An estimated 240,000 people in the United States identified as Burmese in 2023, according to estimates published by the U.S. Census Bureau.1 Burmese Americans are the 14th-largest Asian origin population living in the U.S., accounting for approximately 1% of the country’s Asian population.
The Burmese population includes people living in the United States who self-identify as Burmese. This includes people who trace their or their family origins to Myanmar (also known as Burma), including immigrants from Myanmar and those born in the U.S. or elsewhere who trace their family origins to Myanmar. It also includes people who identify as Burmese alone and no other race or Asian origin – who account for 92% of the population – as well as people who identify as Burmese in combination with any other race, ethnicity or Asian origin.
Due to data limitations, the following facts about the Burmese population are based on people who identify as Burmese alone and no other race or Asian origin.
This fact sheet is a profile of the geographic, social and demographic, and economic characteristics of the Burmese-alone population in the U.S. It at times compares the characteristics of Burmese Americans with characteristics of the U.S. Asian population overall. These detailed tabulations are based on Pew Research Center analysis of the 2021-23 American Community Survey (ACS). (For more information, refer to the methodology.)
Detailed tables: U.S. Asian population data by origin groups
Population
About 220,000 people in the U.S. identify as Burmese alone and no other race or Asian origin, according to Center analysis of the 2021-23 ACS. This is an increase since 2019, when an estimated 180,000 who are Burmese alone lived in the U.S. – an increase of 23% over roughly the last half-decade.
Immigrants made up 74% of the Burmese-alone population in the U.S. in 2023, a slight decrease from 78% in 2019. However, the number of Burmese immigrants in the country increased from 140,000 to 165,000 people over the same period.
(Data on the Burmese population in the U.S. is not available prior to 2012.)
Burmese population in the U.S., 2019-2023
U.S. Burmese (alone) population, by nativity
| Year | Total | Immigrant | U.S. born |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 180,000 | 140,000 | 40,000 |
| 2023 | 220,000 | 165,000 | 55,000 |
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of the 2017-19 and 2021-23 American Community Surveys (IPUMS).
Note: The population shown includes only those who identify as Burmese alone and no other race or Asian origin. All figures are rounded according to rules shown in the methodology.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Time in the U.S. and citizenship status
- Among Burmese immigrants, 56% have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years and 59% are naturalized U.S. citizens.
Language2
- 43% of Burmese ages 5 and older speak English proficiently. This share includes 12% who speak only English at home and 31% who speak another language at home but say they speak English very well. By comparison, 74% of Asian Americans 5 and older are English proficient.
- Among Burmese 5 and older, 35% of immigrants are English proficient, while 75% of the U.S. born are.
- Other top languages spoken at home by Burmese Americans ages 5 and older include Burmese, Lisu or Lolo (40%), Karen (26%), Chin languages (13%) and other Indo-Iranian languages (3%).
Geography
- 25,000 out of the nation’s Burmese-alone population of 220,000, or 12%, live in Indiana.
- Other states with large Burmese populations are California (22,000), New York (21,000), Minnesota (17,000) and Texas (14,000).
- Metropolitan areas with the largest Burmese populations include the Minneapolis (14,000), Indianapolis (12,000) and Fort Wayne, Indiana (9,000) metro areas.
Age
- The median age of Burmese is 29.1, younger than the median age of Asians overall (34.7).
- The median age of Burmese immigrants is 35.6. Some 15% of the Burmese immigrant population is under 18 years old and 7% are 65 or older.
- The median age of U.S.-born Burmese Americans is 7.3. Some 83% are under 18 and fewer than 1% are 65 and older.
Educational attainment
- 23% of Burmese Americans ages 25 and older have a bachelor’s (16%) or advanced degree (8%). Among Asians overall, 56% have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
- 23% of Burmese immigrants 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Marital status
- 61% of Burmese adults are married, compared with 58% of Asian adults overall.
- Among Burmese ages 18 and older, 63% of immigrants are married, compared with 39% of the U.S. born.
Fertility
- 7% of Burmese females ages 15 to 44 gave birth in the 12 months prior to the survey. The rate for Asian females overall was 5%.
- Among Burmese females 15 to 44, the fertility rate of immigrants was 8%.
Income
Median annual household income
- The median annual income of Burmese-headed households was $67,600 in 2023. Among Asian-headed households overall, it was $105,600.
- Households with a Burmese immigrant household head had a median annual income of $67,200.
Median annual personal earnings
- The median annual personal earnings of Burmese ages 16 and older was $33,800 in 2023, lower than among Asians overall ($52,400).
- Among full-time, year-round workers, Burmese Americans had a median of $41,400 and Asians overall had a median of $75,000.
Poverty status
- 21% of Burmese in the U.S. are living in poverty, a greater share than among Asians overall (10%).
- Similar shares of immigrant and U.S.-born Burmese live in poverty (20% and 22%, respectively).
Homeownership
- The rate of homeownership among Burmese-headed households is 62%, equal to the rate for Asian-headed households overall (62%).
- The homeownership rate of Burmese households with an immigrant household head is 61%.
Note: Some topics covered for other Asian origin groups are not shown for the Burmese population because of insufficient sample size in the surveys used.
Find out more
Explore fact sheets on other Asian origin groups in the U.S.
For detailed information on the data and analysis used for these fact sheets, read the methodology.
This fact sheet was written and compiled by Carolyne Im, research analyst. It is an update of a fact sheet originally published on April 29, 2021, compiled by Abby Budiman, former temporary research associate.
The following individuals provided research and editorial guidance: Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research; Jens Manuel Krogstad, senior writer and editor; Sahana Mukherjee, associate director of race and ethnicity research; Jeffrey S. Passel, senior demographer; Neil G. Ruiz, head of new research initiatives; and Ziyao Tian, research associate. Research Assistants Alexandra Cahn and Gracie Martinez and Research Associates Luis Noe-Bustamante, Khadijah Edwards and Tian provided research support.
This fact sheet was produced by Sara Atske, digital producer. It was copy edited by David Kent, senior copy editor. John Carlo Mandapat, information graphics designer, provided guidance on charts. The communications and outreach strategy was led by Tanya Arditi, senior communications manager, with support from Talia Price, communications associate.
Find related reports online at www.pewresearch.org/AsianAmericans.