Hmong in Minnesota
Hmong began to arrive in Minnesota in the 1970s, following the Secret War.
By 1990 there were about 17,000 Hmong living in Minnesota-
-primarily living in the Frogtown neighborhood and on the East side of St. Paul.
By 2000, the Hmong population more than doubled, continuing to grow in Frogtown and Dayton's Bluff, and expanding into Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center.
Use the slider to compare 1990 (left) to 2000 (right).
In 2010 the Hmong population increased to more than 66,000, continuing to expand throughout the Twin Cities.
Use the slider to compare 2000 (left) to 2010 (right).
In 2020 there were more than 94,000 Hmong and Hmong Americans living in Minnesota, predominantly in the Twin Cities metro area.
Use the slider to compare 2010 (left) to 2020 (right).
The Hmong population is also continuing to grow throughout the state.
There are a number of Hmong businesses and institutions throughout the Twin Cities.
Click on the categories at right to see some of the different types, and click on the circles for more information.
You are currently at the Hmong Cultural Center and Museum, founded in 1992. We offer citizenship and English as a second language courses, as well as classes in Qeej, Funeral and Wedding Song Instruction.
In 2021, we started in our current location, the first Hmong museum open to the public in Minnesota.
The HmongTown Marketplace was founded in 2004 by Toua Xiong when he purchased and abandoned lumberyard on Como Avenue.
Today it houses more than 200 vendors, including a variety of shops and restaurants.
Outside of St. Paul in Vermillion Township, the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) farm.
HAFA was founded by Hmong farming families in 2011, and purchased their farm collective site in 2022.
Their produce, as well as produce grown by other Hmong farmers, is sold at farmers' markets around the Twin Cities.
