Vietnamese Americans


Vietnamese Americans are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They constitute a major part of all overseas Vietnamese. As of 2023, over 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent live in the United States, making them the fourth largest Asian American ethnic group. The majority are immigrants, while 40% were born in the United States. The number includes people of other ethnicities such as Montagnards, Tais, Chams, or Hoa Chinese.
The Vietnamese American population grew significantly after 1975, when a large wave of South Vietnamese refugees arrived in the U.S. following the end of the Vietnam War. Today, over half of Vietnamese-Americans reside in California and Texas, particularly in metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Houston, and San Jose.

History

Early arrivals (pre-1975)

The history of Vietnamese Americans is relatively recent. Early arrivals included both laborers and elites. Among them was Ho Chi Minh, who later became a Vietnamese communist leader. He arrived in 1912 as a ship’s cook, although parts of his American experience may have been embellished.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Statistics, the earliest recorded instances of Vietnamese individuals obtaining lawful permanent resident status in the United States occurred between 1951 and 1959, when 290 Vietnamese were granted residency. These numbers began to grow during the Vietnam War, with around 2,949 Vietnamese obtaining LPR status between 1960 and 1969. Between 1955 and 1974, about 18,000 immigrants from Vietnam were admitted to the U.S.

First wave of immigration: 1975 and the Fall of Saigon

The Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, which marked the end of the Vietnam War, triggered the first major wave of Vietnamese immigration, as many with ties to the United States or the South Vietnam government feared reprisals from the communist regime.
In the week leading up to the Fall of Saigon, between 10,000 and 15,000 people departed on scheduled flights, followed by an additional 80,000 who were evacuated by air. The final group was transported aboard U.S. Navy ships. Altogether, approximately 125,000 to 130,000 Vietnamese refugees were evacuated and resettled in the United States during the first wave.
After leaving Vietnam, the refugees first arrived at reception camps in the Philippines and Guam before being transferred to temporary housing at U.S. military bases, including Camp Pendleton, Fort Chaffee, Eglin Air Force Base, and Fort Indiantown Gap. Following resettlement preparations, they were assigned to voluntary agencies, which provided assistance in securing financial and personal support from sponsors in the U.S.
Most first-wave refugees were better educated, wealthier, and more proficient in English than those in subsequent waves. According to 1975 U.S. State Department data, over 30% of first-wave household heads were medical professionals or technical managers, 16.9% worked in transportation, and 11.7% held clerical or sales jobs in Vietnam. Less than 5% were fishermen or farmers.
The resettlement of South Vietnamese refugees in the U.S. initially faced mixed reception, fueled by fears of job competition, welfare strain, and cultural concerns. According to a 1975 Gallup poll, only 36% of Americans approved of the resettlement, while 54% disapproved.
Despite initial public reluctance, President Gerald Ford emphasized a "profound moral obligation" to assist the refugees, calling it a "great human tragedy." In response, Congress passed the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975, providing special entry status and $455 million in resettlement aid.
To prevent the refugees from forming ethnic enclaves and minimize impact on local communities, they were initially dispersed across the country. However, within a few years, many relocated to California and Texas.

Second wave of immigration: "boat people" (1978–1980s)

Between 1978 to the mid-1980s, a second major wave of refugees from former South Vietnam fled, primarily by sea on fishing boats, becoming known as "boat people." This group represented a diverse range of backgrounds, including South Vietnamese elites, former South Vietnam military and government officials, Chinese minorities, religious minorities, farmers, fishermen, and merchants.
Many fled persecution following the fall of Saigon, where many South Vietnamese, particularly former South Vietnamese military officers and government employees, were detained in re-education camps for political indoctrination, forced labor, and torture. A significant number of boat people included ethnic Chinese, Hmong, and other minority groups, many of whom were Vietnamese citizens. Notably, ethnic Chinese were specifically targeted for expulsion and accounted for 50% to 80% of the over 50,000 monthly refugee arrivals at Southeast Asian camps in 1979.
The boat people were often rescued up by foreign ships and transported to asylum camps in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. From these camps, many were resettled in countries that agreed to accept them, including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and others.
Between 1975 and 1979, limitations in existing refugee admission laws required U.S. presidential actions to admit approximately 300,000 Southeast Asian refugees, including many from Vietnam. In response to the plight of Vietnamese boat people, Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980 to ease restrictions on refugee admissions.
In 1979, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees established the Orderly Departure Program to facilitate legal emigration from Vietnam to the U.S. and other countries. The ODP initially succeeded in relocating an average of 16,500 individuals annually—over 115,000 people by 1986, including 50,000 to the United States. However, progress eventually stalled due to disagreements over priorities, as the U.S. focused on specific groups such as Amerasian children and re-education camp prisoners, while Vietnam prioritized the exodus of ethnic Chinese.

