http://www.hmongcenter.org/top50metarby.html |date=2007-01-11 }} The [http://www.hmongcenter.org/ Hmong Culture Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103080404/http://www.hmongcenter.org/ |date=2007-01-03 }}. Data compiled by Mark Pfeifer. accessed January 29, 2006 St. Paul, Minnesota, has the largest Hmong population per capita in the United States (10.0%; 28,591 Hmong Americans), followed by Wausau in Wisconsin (3,569; 9.1% of its population). The Hmong communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin are geographically and culturally interlinked, with sizeable Hmong communities present in most of the mid-size cities between Milwaukee and Minneapolis.{{cite journal |last1=Bengston |first1=David N. |last2=Schermann |first2=Michele |last3=Moua |first3=MiaKia |last4=Lee |first4=Tou Thai |title=Hmong Americans and public lands in Minnesota and Wisconsin |journal=Rethinking Protected Areas in a Changing World: Proceedings of the 2007 GWS Biennial Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites. |date=2008 |pages=30–35 |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/19818 |access-date=January 12, 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Madison Public Library |title=Midwest Hmong: Home |url=https://simmonslis.libguides.com/midwest_hmong |website=Simmons LIS |publisher=Madison Public Library |access-date=January 12, 2023}}

In terms of metropolitan area, the largest Hmong-American community is in Minneapolis-Saint Paul-Bloomington, MN Metro Area (74,422); followed by Fresno, CA Metro Area (31,771); Sacramento, CA Metro Area (26,996); Milwaukee, WI Metro Area (11,904); and Merced, CA Metro Area (7,254).{{cite web|url=http://www.hmong.org/page334122813.aspx |title=2010 Census Hmong Populations of U.S. Metro and Micro Areas |year=2010 |work=Hmong American Partnership |access-date=April 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129060844/http://www.hmong.org/page334122813.aspx |archive-date=29 November 2012 }}

There are smaller Hmong communities scattered across the country, including cities in California; Colorado (Denver, Colorado – 4,264); Michigan (Detroit, Michigan and Warren, Michigan – 4,190), Alaska (Anchorage, Alaska – 3,494); North Carolina (Hickory, North Carolina); Georgia (Auburn, Duluth, Lawrenceville, Monroe, Atlanta, and Winder); Wisconsin (Eau Claire, Appleton, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, and Stevens Point, Plover, and Sheboygan); Kansas (Kansas City – 1,754); Oklahoma (Tulsa – 2,483); Southwest Missouri; Northwest Arkansas (Benton County); Washington; Oregon (Portland), Montana (Missoula) and throughout the United States.{{Cite journal|last1=Pfeifer|first1=M. E.|last2=Thao|first2=B. K.|title=State of the Hmong American Community|journal=Hmong National Development}}

As of the 2000 US Census, the largest Hmong population by metropolitan area resided in and around Minneapolis-St. Paul, with 40,707 people. The following areas were Greater Fresno with 22,456 people, Greater Sacramento (Sacramento-Yolo) with 16,261, Greater Milwaukee (Milwaukee-Racine) with 8,078, Greater Merced with 6,148, Greater Stockton (Stockton-Lodi) with 5,553, Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah with 4,741, Greater Wausau with 4,453, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir (North Carolina) with 4,207, and Greater Detroit (Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint) with 3,926.O'Malley, Julia. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AS&p_theme=as&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=114B2CFD015CE468&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Hmong and Mormon"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514031831/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AS&p_theme=as&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=114B2CFD015CE468&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=2013-05-14 }}. Anchorage Daily News. Sunday, October 8, 2006. A1. Retrieved March 13, 2012.

{{see also|History of the Hmong in California|History of the Hmong in Fresno, California|History of the Hmong in Merced, California}}

California has the largest Hmong population in the United States by state. As of 2010, there are 95,120 Hmong Americans in California.

In 2002, the State of California counted about 35,000 students of Hmong descent in schools. According to Jay Schenirer, a member of the school board of the Sacramento City Unified School District, most of the students lived in the Central Valley, in an area ranging from Fresno to Marysville. Fresno County and Sacramento County combined have almost 12,000 Hmong students.Chavez, Erika. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F3D340AD64C99E8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Hmong cry for help has been heard: A state forum will seek ways to improve student achievement"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517033359/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F3D340AD64C99E8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=2013-05-17 }} The Sacramento Bee. Tuesday, May 28, 2002. B1. Retrieved March 12, 2012.

As of 2002, of the Hmong students who took the California English Language Development Test, which measures English fluency in students who are learning English, 15% of those identifying as Hmong scored at the "advanced" or "early advanced" classifications. In comparison, 30% of California's Vietnamese students studying English, and 21% of California's more than 1.5 million English learning students scored at that same advanced level. Suanna Gilman-Ponce, the multilingual education department head of Sacramento City Unified, said that the lower rates among Hmong students can be attributed to a higher percentage of parents who speak little English; therefore the children enter American schools with fewer English skills. In addition, their culture was not literate. There was no tradition of written Hmong history or literature.

In 2011, Susan B. Anthony Elementary School in Sacramento established a Hmong-language immersion program. In 2019, Fresno Unified School district began offering dual immersion as well as elective course offerings for high school students to learn the Hmong language.Chavez, Erika. [http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-12-25/hmong-immersion-program-sacramento-aims-educate-preserve "Hmong immersion program in Sacramento aims to educate, preserve"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525140121/https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-12-25/hmong-immersion-program-sacramento-aims-educate-preserve |date=2017-05-25 }} PRI. December 25, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2013.

In the Fresno Unified School District, more than 10,000 signatures of support were collected for the naming of a new elementary school for General Vang Pao, a well-known leader from the Secret Wars in Laos and the Hmong American diaspora.{{Cite news|url=https://kmph.com/archive/general-vang-pao-elementary-school-a-first-for-fresno|title=General Vang Pao Elementary School: A First For Fresno|work=FOX26 News|access-date=2020-03-07|archive-date=2019-12-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209050057/https://kmph.com/archive/general-vang-pao-elementary-school-a-first-for-fresno|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal|last1=Veng|first1=Nengher|last2=Hein|first2=Jeremy|title=Hmong American leadership and unity in the post-Vang Pao era|journal=Hmong Studies Journal|volume=16|page=18|via=EBSCOhost}}

Some Hmong families have moved to the Emerald Triangle region, including Trinity and Siskiyou counties, to work in the marijuana farming industry.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/03/us/hmong-marijuana-california.html|title=California's 'Green Rush' Takes Hmong Back to Their Opium-Growing Roots|work=The New York Times|date=June 3, 2017 |last1=Fuller |first1=Thomas }}

Colorado is home to approximately 5,000 Hmong, who first settled in the state from late 1976 to the early 1980s. Today, most ethnic Hmong live in the north metro Denver area, including Arvada, Brighton, Broomfield, Federal Heights, Lafayette, Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster.

In 1995, Golden, Colorado became the first city in the United States to designate a Lao-Hmong Recognition Day. Since then, other areas in the country followed suit, declaring July 22 "Lao-Hmong Recognition Day". The special day honors the bravery, sacrifice, and loyalty to the United States exhibited by the Lao-Hmong. The Lao-Hmong Recognition Day was held in recognition and to honor of the Lao-Hmong Special Guerrilla Units (SGU) Veterans, "America's Secret Army and Most Loyal Allies". The SGUs were composed of indigenous Laotians, especially members of the Hmong, Lao, Mien, Lue, Khmu and Thaidam tribes. They were known for their patriotism, valiant service, personal sacrifice, and loyal support of the United States Armed Forces in Laos during the Vietnam War.

"Historically, the Lao-Hmong people were one of our country's most loyal allies. During the Vietnam War, they fought bravely alongside U.S. soldiers. Many emigrated to the U.S. and now proudly call this country their home. We are grateful for their service and sacrifice to our nation," said U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07).

