Vietnamese in NYC: A Profile (2025)

August 25, 2025

PROFILE MATERIALS

2019-2023 ACS 5-Year PUMS

2014-2018 ACS 5-Year PUMS

Asian American Federation

Population

Between 2018 and 2023, the Vietnamese population in the city grew dramatically by 15.5%, a faster rate than the overall Asian population and the City population as a whole

During this time, the proportion of Vietnamese residents decreased in the Bronx (-2.5 percentage points), Brooklyn (-3.6 percentage points), and Queens (-1.34 percentage points). At the same time, the population moved to Staten Island (+2.9 percentage points) and Manhattan (4.6 percentage points), contributing to the Vietnamese community’s growth across the city overall. Despite the shift, Vietnamese New Yorkers still had the highest share living in the Bronx among all Asian ethnic groups, at 14.7%.

The age distribution of the Vietnamese population remained relatively stable from 2018 to 2023. While the overall adult Asian population in the city decreased by 2.7 percentage points and the older adult population increased by 2.5 points, the Vietnamese population showed the opposite trend. Among Vietnamese New Yorkers, the adult population rose slightly by 0.6 percentage points while the older adult population declined by 0.8 percentage points.

Immigration, Citizenship & Mobility

Compared to other Asian ethnic groups in NYC, the Vietnamese population has the highest percentage of U.S.-born citizens at 44.7% and the lowest rate of non-citizens at 16.7%.

55.3% of Vietnamese in NYC are foreign-born, making it one of the lowest proportions of foreign-born residents among Asian ethnic groups.

Between 2019 and 2023, roughly 1 in 8 Vietnamese New Yorkers had just moved to the city. However, only 1.5% of the overall Vietnamese population had relocated to NYC from abroad. In comparison, most Vietnamese, 87.2% had not moved from their previous residence in the city.

Education & English Proficiency

Vietnamese New Yorkers display a wide range of educational attainment. Among those aged 25 years and older, 22.4% do not have a high school diploma while 51.7% have at least a bachelor’s degree. Both figures are higher than the citywide averages, meaning this demographic has more college graduates and more individuals without a high school diploma than New York City overall.

Vietnamese New Yorkers have a limited English proficiency (LEP) rate of 34.3%, which is higher than the overall city rate of 22.2% but lower than the 42.4% LEP rate of the overall Asian population. Additionally, 35.7% of Vietnamese New Yorkers speak only English at home, a figure higher than the 24.7% of overall Asian New Yorkers who speak only English.

Income & Poverty

Vietnamese New Yorkers have average per capita and family median incomes and above-average household median incomes, compared to New York City residents overall. The median Vietnamese household earns 40.6% more than a median household citywide, and is comparatively one of the highest household incomes among Asian ethnic groups.

Note: Near poverty is above 100% but below 200% of the poverty threshold. Children are under 18, adults are between 18 and 64, and seniors are 65 and older.

Vietnamese poverty rates are below average compared to both NYC and Asian populations. However, a significant proportion of Vietnamese seniors (34%) are in or near poverty, which is just below the rate of New York City seniors overall (36.9%). In comparison, Vietnamese children and adults have below or near average rates of poverty compared to the city as a whole.

Benefits & Health

Among Vietnamese households living in poverty, only 18.5% are enrolled in SNAP. In comparison, Asian households overall enroll at more than double that rate (38.7%), and NYC households as a whole enroll at nearly three times the rate (53.5%).

The number of uninsured individuals in the city decreased across all demographics, except for the Vietnamese population. Between 2018 and 2023, the uninsured rate for Vietnamese New Yorkers marginally increased by 0.8 percentage points. Around 67.5% of the Vietnamese population is enrolled in private insurance, higher than rates for the city (57.8%) and the Asian ethnic population as a whole (56.5%). Conversely, 30.8% of the Vietnamese population is enrolled in public insurance, lower than the City average rate (45.6%) and the Asian population as a whole (43.8%).

A lower percentage of the Vietnamese population is enrolled in government-assisted health insurance compared to both City and Asian populations.

Employment

Note: Civilian labor force participation rate is the count of civilians employed and unemployed over the total labor force (age 16 and over, including those in the military).

Vietnamese labor force participation rates are above-average for male workers and below average for female workers.