Vietnamese Fishermen's Association Antitrust Suit

Vietnamese refugees in the Gulf Coast faced discrimination as they arrived throughout the 1970s and 1980s. White fishermen complained about unfair competition from their Vietnamese American counterparts. "Non-Vietnamese docks refused to allow Vietnamese American boats to dock, wholesalers refused to buy shrimp from Vietnamese Americans." The Ku Klux Klan attempted to intimidate Vietnamese American shrimp fishermen, at one time having plans to burn Vietnamese shrimp boats. The Vietnamese Fishermen's Association, with the aid of the Southern Poverty Law Center, won a 1981 antitrust suit against the Klan, disbanding the "private army of white supremacists."

Shifts in Vietnamese immigration pathways (post-1980s)

While Vietnamese immigration has remained relatively steady since the 1980s, the pathways for Vietnamese immigrants to obtain lawful permanent resident status have changed dramatically.
Prior to 1998, the majority of Vietnamese green card holders were granted LPR status on humanitarian grounds, such as through refugee or asylum programs. In 1982, for example, 99% of Vietnamese immigrants received green cards via these channels.
By 2022, this figure had fallen to less than 1%, or fewer than 100 Vietnamese. Instead, the majority of Vietnamese immigrants gained green cards through family reunification, a rate much higher than the overall figure of 58%. About 12% secured LPR status via employment sponsorship.

Demographics

Population and distribution

As of 2023, nearly 2.4 million Vietnamese Americans lived in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with approximately 60% being immigrants and 40% born in the U.S.
Vietnamese Americans have the highest naturalization rate among all immigrant groups. By 2023, 78% of eligible Vietnamese immigrants in the United States had become U.S. citizens, surpassing the 53% naturalization rate of the overall foreign-born population. In fiscal year 2024, Vietnam ranked among the top five countries of origin for new U.S. citizens, accounting for 4.1% of all naturalizations.
Geographically, Vietnamese Americans are predominantly concentrated in California, Texas, and Washington State. Florida, Virginia, Georgia, and Massachusetts each accounted for about 3% to 4% of the Vietnamese American population. Major hubs include Orange, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles counties in California, and Harris County in Texas, together making up 31% of Vietnamese immigrants in the U.S.
The largest and oldest Vietnamese-American enclave in the United States, Little Saigon, is located in Westminster and Garden Grove. According to the 2023 United States Census American Community Survey, Vietnamese Americans account for 43.8% and 32.6% of the population, respectively.
RankCountyStatePopulation
1Orange CountyCalifornia152,500
2Santa Clara CountyCalifornia99,000
3Los Angeles CountyCalifornia97,100
4Harris CountyTexas75,400
5San Diego CountyCalifornia34,500
6King CountyWashington34,000
7Sacramento CountyCalifornia27,500
8Alameda CountyCalifornia27,000
9Dallas CountyTexas23,400
10Fairfax CountyVirginia23,200

Socioeconomics

Education

Coming from different waves of immigration, Vietnamese Americans have a lower educational attainment than overall Asian American population but it is higher than other Southeast Asian groups and is also trending upward, with each generation more likely to attain higher degrees and/or qualifications overall than the generation prior.
As of 2019, 32% of Vietnamese Americans held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 54% of Asian Americans overall and 33% of the total U.S. population. Educational attainment varies notably between U.S.-born and foreign-born Vietnamese Americans. Among those born in the U.S., 55% have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, while 27% of those born abroad have achieved the same level of education.