Which states do Burmese Americans live in?

Burmese Americans are widely dispersed throughout America. Surprisingly, there is no single geographic region that is home to most Burmese Americans. Here’s a look at which states most Burmese Americans reside in.

For more on my series about Burmese Americans, click on the “Burmese Americans” tag.

Top 10 States for Burmese Americans

Surprisingly, Burmese Americans live in all 50 American states. California houses almost 18% of Burmese Americans, followed by New York (12.1%), Texas (10.4%), and Indiana (7.9%). Texas and Indiana are not surprising choices, as they are 2 major resettlement destinations for newly-arrived refugees. In fact, Texas is the number one refugee resettlement destination in the country. In absolute numbers, Burmese Americans are largely concentrated in a handful of states. The top 10 states constitute 67.8% of the Burmese American population. When taken as a percentage of each state’s Asian American population, Midwest states are overrepresented, with South Dakota leading the pack. Burmese Americans tend to be more densely represented in areas that traditionally have small Asian American communities. In fact, among the top 10, only Minnesota has an Asian American population above 4%. However, Burmese Americans constitute no more than 0.123% of any state’s population.

A Detailed Breakdown

Rank	State	Burmese American Population	% of Burmese Americans
1	California	17,978	17.9%
2	New York	12,174	12.1%
3	Texas	10,451	10.4%
4	Indiana	7,868	7.9%
5	North Carolina	3,779	3.8%
6	Minnesota	3,763	3.8%
7	Maryland	3,450	3.4%
8	Illinois	2,950	2.9%
9	Arizona	2,675	2.7%
10	Georgia	2,646	2.6%
11	Florida	2,578	2.6%
12	Nebraska	2,250	2.2%
13	Washington	2,058	2.1%
14	Michigan	1,856	1.9%
15	Colorado	1,822	1.8%
16	Pennsylvania	1,822	1.8%
17	Virginia	1,668	1.7%
18	Kentucky	1,524	1.5%
19	Ohio	1,356	1.4%
20	Tennessee	1,324	1.3%
21	Iowa	1,260	1.3%
22	Kansas	1,204	1.2%
23	New Jersey	1,197	1.2%
24	Wisconsin	1,197	1.2%
25	Oklahoma	1,146	1.1%
26	Utah	1,090	1.1%
27	Massachusetts	1,072	1.1%
28	Oregon	977	1.0%
29	Missouri	842	0.8%
30	Connecticut	763	0.8%
31	South Dakota	669	0.7%
32	South Carolina	425	0.4%
33	Idaho	399	0.4%
34	Nevada	349	0.3%
35	Hawaii	281	0.3%
36	Louisiana	270	0.3%
37	Alabama	146	0.1%
38	District of Columbia	134	0.1%
39	Vermont	126	0.1%
40	West Virginia	109	0.1%
41	Rhode Island	108	0.1%
42	New Mexico	89	0.1%
43	New Hampshire	67	0.1%
44	Maine	65	0.1%
45	Arkansas	53	0.1%
46	Delaware	51	0.1%
47	Mississippi	37	0.0%
48	Alaska	30	0.0%
49	North Dakota	28	0.0%
50	Montana	14	0.0%
51	Wyoming	10	0.0%

References

I obtained this data from the 2010 Census Summary File 2, PCT1-Population Group-Burmese alone or in any combination (404) & (100-299) or (300, A01-Z99) or (400-999): TOTAL POPULATION, sorted by State.