The Hmong Alliance and Missionary District headquarters is located in Thornton, Colorado. In 2018, the Hmong District celebrates its fortieth-year anniversary in St. Paul. It has more than 110 churches scattered throughout the United States with an inclusive membership of 30,000 plus people. The Hmong District is led by Rev. Dr. Lantzia Thao (Tswv Txos), who acts as the Hmong District Superintendent overseeing the entire movement and operations.

Kansas City was one of the first cities to accept Hmong people after the war.[http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/cool-things-hmong-story-cloth/10367 "Cool Things – Hmong Story Cloth"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125134250/http://kshs.org/kansapedia/cool-things-hmong-story-cloth/10367 |date=2017-01-25 }}. Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved March 2, 2014. Its Hmong population declined in the early 80s due to migration of many from Kansas to California, and to the Northern Midwest. The population has since stabilized and has more than doubled every decade since 1990. According to the 2010 Census, 1,732 Hmong people lived in Kansas, of which 1,600 lived in the Kansas side of Kansas City. More than 400 families and 2,000 Hmong were estimated to be living in the Greater Kansas City Area in 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www.hmong.org/page33422626.aspx |title=2010 Census Hmong Populations by State |access-date=2012-12-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214024603/http://www.hmong.org/page33422626.aspx |archive-date=2012-12-14 }} Retrieved July 19, 2013,

Lao Family was established in Kansas City in the 1980s. The Hmong separated from that organization to create Hmong American Community, Inc. It still operates and hosts Hmong New Year celebrations in Kansas City.{{cite web|url=http://www.hndinc.org/aboutus.php?page=bod&mb=8 |title=Hmong National Development, Inc. – Vision : A united, thriving Hmong Community. – About HND |date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114904/http://www.hndinc.org/aboutus.php?page=bod&mb=8 |access-date=2021-11-24|archive-date=2016-03-04 }} Kansas City has a vast majority Green Hmong population. More than 80% of the people had converted to Christianity, although many new arrivals of Hmong people still practice traditional religion. Kansas City is home to Hmong churches, multiple Hmong-run and owned manufacturing companies, nail salons, small business such as insurance and barber shops, vendors at the flea market, and organizations such as Hmong Village Inc., Vang Organization, and Herr Organization. {{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The Hmong community in Massachusetts is small compared to those of ethnic Vietnamese and Cambodians in the state. As of 2011, according to Judy Thao, the director of the United Hmong of Massachusetts, an organization based in Lowell, about 2,000 Hmong resided in the State of Massachusetts. Thao said that the largest community, with 60 to 70 families, is located in the Fitchburg/Leominster area. As of 2010, there are 412 people of Hmong descent living in Fitchburg (one percent of the city's population).

Thao said that about 20 to 30 families live in each of the second-largest communities, in Springfield and Brockton.West, Nancy Shohet. "Hmong stories woven into art in Groton show". The Boston Globe. March 31, 2011. [http://articles.boston.com/2011-03-31/yourtown/29366687_1_hmong-population-largest-hmong-community-hmong-story-cloths 1]{{dead link|date=November 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. Retrieved March 12, 2012.

{{see also|History of the Hmong Americans in Metro Detroit}}

As of 1999, fewer than 4,000 Hmong people lived in Detroit.Kaiser, Robert L. "After 25 Years In U.s., Hmong Still Feel Isolated". Chicago Tribune. December 27, 1999. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/12/27/2-year-grant-helping-pay-to-teach-children-how-to-learn/ 2] . Retrieved April 14, 2012. As of 2002 the concentrations of Hmong and Laotian people in the Wayne–Macomb–Oakland tri-county area were in northeast Detroit, southern Warren, and central Pontiac.Metzger, Kurt and Jason Booza. [http://www.cus.wayne.edu/content/publications/Asians7.pdf "Asians in the United States, Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620081425/http://www.cus.wayne.edu/content/publications/Asians7.pdf |date=2006-06-20 }}. Center for Urban Studies, Wayne State University. January 2002 Working Paper Series, No. 7. p. 7. Retrieved November 6, 2013. That year, Kurt Metzger and Jason Booza, authors of Asians in the United States, Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit, wrote "The 3,943 Hmong living in tri-county area is one of the most concentrated of the Asian groups."

As of 2005, Michigan had 5,400 Hmong people; reflecting an increase from 2,300 in the early 1990s. As of 2005, most Hmong in Michigan lived in Metro Detroit in the cities of Detroit, Pontiac, and Warren."Michigan Hmong". Michigan Daily. January 10, 2007. p. [http://www.michigandaily.com/content/michigan-hmong?page=0,1 2] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20130117041558/http://www.michigandaily.com/content/michigan-hmong?page=0,1 Archive]) Retrieved November 8, 2012. As of 2007, almost 8,000 Hmong lived in Michigan, most in northeastern Detroit. As of 2007, Hmong were increasingly moving to Pontiac and Warren."Michigan Hmong". The Michigan Daily. January 10, 2007. [http://www.michigandaily.com/content/michigan-hmong 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104033318/http://www.michigandaily.com/content/michigan-hmong |date=2013-11-04 }}. Retrieved April 12, 2012.

The Greater Lansing Area is home to the second-largest Hmong American population in Michigan. After 1970, Hmong Americans began to settle in Lansing, Michigan's capital city. Hmong Americans in the Greater Lansing Area, often have strong ties to such churches as St. Michael's, Our Savior Lutheran Church, and All Saints Episcopal Church, which sponsored those Hmong who came to Lansing, and provided them with resources to make the transition to America a smoother experience.{{Cite book|title=Hmong Americans in Detroit|last=Bloomfield|first=Martha|publisher=Michigan State University Press|year=2014|isbn=9781609174095|location=East Lansing}} Lansing hosts a statewide Hmong New Year Festival.

{{see also|History of the Hmong in Minneapolis–Saint Paul}}

As of 1999, Minnesota has the second-largest US Hmong population by state. As of 2001, the largest Hmong population in the United States by the city is located in St. Paul.Her, Lucy Y. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MN&p_theme=mn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EFCD2F0D1412B5B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Ceremony is Hmong welcome to educators – Culture-sharing event aims to aid students, educate parents and elders"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517041932/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MN&p_theme=mn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EFCD2F0D1412B5B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=2013-05-17 }}. Minneapolis Star Tribune. Saturday, March 31, 2001. News 9B. Retrieved March 12, 2012. In 2020, the Hmong-American population in Minnesota was about 90,000, and it was the largest ethnic Asian group in the state.{{cite news |last1=Tavernise |first1=Sabrina |title=They Fled Asia as Refugees. Now They Are Caught in the Middle of Minneapolis. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/us/hmong-americans-minneapolis-george-floyd.html |access-date=February 16, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=June 1, 2020}}

Pom Siab Hmoob (Gazing into the Heart of the Hmong) Theatre, which is reportedly the world's first Hmong theater group, was formed in 1990. It is based in the Twin Cities.Lee, Gary Yia and Nicholas Tapp. Culture and Customs of the Hmong. Greenwood Publishing Group. ABC-CLIO, 2010. 76–77. Retrieved from Google Books on April 14, 2012. {{ISBN|0-313-34526-0}}, {{ISBN|978-0-313-34526-5}}. It is now known as the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT).Lee, Gary Yia and Nicholas Tapp. Culture and Customs of the Hmong. Greenwood Publishing Group. ABC-CLIO, 2010. 77. Retrieved from Google Books on April 14, 2012. {{ISBN|0-313-34526-0}}, {{ISBN|978-0-313-34526-5}}.

The film Gran Torino directed by Clint Eastwood, was set and filmed in Detroit, Michigan. It stars five Minnesotan Hmong (Hmongesotan) Americans. The original story was based on a neighborhood in Saint Paul. It was the first mainstream US film to feature Hmong Americans.Yuen, Laura. [http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/12/19/grantorino/ "Hmong get a mixed debut in new Eastwood film"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121002716/http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/12/19/grantorino |date=2013-11-21 }}. Minnesota Public Radio. December 18, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2012.

