An estimated 30,000 people in the United States identified as Mien in 2023, according to estimates published by the U.S. Census Bureau.1 Mien Americans are the 23rd-largest Asian origin population living in the U.S., accounting for approximately 0.1% of the country’s Asian population.
The Mien population includes people living in the United States who self-identify as Mien. This includes people who identify as Mien through their or their family’s origins, including immigrants from China, Vietnam, Thailand or Laos and those born in the U.S. or elsewhere. It also includes people who identify as Mien alone and no other race or Asian origin – who account for 70% of the population – as well as people who identify as Mien in combination with any other race, ethnicity or Asian origin.
Due to data limitations, the following facts about the Mien population are based on people who identify as Mien 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 Mien-alone population in the U.S. It at times compares the characteristics of Mien Americans with characteristics of the U.S. Asian population overall. These detailed tabulations are based on Pew Research Center analysis of the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS). (For more information, refer to the methodology.)
Detailed tables: U.S. Asian population data by origin groups
Population
About 19,000 people in the U.S. identify as Mien alone and no other race or Asian origin, according to Center analysis of the 2023 ACS. This is the first year that Mien respondents were identified separately from other Asian origin groups in the IPUMS ACS data.
Immigrants made up 41% of the Mien-alone population in the U.S. in 2023, or 8,000 people. By comparison, 54% of the overall U.S. Asian population were immigrants in 2023.
Mien population in the U.S., 2023
U.S. Mien (alone) population, by nativity
| Year | Total | Immigrant | U.S. born |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 19,000 | 8,000 | 11,000 |
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of the 2023 American Community Survey (IPUMS).
Note: The population shown includes those who identify as Mien alone and no other race or Asian origin. All figures are rounded according to rules shown in the methodology.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Geography
- 13,000 out of the nation’s Mien-alone population of 19,000, or 71%, live in California.
- Other states with large Mien populations are Oregon (2,000), Washington (1,000), Michigan (700) and Alaska (600).
- Metropolitan areas with the largest Mien populations include the San Francisco (4,000), Sacramento (3,000) and Redding (2,000) metro areas, all in California.
Age
- The median age of Mien is 35.0, similar to the median age of Asians overall (34.7).
- Among Mien Americans, 12% of the population is under 18 years old and 10% are 65 and older.
Poverty status
- 8% of Mien in the U.S. are living in poverty, a similar share to Asians overall (10%).
Note: Some topics covered for other Asian origin groups are not shown for the Mien 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.
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.