Hmong in Wisconsin

Hmong Americans are the largest Asian ethnic group in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Allies of the United States in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and later stages of the Laotian Civil War, they started seeking asylum as political refugees after the communist takeover in both nations in 1975, including the Hmong genocide in Laos. Hmong in Vietnam and Laos were subjected to targeted attacks in both countries, and tens of thousands were killed, imprisoned or forcibly relocated following the war.

Hmong people first arrived in the upper Midwest in 1975 or 1976 following the United States withdrawal from the Vietnam War. They were seeking asylum in the United States, as many had worked or served in fighting for U.S. forces in Laos during the "secret war". By 1980, there were 408 Hmong people in the state. Originally only Hmong veterans were allowed to immigrate. The Hmong Institute, a nonprofit agency, recognized 2025 as the 50 year anniversary of the Hmong diaspora in Wisconsin.

Churches and social service agencies initially settled Southeast Asian refugees, most of them Hmong, along with some Vietnamese and Laotian people, in Wausau. According to the 1980 United States census, Wausau had fewer than 1% non-White people. There were several dozen Asian immigrants in 1978. By 1980, 200 Southeast Asian refugees had settled in Wausau. This increased to 400 in 1982 and 800 in 1984. Over time, the Hmong became the largest ethnic minority in the city. Doualy Xaykaothao of The Atlantic stated that ethnic tension between Hmong and native-born Americans in the state started in the 1980s and spilled over into the following decade.

In 1990, there were 16,980 Hmong in Wisconsin. This was an increase of more than 4,000% from the 1980 figure. By this time, the US government had relaxed some restrictions and allowed families to immigrate, leading to reunification of Hmong families in Wisconsin and other destinations. The first effort aided nuclear families, but Hmong extended families and clans are extremely important to their society, and they pressed also for extended family members to be allowed to immigrate. They have a patrilineal kinship system. By 1980, the Hmong quickly began to organize Mutual Assistance Associations in cities where they had the largest populations, and these have continued.

In 1991, there were 1,010 Hmong students in the Wausau School District. In a period ending in 1994, the tax rate of the Wausau School District rose by 10.48% because of the added expenses of services to children from immigrant families. The increase was three times as high as the increase in an adjacent school district that lacked a large immigrant population. By 1994, Wausau had 4,200 refugees. The number of Hmong students in the school district was over 2,000 in 1996. In 1998, this number reached its peak, 2,214. Wausau had some social upheaval from the Hmong arrival. Some schools in Wausau developed a minority of English speakers or were dominated by Hmong students. Some native-born American families in Wausau criticized crime associated with the Hmong community and the costs of social services to them.

In 2000, there were 46,600 Hmong in Wisconsin. By 2002, 12% of the Wausau population was Hmong, and 25% of the students at Wausau public schools were Hmong.

As of the 2010 U.S. census, there were 49,240 Hmong in the state. This was a 46% increase over the 2000 figures.

As of the 2023 American Community Survey one-year estimates, the Hmong population of Wisconsin had increased to 70,841.