In 2010, North Carolina had a population of 10,864 Hmong. Their community has one of the highest rates of employment compared to Hmong in other states in the US. 50% of the employed Hmong adults work in the manufacturing industry. The two centers of population are in the Hickory and Greensboro areas respectively.{{cite web|date=2016-10-12|title=American FactFinder – Results|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF1_QTP8&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161012022855/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF1_QTP8&prodType=table|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-10-12|access-date=2020-11-27|website=archive.vn}}{{cite web|title=Hmong Students and UNCG – The Center for New North Carolinians|url=https://cnnc.uncg.edu/hmong-students-and-uncg/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=cnnc.uncg.edu|date=April 4, 2019 |archive-date=2020-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206100812/https://cnnc.uncg.edu/hmong-students-and-uncg/|url-status=live}}

{{see also|Demographics of Philadelphia#Hmong}}

A group of Hmong refugees settled in Philadelphia after the end of the 1970s Laotian Civil War. They were attacked in discriminatory acts, and the city's Commission on Human Relations held hearings on the incidents. Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, said that lower-class residents resented the Hmong receiving a $100,000 federal grant for employment assistance when they were also out of work; they believed that American citizens should be getting assistance."The Melting Pot". Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The Noonday Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-374-52564-1}}, {{ISBN|978-0-374-52564-4}}. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=a8oc9o4yPNgC&dq=%22In+Philadelphia%2C+anti-Hmong+muggings%22&pg=PA192 192] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112061901/https://books.google.com/books?id=a8oc9o4yPNgC&pg=PA192&dq=%22In+Philadelphia,+anti-Hmong+muggings%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZU8LUbvqJoOG8QSmgIEQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22In%20Philadelphia%2C%20anti-Hmong%20muggings%22&f=false |date=2016-01-12 }}. "In Philadelphia, anti-Hmong muggings, robberies, beatings, stonings, and vandalism were so commonplace during the early eighties that the city's Commission on Human Relations held public hearings to investigate the violence. One source[...]" Between 1982 and 1984, three quarters of the Hmong people who had settled in Philadelphia left for other cities in the United States to join relatives who were already there."The Melting Pot". Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The Noonday Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-374-52564-1}}, {{ISBN|978-0-374-52564-4}}. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=a8oc9o4yPNgC&dq=%22Between+1982+and+1984%2C+three+quarters%22&pg=PA195 195] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112061902/https://books.google.com/books?id=a8oc9o4yPNgC&pg=PA195&dq=%22Between+1982+and+1984,+three+quarters%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mU8LUePkJIac9gTiqYD4Cw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Between%201982%20and%201984%2C%20three%20quarters%22&f=false |date=2016-01-12 }}

File:Providence Hmong Church.jpg

In 1976, Hmong members of the U.S. Secret Army Special Guerrilla Unit, recruited by the CIA during the Vietnam War, were resettled in Rhode Island as refugees.{{cite news|title=Rhode Island's Hmong-Lao community to mark 40 years of resettlement|url=http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160508/rhode-islands-hmong-lao-community-to-mark-40-years-of-resettlement|access-date=19 September 2017|work=The Providence Journal|date=May 8, 2016|archive-date=September 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920044156/http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160508/rhode-islands-hmong-lao-community-to-mark-40-years-of-resettlement|url-status=live}} In 1983 their population was estimated at 1,700–2,000.{{cite web|last1=Finck|first1=John|title=The Hmong Resettlement Study Site Report: Providence, Rhode Island|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234754363|access-date=19 September 2017|date=January 1984}} 2010 census results put the number of Rhode Island Hmong at 1,015.{{cite web |title=Hmong Population in the U.S. |url=http://www.wausauhmong.org/wahma_v1/index.php?q=content/hmong-population-us-0 |website=Hmong American Center |access-date=February 1, 2019 |archive-date=February 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202041810/http://www.wausauhmong.org/wahma_v1/index.php?q=content%2Fhmong-population-us-0 |url-status=live }} The Hmong United Association of Rhode Island puts on a Hmong New Year's festival annually. About sixty families are members of the Providence Hmong Church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance; they are known locally for their egg roll fundraiser, held in the spring.{{cite news |date=May 28, 2014 |title=Traditional egg rolls are centerpiece of Providence Hmong Church fundraiser |url=https://www.providencejournal.com/story/lifestyle/food/recipes/2014/05/28/20140528-traditional-egg-rolls-are-centerpiece-of-providence-hmong-church-fundraiser-ece/35354947007/ |work=The Providence Journal}}

{{main|Hmong in Wisconsin}}

As of the 2023 American Community Survey one-year estimates, the Hmong population of Wisconsin had increased to 70,841,{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2022.B02018?q=B02018&g=040XX00US55|title=B02018 Total Asian Alone or in Any Combination Population – Wisconsin – 2023 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates|date=July 1, 2023|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=November 17, 2024}} the largest Asian ethnic group in the state.Hoeffel, Elizabeth M., Sonya Rastogi, Myoung Ouk Kim, and Hasan Shahid, [https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-11.pdf The Asian Population: 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917175221/https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-11.pdf |date=2017-09-17 }} (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau, March 2012), 19. ("The Hmong population was the largest detailed Asian group in two states [Minnesota and Wisconsin].")Gecewicz, Claire, David Long, and Dan Veroff. [https://counties.extension.wisc.edu/washington/files/2010/07/hmong_chartbook_2010.pdf Hmong in Wisconsin: A Statistical Overview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024440/https://counties.extension.wisc.edu/washington/files/2010/07/hmong_chartbook_2010.pdf |date=2020-11-12 }}. Madison, WI: Applied Population Laboratory & University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, 2015.

In December 1999, according to the Hmong National Development Inc., Chicago had about 500 Hmong people. There is a sizable Hmong population in Westminster, Colorado (0.8% of the city's population as of 2010).

The 2000 US Census reveals that 60% of all Hmong above 24 years of age have a highest educational attainment of high school or equivalent, as many of these immigrants came to America as adults or young adults. According to a government data collected in 2013, 40% of Hmong Americans drop out of school.{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/aapi/data/critical-issues |title=Critical Issues Facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders |access-date=2016-04-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122005421/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/aapi/data/critical-issues |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |archive-date=2017-01-22 }} Among the Hmong population, 38% have not received a high school degree, and 14% have at least a bachelor's degree.{{cite news |last=Krupnick |first=Matt |date=May 21, 2015 |title=These groups of Asian-Americans rarely attend college, but California is trying to change that |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/these-groups-of-asian-americans-rarely-attend-college-but-california-is-trying-to-change-that |work=The Hechinger Report |publisher=PBS NewsHour |access-date=March 21, 2018 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035420/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/these-groups-of-asian-americans-rarely-attend-college-but-california-is-trying-to-change-that |url-status=live }} Educational attainment among Hmong women is significantly lower than among Hmong men, with about one in five Hmong women having a high school diploma.{{cite book|author1=Xiaojian Zhao|author2=Edward J.W. Park Ph.D.|title=Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History [3 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3AxIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA503|date=26 November 2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-240-1|pages=502–503|access-date=March 22, 2018|archive-date=March 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326131122/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Asian_Americans_An_Encyclopedia_of_Socia/3AxIAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA503&printsec=frontcover|url-status=live}}

The lack of formal education among Hmong immigrants is due to the fact that many were once farmers in the hills of Laos or were refugees from war who fled into remote jungles, and had little or no access to schools.{{cite book |last=Chan |first=Sucheng |title=Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos and America|year=1994|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-56639-163-4}}

In St. Paul about 2,000 Hmong people have their bachelor's degree, 150 have their master's degree, and 68 have received their doctoral degree,Bankston, Carl L., III. "Hmong Americans". Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. Ed. Jeffrey Lehman. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 832–843. Gale U.S. History In Context. November 25, 2010.Yang, Dao. Hmong Turning Point. Minneapolis: world bridge Associates, Ltd., 1993. 1–5. Print.Yang, Dao. Hmong American Residence and Business Directory. Minnesota: L&W communications, 1999. 11. Print. which is a very low percentage considering the population of Hmong Americans in St. Paul is less than 36,000.

