Hmong-Owned Businesses in Michigan

There are approximately 9,174 Hmong residents in Michigan, or about 0.09% of the state's population. That places Michigan in the next tier of Hmong population states nationally. Wayne County, including the Detroit metro, has approximately 652 Hmong residents.

Hmong refugees began arriving in Michigan in December 1975 as part of the first post-Vietnam War resettlement wave. Refugees were intentionally distributed across multiple states, and Detroit became an early gateway through the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit and faith-based sponsors. Our Savior Lutheran Church in Lansing formed a ministry team that welcomed Hmong families arriving at the Detroit airport, creating an unusual continuity of spiritual and cultural support that reaches back to 1975.

Many Michigan Hmong families are secondary migrants who first settled in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or California and later moved for manufacturing and automotive jobs, a lower cost of living, or family reunification. Unlike the concentrated hubs of Catawba County, North Carolina, or Tulsa, Oklahoma, Michigan's community is multi-polar: Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Oakland County, and Ann Arbor each contribute organizations, families, and cultural programming.

The community has developed visible civic and political advocacy. Michigan's Hmong and Lao organizations have supported refugee legal defense and immigration work, including advocacy connected to the 2025 pardon of Wa Kong Lor and the work of State Senator Stephanie Chang on behalf of Hmong and Lao refugees. These efforts add a public-policy dimension to the cultural and resettlement infrastructure centered in Detroit and Lansing.