More Hmong Americans make St. Paul home than any other U.S. city
By Associated Press
St. Paul is a magnet for Hmong Americans living throughout the United States. They come for better jobs, better education, and in hope of a better future.
“The cost of living is cheaper here than in California,” said Lee Pao Xiong, president of the Urban Coalition. “The quality of education is better here, and jobs are available here.”
He said he’s recruited 10 families from his own extended family to come here from California in recent years.
“They came here and they found jobs within a month or two and are making $10, $11, $12 an hour,” Xiong said.
More Hmong Americans live in St. Paul, Minn., than any other United States city, according to new figures from Census 2000.
Census data for California released late on Aug. 7 show Fresno has slipped to No. 2 in the number of Hmong residents. Fresno’s Hmong American population grew 13 percent to 18,780 from 1990 to 2000 while the St. Paul population grew 112 percent to 24,389 in the same period.
Not all 2000 census numbers are available, but Minnesota and California are the leading states and it is unlikely another city surpassed St. Paul.
California is still the state with the largest Hmong population, but it grew only 39 percent to 65,095 since the last census.
The Minnesota Hmong American population grew 148 percent to 41,800 from 1990 to 2000, according to the latest census.
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