In the topic of community issues and Hmong in education, factors to consider are family dynamic, parent engagement, accessibility to resources, and the various school climates. The lack of emotional support for Hmong LGBTQ+ youth in Minnesota and Wisconsin reveal mental and health concerns which affect their academic performance.Chin, Jean Lau. Diversity in Mind and in Action [3 Volumes]. ABC-CLIO, 2009.

Hmong girls and boys had also encountered difficulties in achieving success in the field of education as they adapted the Hmong culture, which is considered as rural, to contemporary American society (Ngo & Lor, 2013).Ngo, B. & Lor, P. N. (2013). "Great Expectations: The Struggles of Hmong American High School Boys". In M. E. Pfeifer, M. Chiu, & K. Yang (Eds.), Diversity in Diaspora: Hmong Americans in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 151–164). Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press. Cha suggested that the dropout rate of Hmong teenagers was the highest among those of Asian American groups (2013).Cha. D. (2013). "Women in the Hmong Diaspora". In M. E. Pfeifer, M. Chiu, & K. Yang (Eds.), Diversity in Diaspora: Hmong Americans in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 165–187). Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press. In the first few years after immigration, Hmong girls almost had no chance to be educated in school. Later, as they got the opportunities to go to school, around 90% of Hmong girls chose to quit school because parents preferred obedient and compliant daughters-in-law when looking for partners for their sons (Ngo & Lor, 2013).

On the other hand, Hmong young men are burdened more due to the high expectations on sons in Hmong culture, which led to their challenges in school, such as bad relationships with teachers and lack of participation in class. The word used to describe the work those Hmong boys were involved in for family was "helping out" (Ngo & Lor, 2013, p. 155), referring to an accepted and natural habit including working outside, taking care of the siblings, completing daily household, being cultural brokers for parents and attending numerous traditional ceremonies. For example, Hmong boys were asked to write checks to pay for utility bills and to prepare food for their younger brothers. Also, they went to ceremonies not only to maintain the family relationship but also to keep the traditions from disappearing.

According to Yang (2013),Yang, K. (2013). "The American Experience of the Hmong: A Historical Review". In M. E. Pfeifer, M. Chiu, & K. Yang (Eds.), Diversity in Diaspora: Hmong Americans in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 3–53). Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press. after three decades of struggle, Hmong Americans had achieved in economic, political and educational aspects. Starting from small business, the businesses of Hmong had become international, diverse and high-tech since 2000. For example, about 50 home health care agencies which were supported by federal or state medical assistance were run by Hmong in Minnesota. The Hmong were also more involved in political activities that 57 percent of the Hmong in Minnesota regarded themselves as Democrats, shown by a survey in 2008, and several Hmong people, including Madison P. Nguyen, former Hmong refugee women in Minnesota, had been elected political staffs in city offices.

Data in 2022 showed Hmong Americans having a higher household income of $88,572. However the community continued to have a low per capita income of $25,948 as well as a poverty rate of 16.4% and low rate of Bachelor's degree attainment of 27.3%.S0201: Selected Population Profile ... – Census Bureau Table

2017 data collected by the US government found that Hmong Americans had a median household income of $48,000 compared to the American average of $53,600.{{cite web|date=8 September 2017|title=Key facts about Asian Americans, a diverse and growing population|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/08/key-facts-about-asian-americans|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109135559/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/08/key-facts-about-asian-americans/|archive-date=January 9, 2018|access-date=January 9, 2018|website=Pewresearch.org}} The government estimated that 38% of Hmong Americans lived below the poverty line, compared to 16% of all Americans.{{cite web|title=New poverty measure highlights positive effect of government assistance|url=http://www.epi.org/publication/poverty-measure-highlights-dire-circumstances/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525140047/http://www.epi.org/publication/poverty-measure-highlights-dire-circumstances/|archive-date=May 25, 2017|access-date=March 12, 2017|website=Epi.org}}{{cite web|author=|year=2014|title=Median houseland income in the past 12 months (in 2014 inflation-adjusted dollars)|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/14_1YR/S0201//popgroup~-04|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213025358/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/14_1YR/S0201//popgroup~-04|archive-date=February 13, 2020|access-date=29 December 2015|work=American Community Survey|publisher=United States Census Bureau}} The 2014 American Community Survey found that per capita income of Hmong Americans was $12,923, significantly lower than the American average of $25,825. When income is compared between US ethnic groups, Hmong Americans are the third lowest earning group. In a 2013, NPR discussion, sociologist Rosalind Chou stated that "when you break it down by specific ethnic groups, the Hmong, the Bangladeshi, they have poverty rates that rival the African-American poverty rate."{{cite news|title=Asian-Americans: Smart, High-Incomes And ... Poor?|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=185534666|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120091214/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=185534666|archive-date=20 November 2017|access-date=January 9, 2018|website=Npr.org}}

There are many cultural, political, and social issues that are being debated among Hmong American communities. Topics include political participation, poverty, gang violence, race relations, and education. The Hmong community also retains many ties with the Hmong still in Indochina and remains active in regional politics. In the United States, the Hmong clan system continues to exist, but with less influence over younger generations.{{cite news |last1=Wong |first1=Ashley |title=Hmong women speak out on patriarchy, sexism in the traditional community clan structure |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article244315022.html |access-date=February 16, 2023 |work=The Sacramento Bee |date=July 21, 2020}}

Politics and culture vary with the location of Hmong-American communities. The Twin Cities, St. Paul and Minneapolis, are progressive as the queer/LGBTQ+ culture and politics surrounding sexuality and gender are recognized at the local, regional, state, and national level.{{cite web|author=Katherine Glover|title=Twin Cities-Based Shades of Yellow Promoting Visibility for Hmong Gay and Lesbian Community.|website=Minnpost.com|date=April 8, 2010|access-date=February 14, 2017|url=https://www.minnpost.com/arts-culture/2010/04/twin-cities-based-shades-yellow-promoting-visibility-hmong-gay-and-lesbian-comm|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525140125/https://www.minnpost.com/arts-culture/2010/04/twin-cities-based-shades-yellow-promoting-visibility-hmong-gay-and-lesbian-comm|url-status=live}}

Heterosexuality and heteronormativity are traditionally tied to the Hmong identity and its history{{cite news |last1=Kozlowicz |first1=Cathy |title=A Hmong and LGBT-owned tailoring business in Menomonee Falls aims to make customers feel 'uplifted and loved' |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northwest/news/menomonee-falls/2020/06/24/tailoring-business-menomonee-falls-hmong-lgbt-owned/3199268001/ |access-date=February 16, 2023 |work=Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel |date=June 25, 2020}} but attitudes in Hmong Americans appear to be shifting. In the Hmong American community, non-traditional gender and sexual identities have gained increasing cultural, political, and social acceptance over time.

Sexual health is critical to the LGBTQ+ Hmong community as it is for the general Southeast Asian (SEA) community throughout the country. Sexual education and awareness, as well as education regarding online sex culture, is recommended when considering sexual health.Poon, Maurice Kwong-Lai, Peter Trung-Thu Ho, Josephine Pui-Hing Wong, Gabriel Wong, and Ruthann Lee. "Psychosocial Experiences of East and Southeast Asian Men Who Use Gay Internet Chatrooms in Toronto: An Implication for HIV/AIDS Prevention". Ethnicity & Health 10, no. 2 (May 1, 2005): p. 145–67

Compared to other Southeast Asian refugees in America, Hmong refugees have the highest rates of mental health disorders,Lee, S., & Chang, J. (2012a). "Mental health status of the Hmong Americans in 2011: Three decades revisited". Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation, 11(1), 55–70. with an overall mental illness incidence rate at around 33.5%.Lee, S., & Chang, J. (2012b). "Revisiting 37 years later: A brief summary of existing sources related to Hmong and their mental health status". Hmong Studies Journal, 13.2, 1–13. This mental health problem has been attributed to traumatic past experiences and problems adjusting to life in the United States.{{cite web |url=http://www.mnhealthethics.org/pdf/PubsFaith1106.pdf |title=Culhane-Pera, K. A., Vawter, D. E., Xiong, P., Babbitt, B., & Solberg, M. M. (Eds.). (2003). Healing by Heart: Clinical and Ethical Case Stories of Hmong Families and Western Providers. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press. |access-date=2016-09-13 |archive-date=2016-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924034655/http://www.mnhealthethics.org/pdf/PubsFaith1106.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Gender roles play an integral factor for the mental health of Hmong women. Gender construct of Hmong women, traditionally, socially and politically, have historically been oppressive and marginalizing. Even in traditional Hmong cloth (paj ntaub) and folklore (dab neej) Hmong gender roles are concretely sewn and told, and repeated. Misogyny and patriarchy in the Hmong community is present to this day which calls for Hmong women empowerment initiatives throughout the United States.Vang, Veronica Pajtawg. Tools of Perpetuation and Empowerment: The Influences of Dab neej and Paj Ntaub on the Construction of Identity and Gender Roles among Hmong/Hmong American women Accessed March 2, 2017.