Overall, Vietnamese unemployment rates are similar to the city’s overall unemployment rate. Broken down by gender, however, Vietnamese men experience higher unemployment rates relative to the citywide rates as well as other Asian ethnicities. Indeed, among Asian ethnic groups, Vietnamese men experience the highest unemployment rate for the civilian labor force. On the other hand, Vietnamese women experience lower unemployment relative to the city as a whole.

Vietnamese employees overall are about as likely to be self-employed (9.7%) as employees in the overall population (9.8%).

Five industries employ 63.2% of the Vietnamese labor force. The highest percentage of Vietnamese employed by a single industry is 18.8% in professional services (legal, accounting, management, etc.), followed by medicine (physician offices, care facilities, hospitals, etc.), entertainment (restaurants, drinking places, etc.), financial services (banking, insurance, brokerages, etc.), and other services (auto repair, salons, civic services, etc.). 22.1% of Vietnamese men were employed in professional services while Vietnamese women tended to work in medicine as their top industry at 9.8%.

Housing

Average household size, NYC, 2018 and 2023

Household group	2018	2023
Overall	2.50	2.44
Asian	3.88	2.81
Chinese	2.78	2.67

Vietnamese households had a slightly larger average household size than city households. In general, average household sizes in New York City have decreased since 2018, and Vietnamese households are no exception.

Vietnamese households experience overcrowding at a lower rate than Asian households overall and at a similar rate to NYC as a whole.

Compared to New York City as a whole, Vietnamese households own their houses at a higher rate but rent them at a lower rate. Relative to other Asian ethnicities, the opposite is true where Vietnamese households own at a slightly lower rate and rent at a slightly higher rate.

Vietnamese renters are less rent burdened than both the citywide and overall Asian renter populations. Still, 40.6% of Vietnamese renter households experience some level of rent burden, and the majority of them are severely rent burdened.

¹ Vietnamese statistics are for the Vietnamese Alone or in Any Combination category unless otherwise noted.

² Population estimates are rounded to the nearest hundred.

³ Asian statistics are for the Asian Alone or in Any Combination category unless otherwise noted.

⁴ “New Yorker” indicates New York City residents.

⁵ Percentage point changes indicate changes in percentages; percentage changes indicate changes in numbers.

⁶ Asian households are led by an Asian householder and can consist of non-Asian persons. Similarly, Vietnamese households are led by a Vietnamese householder and can consist of non-Vietnamese persons.

Technical Notes

Race categories
Beginning with the Census 2000, the Census Bureau collects data in which respondents were allowed to mark more than one race. For example, 2000 data include results for single race as well as multiple-race responses. “Vietnamese Alone” corresponds to the respondents who reported only Vietnamese and no other race category. “Alone” should be considered the minimum population size in any analysis that uses Census Bureau data.

To be as inclusive as possible, this profile uses “Vietnamese Alone or in Any Combination” numbers where possible. “Alone or in Any Combination” corresponds to the responses (not respondents) that included Vietnamese, either alone or in any combination with other Asian groups or other race categories. If a respondent selected Vietnamese and another racial group (e.g., Vietnamese and Black), that individual, while excluded from the “Vietnamese Alone” count, was tallied in the “Alone or in Any Combination” count for Vietnamese and the other racial group. Hence, some overlap in the “In Any Combination” numbers occurred. “Alone or in Any Combination” should be considered the maximum population size in any analysis that uses Census Bureau data.

About this profile
These profiles were released in August 2025 and are based on the 2018 and 2023 American Community Survey 5-year Public Use Microdata Sample.

This is one of a series of Asian American population profiles prepared by the Asian American Federation Census Information Center (CIC) to increase understanding of the rapidly growing and diverse Asian American population in the New York metropolitan area. Data citations from this profile should include the following acknowledgment: “Data derived from analysis by the Asian American Federation Census Information Center.”

For more information regarding this profile, please contact the Asian American Federation Census Information Center at (646)492-8958 x 221 or dena.li@aafederation.org, or visit our Census Center.

This profile was authored by Bella Lu, AAF’s Spring 2025 Research Intern (Bard College, ’25) and Dena Li. Review and edits were made by Annie Yang and Meera Venugopal. Infographics and design by Jenny Shin.