In religious and traditional Hmong families the subject of mental health is taboo because of Shamanism, with the belief that remedy to health is through communication and exchanges with spirits. Through spiritual ceremonies, overall health is remedied, not through health facilities or specialists, not through science.Her, James. "Mental Health Experiences within the Hmong American LGBTQ Community: A Qualitative Research Project", 2016. In addition, LGBTQ+ Hmong individuals struggle with mental health due to the lack of education and attention on mental health in Hmong communities, deals with depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide.

In other aspects of health, like cancer, Hmong Americans have the highest cancer mortality rates compared to other Asian American groups. Low cancer screenings and lack of interventions to address stigma of utilizing public health services are among some reasons for this trend.{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Hae Yun|last2=Vang|first2=Suzanne|title=Barriers to Cancer Screening in Hmong Americans: The Influence of Health Care Accessibility, Culture, and Cancer Literacy|journal=Journal of Community Health|year=2010|volume=35|issue=3|pages=302–314|doi=10.1007/s10900-010-9228-7|pmid=20140486|s2cid=31265234}} Access to education can help with increasing health practices like receiving a Pap test for cervical cancer screening.{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=HY|last2=Yang|first2=PN|last3=Lee|first3=DK|last4=Ghebre|first4=R|title=Cervical cancer screening behavior among Hmong-American immigrant women|journal=American Journal of Health Behavior|year=2015|volume=39|issue=3|pages=301–7|doi=10.5993/AJHB.39.3.2|pmid=25741675}} A Patient Navigation Program implemented in San Francisco for Hmong Americans led to a 38% increase in Pap test participation, highlighting progress made in increasing participation via education.{{Cite journal|last1=Lo|first1=P|last2=Fang|first2=D|last3=Ly|first3=M|last4=Stewart|first4=S|last5=Lee|first5=S|last6=Chen|first6=M|title=Access to Adequate Healthcare for Hmong Women: A Patient Navigation Program to Increase Pap Test Screening|journal=Hmong Studies Journal|year=2010|volume=11|pmid=26594134|pmc=4654467}} A cross-sectional study of 168 immigrant Hmong Americans found that half of them reported not understanding health information. Factors like acculturation and number of years in the US were positively correlated with health literacy rate, and lower health literacy rates were associated with poor health in the participants.{{Cite journal|last1=Khuu|first1=B.|last2=Lee|first2=H.|last3=Zhou|first3=A.|title=Health Literacy and Associated Factors Among Hmong American Immigrants: Addressing the Health Disparities|journal=Journal of Community Health|year=2018|volume=43|issue=1|pages=11–18|doi=10.1007/s10900-017-0381-0|pmid=28528527|hdl=11299/213953|s2cid=8621876|hdl-access=free}} Acculturation indicators such as language use and social connections, were positively correlated with higher BMI-for-age in Hmong American children 9–18 years old.{{Cite journal|last1=Mulasi-Pokhriyal|first1=U.|last2=Smith|first2=C.|last3=Franzen-Castle|first3=L.|title=Investigating dietary acculturation and intake among US-born and Thailand/Laos-born Hmong-American children aged 9–18 years|journal=Public Health Nutrition|year=2012|volume=15|issue=1|pages=176–185|doi=10.1017/S1368980011001649|pmid=21806862|doi-access=free}}

A study of 417 Hmong American parents and caregivers showed that the top two contributing factors to perceived barriers to immunization were socioeconomic position and use of traditional Hmong healthcare.{{Cite journal|last=Baker|first=Dian|date=May 2010|title=Perception of Barriers to Immunization Among Parents of Hmong Origin in California|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=100|issue=5|pages=839–45|doi=10.2105/AJPH.2009.175935|pmid=20299651|pmc=2853637}} Traditional Hmong healthcare includes the use of a traditional Hmong healer shaman, who is used as a complement to Western medicine by Hmong patients.{{Cite journal|last=Plotnikoff|first=G|date=June 2002|title=Hmong shamanism. Animist spiritual healing in Minnesota|journal=Minnesota Medicine|volume=85|issue=6|pages=29–34|pmid=12092436}} Health disparities faced by Hmong Americans are overlooked with combined data that do not disaggregate ethnic groups within the label, Asian American.{{Cite journal|last1=Smalkoski|first1=Kari|last2=Herther|first2=Nancy|last3=Xiong|first3=Zha|last4=Ritsema|first4=Karen|last5=Vang|first5=Rebecca|last6=Zheng|first6=Ri|title=Health Disparities Research in the Hmong American Community: Implications for Practice and Policy|journal=Hmong Studies Journal|volume=13|pages=1–32}}

Hmong Americans have experienced violence after immigrating to the United States. Some specific instances of violence against Hmong Americans have been murders, of which a few have occurred while they were engaging in hunting.{{Cite journal|last=James|first=Katherine|date=April 2001|title=Allison, M. T., & Schneider, I. E. (Ed s.). (2000). Diversity and the Recreation Profession: Organizational Perspectives|journal=SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education|volume=16|issue=1|pages=138–140|doi=10.1080/1937156x.2001.11949476|s2cid=149716114|issn=1937-156X}} Hmong Americans have hunted because it is a common traditional practice in countries such as Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. These are common countries from which the Hmong ethnic group has immigrated, although they do not have a specific home country. Chong Moua Yang, a Hmong American hunter, was murdered in Bath Township, Michigan on November 16, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2018/11/27/deer-hunting-death-michigan-chong-yang-hmong-lansing-bath-township/2123930002/|title=Funeral for deer hunter who was fatally shot on public land to be held over multiple days|last=Lacy|first=Eric|website=Lansing State Journal|access-date=2019-11-25}} His murder remained a cold case until 2024, when a man was found guilty of murdering Yang and was sentenced to {{Fraction|22|1|2}} to 60 years in prison.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-09 |title=Michigan man convicted in 2018 slaying of hunter at state park |url=https://apnews.com/article/michigan-hunter-chong-moua-yang-murder-sentencing-7952826641b10895dba1ae9f79aceb58 |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=AP News |language=en}} Another example is the murder of Ee Lee, in which a Hmong American woman in Wisconsin was raped and murdered by two teenagers in a racially motivated hate crime. One of the teenagers was sentenced to 26 years in prison, and the other to 32 years in prison.

In a 2018 study of 231 college students' experience and knowledge surrounding domestic violence, Takahashi and Lee found that two thirds were aware of domestic violence in their community, and 32.8% of Hmong women experienced violence. These domestic issues would be solved within clan systems and divorce is often not welcomed in order to maintain the relationship.{{Cite journal|last1=Takahashi|first1=Y|last2=Lee|first2=S|title=Culture in transition: Awareness and appropriate response to domestic violence among Hmong American college students.|journal=Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice|year=2018|volume=16|issue=2|pages=156–176|doi=10.1080/15377938.2018.1496864|s2cid=150018596}}

The Hmong language is spoken by approximately 4 million with about 5% residing in the United States. There are two main different dialects, Hmong Leeg and Hmong Dawb. In America, these are known as Hmong Leeg and White Hmong. Many of the vowel sounds are quite a bit different in these dialects compared to some of the Asian ones. In the United States, about 60% speak White Hmong and 40% speak Hmong Leeg. The Centers for Disease Control states "Though some Hmong report difficulty understanding speakers of a dialect not their own, for the most part, White and Hmong Leeg speakers seem to understand one another."[https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/guidestoolkits/ethnographicguides/hmong/chapters/chapter2.pdf "Chapter 2. Overview of Lao Hmong Culture"]. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20130418014450/http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/guidestoolkits/ethnographicguides/hmong/chapters/chapter2.pdf Archive]) Promoting Cultural Sensitivity: Hmong Guide. Centers for Disease Control. p. 14. Retrieved May 5, 2013. As of 2012, Hmong in California are developing a Hmong-English online translator, in collaboration with Microsoft.{{cite web|url=http://socialbarrel.com/microsoft-helps-hmong-folks-rescue-dying-language-via-online-translator/34503/|title=Microsoft Helps Hmong Folks Rescue Dying Language Via Online Translator|date=March 27, 2012|access-date=2012-10-21|archive-date=2013-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610051651/http://socialbarrel.com/microsoft-helps-hmong-folks-rescue-dying-language-via-online-translator/34503/|url-status=live}} Research in nursing shows that when translating from English to Hmong, specifically in the healthcare context, the translator must take into account the absence of equivalent concepts because Hmong comes from an oral tradition. For example, the word and concept for "prostate" does not exist. Cultural sensitivity is another consideration. For example, direct translation that mention body parts can cause discomfort.{{Cite book |last=Lor |first=Maichou |url=https://www.rti.org/rti-press-publication/language-survey-research |title=Hmong and Chinese Qualitative Research Interview Questions: Assumptions and Implications of Applying the Survey Back Translation Method (Chapter 9) in The Essential Role of Language in Survey Research |date=2020-04-30 |publisher=RTI Press |isbn=978-1-934831-24-3 |editor-last=Sha |editor-first=Mandy |pages=181–202 |doi=10.3768/rtipress.bk.0023.2004 |doi-access=free}}

To maintain Hmong culture, history, and language, many organizations were created to conserve Hmong culture including the Lao Veterans of America, Lao Veterans of America Institute, Lao Human Rights Council, Hmong Advancement, Inc., Hmong Advance, Inc., United League for Democracy in Laos, Inc., Lao Family, Hmong National Development (HND) association and the Hmong Today and Hmong Times newspapers.{{Cite web |url=http://www.hmongtoday.com/ |title=Welcome to Hmong Today – The Nation's Hmong newspaper, community news & opinions |access-date=2006-12-31 |archive-date=2006-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205012748/http://hmongtoday.com/ |url-status=dead }} In the case of kinship among other relatives in the United States, the Hmong people tend to stay in groups where there are much other Hmong residing. This allows them to share their cultural values and practices together.{{cite book|last=Fadiman|first=Anne|url=https://archive.org/details/spiritcatchesyou00fadi|title=The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down|date=1997|publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux|location=New York|isbn=9780374525644|url-access=registration}}

White Hmong (Hmoob Dawb) and Hmong Leeg (Moob Leeg) are the two primary dialects spoken by Hmong Americans. The difference between the two dialects is analogous to the difference between American and British English; thus, both can understand each other easily. Green Hmong is named so because of the color used in Green Hmong women's traditional costume.{{cite web|url=http://www.hmongculture.net/hmong-language|title=Hmong Language|website=Hmongculture.net|access-date=March 12, 2017|archive-date=January 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123104217/http://hmongculture.net/hmong-language|url-status=live}}

There is a misconception that Moob Leeg and Green Hmong are the same. Although their dialects are the same they are both different sub-groups of the Hmong. Moob Leeg is said to be the original spoken Hmong language.

It is seen that the majority of the Hmong American population is either White or Hmong Leeg, but with language, there can be some language barriers. For example, providing quality interpreter services can be difficult. Complicating communication issues is the fact that until the late 1960s no written form of the Hmong language existed, and many of the Hmong people were unable to read or write their own language. This makes the use of written materials for Hmong patients fairly useless.Cobb, T. (2010). "STRATEGIES FOR PROVIDING CULTURAL COMPETENT HEALTH CARE FOR HMONG AMERICANS". Journal of Cultural Diversity, 17(3), 79–83 This kind of complication in communicating was able to be seen in Anne Fadiman's book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, where the Lees cannot read or write their own language and have trouble when their daughter Lia has to go to the hospital. Lack of literacy creates a barrier in being able to properly give Lia her medications.Fadiman, A. 1997. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.{{page needed|date=July 2014}}

From funerals to soul calling, Hmong rituals and ceremonies have been an important part of the Hmong cultural and spiritual experience.{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/splithorn/shamanism1.html|title=PBS – THE SPLIT HORN: Hmong Rituals|website=www.pbs.org|access-date=2020-04-24|archive-date=2020-05-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505125803/http://www.pbs.org/splithorn/shamanism1.html|url-status=live}} Since arriving in the United States in the late 1970s, many Hmong families still practice their rituals, but the number of traditional funerals preferred had dwindled due to a large number of Hmong, mostly the younger generations, converting to Christianity, lacking finances, and other reasons. Living in the United States also with jobs and school, there is not that much time to take a week off, which is how long most of these funeral rituals take.{{Cite thesis|title=Rituals, Roles, and Responsibilities Included in a Hmong Funeral: A Guidebook for Teachers to Better Understand the Process Their Hmong Students Experience in a Time of Family Loss|url=http://dspace.calstate.edu/handle/10211.3/10211.4_179|date=2010-03-04|degree=Master of Arts|language=en-US|first=Kirk|last=Lee|publisher=California State University, Chico|access-date=2020-04-24|archive-date=2021-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326131234/https://library.csuchico.edu/|url-status=live}}

There are several differences between traditional funeral rituals in Laos, Thailand and in the United States. Usually in Laos and Thailand funerals occur immediately in the home after a person dies. The person is dressed and then held within the hours at the home (Lee, 2009). Funerals can last three to four days and require washing and dressing the deceased, and conducting animal sacrifices to properly prepare the soul to be reincarnated.

{{Main|2007 Laotian coup d'état conspiracy allegation}}

On June 4, 2007, following a lengthy federal investigation labeled "Operation Flawed Eagle", warrants were issued by a California-based US federal court for the arrest of General Vang Pao, eight other Hmong people, and one non-Hmong person for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government of Laos in violation of the federal Neutrality Acts and various US weapons laws.Walsh, Denny, "Ten Accused of Conspiring to Oust Government of Laos", The Sacramento Bee, June 5, 2007 {{cite web|url=http://www.sacbee.com/292/story/206120.html |title=Ten accused of conspiring to oust government of Laos |website=sacbee.com |access-date=2007-07-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013143724/http://sacbee.com/292/story/206120.html |archive-date=2007-10-13 }} (accessed June 5, 2007).

The federal charges allege that members of the group inspected weapons, including AK-47s, smoke grenades, and Stinger missiles, with the intent of purchasing them and smuggling them into Thailand in June 2007 for use in Hmong guerrilla war efforts against the Laotian government.{{Cite journal|last=Crook|first=John|date=July 2007|title=U.S. Supreme Court Finds No Immunity in Tax Lien Case Against India|journal=The American Journal of International Law|volume=101|pages=642–645|id={{ProQuest|201124884}}}} The one non-Hmong person of the nine arrested, Harrison Jack, is a 1968 West Point graduate, and retired Army infantry officer.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/world/americas/05iht-laos.1.6003322.html|title=Ex-U.S. National Guard officer, 8 others accused in Laos coup plot|date=June 5, 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 7, 2020|archive-date=March 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326131226/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/world/americas/05iht-laos.1.6003322.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last1=Connell|first1=Rich|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jun-05-me-laos5-story.html|title=U.S. accuses 10 of plotting coup in Laos|date=June 5, 2007|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=March 7, 2020|last2=Lopez|first2=Robert|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310024912/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jun-05-me-laos5-story.html|url-status=live}} The defendants faced possible life prison terms for violation. Vang Pao and other defendants were ultimately granted bail, following the posting of $1.5 million in the property. Following the arrests, many Vang Pao supporters had called on George W. Bush and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to pardon the defendants. On September 18, 2009, the federal government dropped all charges against Vang Pao, announcing in a release that the federal government was permitted to consider "the probable sentence or other consequences if the person is convicted".{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/us/19general.html |title=U.S. Drops Case Against Exiled Hmong Leader", The New York Times, September 18, 2009. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=19 September 2009 |access-date=February 24, 2017 |archive-date=January 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122004656/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/us/19general.html |url-status=live |last1=McKinley |first1=Jesse }} On January 10, 2011, charges against all of the remaining defendants were dropped as well.{{cite news |title=Charges dropped against 12 Hmong men accused in plot to overthrow Laotian government |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/charges-dropped-against-12-hmong-men-accused-in-plot-to-overthrow-laotian-government.html |first=Nardine |last=Saad |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 10, 2011 |access-date=2011-01-15 |archive-date=2018-12-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215172200/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/charges-dropped-against-12-hmong-men-accused-in-plot-to-overthrow-laotian-government.html |url-status=live }}

The 2008 film Gran Torino, directed by Clint Eastwood, was the first mainstream US film to feature Hmong Americans. Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, an elderly, racist Korean War veteran living in Detroit, Michigan who befriends a Hmong teenager named Thao, played by Bee Vang, who previously tries to steal his Gran Torino as an initiation into a local Hmong gang run by his own cousins.

In the episode "Body & Soul" of the TV series House, the team treats a Hmong child that is believed to be possessed by a dab, which the doctors, as well the child's mother attempt to disprove. Following an exorcism in order to free the dab from the child, his symptoms go away, which his mother and grandfather attribute to the exorcism, while the doctors believe it was the long shot treatment of Ibuprofen to treat his Patent ductus arteriosus that cured him.

At least two Hmong have been elected to high public office. In 2002, Mee Moua became the first Hmong American legislator when she was elected to fill the Minnesota State Senate seat vacated by Randy Kelly when he was elected mayor of St. Paul. She later became the Senate majority whip. Cy Thao is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

At age 14, Joe Bee Xiong fought alongside American soldiers like his father had done. When their village fell to the Communists, Xiong and his family fled to a refugee camp in Thailand and eventually ended up in Wisconsin in 1980. In 1996, Xiong was elected to the Eau Claire, Wisconsin, city council. Xiong was the first Hmong to be elected to a city council in Wisconsin. He ran for the state Assembly in 2004. Xiong was traveling with family in his native country, Laos, when he died, possibly of heart-related complications.{{cite web|url=http://www.wkbt.com/global/story.asp?S=6324473|title=Hmong Leader from Eau Claire dies in Laos|website=Wkbt.com|access-date=January 9, 2018}}{{Dead link|date=December 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Community leaders and organizations, including Wangyee Vang, Cherzong Vang, the Lao Veterans of America, the Lao Veterans of America Institute, the Center for Public Policy Analysis, the Lao Human Rights Council, and others, have sought to educate the public and policymakers about the important contribution of the Hmong people, and Lao Hmong veterans, during the Vietnam War in support of US national security interests. In 1997, the Lao Veterans of America dedicated a monument in Arlington National Cemetery, the Laos Memorial, to help honor the Hmong veterans and community for their service to the United States during the Vietnam War and its aftermath. Each year, in May, they continue to host annual ceremonies with members of the US Congress and other officials, to honor the service of the Hmong. Many Hmong elders and young people attend the ceremonies and events in Washington, D.C.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

Sunisa Lee of Saint Paul, Minnesota, is a six time Olympic gymnastic Medalist. In the 2020 Summer Olympics, she first won Silver in the Women's artistic team all-around, followed by Gold in the Women's artistic individual all-around and then Bronze in the Women's uneven bars. In the 2024 Summer Olympics, she won Gold in the Women's artistic team all-around, followed by Bronze in the Women's artistic individual all-around and Bronze in the Women's uneven bars. Suni is also the first Hmong-American Gymnast to perform in the Olympics.{{Cite news|title=Gymnast Sunisa Lee's Gold Medal Elates Her Hometown Hmong Community|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/07/29/1022077328/as-gymnast-sunisa-lee-goes-for-gold-her-hometown-hmong-community-has-her-back|access-date=2021-07-29|newspaper=NPR|date=29 July 2021|language=en|last1=Diaz|first1=Jaclyn|last2=Chappell|first2=Bill}}

In 2022, Sheng Thao became the first Hmong American woman elected mayor of a major city in the United States (Oakland).{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Maanvi |title=From homeless to city hall: the Hmong American mayor making history in Oakland |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/24/sheng-thao-hmong-american-mayor-oakland |access-date=25 November 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=November 24, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://asamnews.com/2021/11/10/sheng-thao-grew-up-in-a-life-of-poverty-in-a-refugee-family-with-ten-children-she-pushes-for-more-social-services-to-prevent-crime-while-supporting-the-hiring-of-more-police-officers/ |title=Sheng Thao vies to be the 1st Hmong Am woman to lead a big city |publisher=Asamnews.com |date=November 10, 2021 |access-date=November 20, 2022}}

In 2024, Mai Xiong was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives and became the first Hmong American to serve in the Michigan legislature.{{Cite web |last=LeBlanc |first=Beth |title=Democrats retake majority in state House after Herzberg, Xiong outpace opponents |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/16/dems-poised-to-retake-house-majority-after-herzberg-xiong-outpace-opponents/73338908007/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=The Detroit News |language=en-US}}

• Ahney Her, actress, best known as Sue Lor in Gran Torino
• Bee Vang, actor, best known as Thao Vang Lor in Gran Torino
• Brenda Song, Disney Channel actress and teen star, known for The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck; "Song" is an anglicized spelling of "Xiong"{{Cite web|url=http://asiancemagazine.com/jun_2006/brenda_song_is_wendy_wu_homecoming_warrior|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007164905/http://asiancemagazine.com/jun_2006/brenda_song_is_wendy_wu_homecoming_warrior|url-status=dead|title=Asiance magazine, June 2006|archive-date=October 7, 2008}}
• Cy Thao, Minnesota State Representative
• Chai Vang, ex-National Guardsman, now a convicted multiple murderer
• Cherzong Vang, Hmong community leader educator, youth advocate, Minnesota Lao Veterans of America past President, and Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000 advocate
• Dia Cha, author, professor and anthropologist, St. Cloud State University, Minnesota
• Foung Hawj, pioneer Hmong-American broadcaster, media artist and Minnesota State Senator, elected in 2012
• Hang Sao, Hmong American activist, lieutenant colonel in the Royal Lao Army, advisor to the King of Laos in exile
• Houa Vue Moua, author and community activist{{cite journal|title="I salute the spirit of my communities": Autoethnographic Innovations in Hmong American Literature |journal=College Literature |date=Summer 2004 |first=Jeannie |last=Chiu |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=43–69 |doi=10.1353/lit.2004.0030 |s2cid=145750899 }}
• Kao Ly Ilean Her, attorney, activist, the first Hmong woman to pass the bar exam in Minnesota, and the first Hmong woman to serve on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents
• Lexus "Lexi" Vang, the leader of American girl group Vcha
• Longka "M-Pact" Lor, member of the hip-hop dance crew, The Kinjaz
• Longkue "VillN" Lor, member of the hip-hop dance crew, The Kinjaz
• Lormong Lo, former Omaha City Councilman
• Mai Neng Moua, writer
• Mee Moua, Minnesota State Senator{{cite web|url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200201/29_wilcoxenw_moua/ |title=New senator makes history |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |access-date=January 9, 2018 |archive-date=November 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122213225/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200201/29_wilcoxenw_moua/|url-status=live}}
• Sheng Thao, first Hmong woman to be elected as a member of the city council in the state of California and the first Hmong person elected to the Oakland City Council, and the first Hmong-American woman to become mayor of a major city in the United States (Oakland).
• Sunisa "Suni" Lee, 2020 women's gymnastics Olympic all-around and 2024 Olympics team gold medalist, and first Hmong-American Olympic gymnast🖉{{cite web|url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/amp/athletics/news/suni-lee-olympics-usa-gymnastics/1xv8foxssph5k1qekuzgt248f3|title=Meet Suni Lee, USA's uneven bars specialist and the first Hmong American Olympic gymnast|website=www.sportingnews.com|date=12 August 2021 }}
• Vang Pao, Royal Lao Army Major General, revered Hmong Leader, commander of CIA-supported Hmong forces during the Laotian Civil War
• Vang Pobzeb, Hmong scholar; PhD, human rights and international relations expert; Laotian and Hmong refugee advocate
• Gia Vang, NBC Bay Area News anchor
• Michael Vang, soccer player
• Yia Vang, Hmong-American chef
• Ka Vang, writer
• Mai Xiong, Michigan state representative
• Zha Blong Xiong, first Asian American and Hmong American to serve on the Fresno City Council (2006){{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927174916/http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=308b71c594ac3bf8a08ef2765819ae2f New American Media, 28 Nov 2006]}} "Latinos Help Elect First Hmong City Council Member in California".
• Xao "Jerry" Yang, 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion
• Kao Kalia Yang, writer and author of The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir

• Hmong Cultural Center Museum
• Asian Americans
• Laotian Americans
• List of Hmong/Miao People

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite AV media |people=Babana-Hampton, Safoi (director, producer, screenwriter) |title=Growing up Hmong at the Crossroads |year=2017 |type=Documentary}}
• {{cite encyclopedia |last=Bankston |first=Carl L. |entry=Hmong Americans |encyclopedia=Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America |editor-first=Thomas |editor-last=Riggs |edition=3rd |volume=2 |publisher=Gale |year=2014 |pages=331–344 |entry-url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3273300087/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=dbb88516}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Chan |editor-first=Sucheng |title=Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos and America |publisher=Temple University Press |year=1994 |jstor=j.ctt1bw1jqv |isbn=978-1-56639-162-7}}
• {{cite book |last=Deitz Shea |first=Pegi |title=Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl's Story |isbn=9780618247486 |year=2003|publisher=Clarion Books }}
• {{cite book |last=Deitz Shea |first=Pegi |title=The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee's Story |date=1995 |publisher=Boyds Mills Press |isbn=1563971348}}
• {{cite book |last=Fadiman |first=Anne |author-link=Anne Fadiman |title=The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures |isbn=978-0-374-52564-4}}
• {{cite journal |last=Gonzalo |first=Pa Xiong |title=Growing Up Hmong in Laos and America: Two Generations of Women through My Eyes |journal=Amerasia Journal |year=2010 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=56–103 |doi=10.17953/amer.36.1.vk89872224141318|s2cid=147990706 }}
• {{cite book |last=Hein |first=Jeremy |title=Ethnic Origins: The Adaptation of Cambodian and Hmong Refugees in Four American Cities |publisher=Russell Sage Foundation |year=2006 |isbn=9781610442831}}
• {{cite book |editor-last1=Her |editor-first1=Vincent K. |editor-last2=Buley-Messner |editor-first2=Mary Louise |title=Hmong and American: From Refugees to Citizens |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society |year=2012 |isbn=9780873518482}}
• {{cite report |url=http://www.hndinc.org/cmsAdmin/uploads/dlc/Research-Center-Data-Tables.pdf |title=2010 U.S. Census Hmong Populations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103081802/http://www.hndinc.org/cmsAdmin/uploads/dlc/Research-Center-Data-Tables.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-03 |author=Hmong National Development}}
• {{cite journal |last=Hutchison |first=Ray |url=http://www.wpri.org/Reports/Volume10/Vol10no8.pdf |title=The Educational Performance of Hmong Students in Wisconsin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531064622/http://www.wpri.org/Reports/Volume10/Vol10no8.pdf |archive-date=2013-05-31 |journal=Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Report |publisher=Wisconsin Policy Research Institute |date=December 1997 |volume=10 |number=8}}
• {{cite journal |last=Lee |first=Marjorie |title=Through Hmong America: A Bibliographic Journey |journal=Amerasia Journal |volume=36 |issue=1 |year=2010 |pages=105–114 |doi=10.17953/amer.36.1.d05117p64267751h|s2cid=147259681 }}
• {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Lo |first1=Aline |author2=Kong Pheng Pha |entry=Hmong American Literature and Culture |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature |year=2018}}
• {{cite book |last=Lo |first=Fungchatau T. |title=The Promised Land: The Socioeconomic Reality of the Hmong People in Urban America (1976–2000) |year=2001 |publisher=Wyndham Hall Press |location=Lima, OH |isbn=9781556053238}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Moua |editor-first=Mai Neng |title=Bamboo Among the Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press |year=2002 |isbn=0873514378}}
• {{cite book |last=Murphy Mote |first=Sue |title=Hmong and American: Stories of Transition to a Strange Land |date=March 24, 2004 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786418329}}
• {{cite book |last=Pfaff |first=Tim |title=Hmong in America: Journey from a Secret War |date=1995 |publisher=Chippewa Valley Museum Press |isbn=9780963619136}}
• {{cite book |last=Quincy |first=Keith |title=Harvesting Pa Chay's Wheat: The Hmong & America's Secret War in Laos}}
• {{cite book |last1=Scripter |first1=Sami |last2=Yang |first2=Sheng |title=Cooking from the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America}}
• {{cite journal |title=The violence of Hmong gangs and the crime of rape |journal=The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin |date=2003-02-01}}
• {{cite book |last=Vang |first=Chia Youvee |author-link=Chia Youyee Vang |title=Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora |publisher=University of Illinois Press |series=Asian American Experience |year=2010}}
• {{cite book |last=Vang |first=Chia |title=Hmong in Minnesota |date=2008 |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society |isbn=9780873515986}}
• {{cite book |last=Yang |first=Kao Kalia |title=The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir |isbn=9781611744491}}
• {{cite book |last=Yang |first=Kou | author-link=Kou Yang |title=The Making of Hmong America: Forty Years after the Secret War |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2017 |isbn=9781498546454}}
• {{cite map |url=http://www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov/about/Hmong_Map.pdf |title=Wisconsin Hmong Population and Hmong Mutual Assistance Associations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216104608/http://www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov/about/Hmong_Map.pdf |archive-date=2013-02-16 |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture}}

• [https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-hmong-in-the-u-s/ Hmong in the U.S. Fact Sheet] (2021), demographic and statistical data
• [https://www.hmongcc.org/ Hmong Cultural Center], based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
• [https://www.hmongstudiesjournal.org/ Hmong Studies Journal], academic journal published since 1996
• [https://hmong.org/ Hmong-American Partnership], based in Saint Paul, Minnesota
• [https://hmongtimes.com/ Hmong Times], Minnesota-based Hmong newspaper
• [https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/pbs-wisconsin-documentaries/wpt-documentaries-being-hmong-means-being-free/ Being Hmong Means Being Free] (2000), documentary film, produced by Wisconsin Public Television, focusing on the Hmong-American experience among those who immigrated to the U.S. between 1975 and the early 1990s
• Richard L. Holm, [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol47no1/article01.html "Recollections of a Case Officer in Laos, 1962–1964"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120133511/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol47no1/article01.html|date=2019-11-20}}, Studies in Intelligence 47, no. 1 (2003): 2. "The CIA's paramilitary efforts in Laos were divided roughly along geographic lines: There were separate programs in north Laos, where I was initially assigned; central Laos—also known as the Panhandle—where I would later be assigned; and south Laos. Each program involved working with different tribal/ethnic groups, such as the Hmong in the mountainous north and the Lao in the lowlands." ([https://www.cia.gov/static/9260ea9fb9da7824977cf6a10ee7f8b9/Recollections-Case-Officer-Laos.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017225046/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol47no1/pdf/v47i1a01p.pdf|date=2020-10-17}})

{{Hmong diaspora}}

{{Asian Americans}}

{{Demographics of the United States}}

Category:Asian diaspora in the United States

Category:Southeast Asian diaspora in the United States