Lao American populations across the US

By now, many of us are familiar with the Census 2010 assessment of the Lao population across the US, at least at state-by-state level.

The information is particularly well-consolidated in the 2010 SEARAC statistical profile. I think it may be helpful to compare it from time to time with the 2000 SEARAC statistical profile to see where we're experiencing growth and changes.

One thing not found in the SEARAC statistical profiles is the metropolitan breakdown for the Lao community. Dr. Mark Pfeifer took the time to collate that data for us, and I think it's worth a peek. It's been 5 years now, so there may have been some changes since then, but it looks like the top 10 Lao cities in the country are:

1. Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA Metro Area – 12,758
2. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area – 10,074
3. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area – 9,850
4. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area – 9,131
5. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area – 8,676
6. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA Metro Area – 8,079
7. Fresno, CA Metro Area – 7,967
8. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA Metro Area – 7,120
9. Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area – 6,210
10. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area – 5,806

Oklahoma City, OK, with a population of 971 Lao was #50 among cities with large Lao populations.

This now leads us to some interesting questions about how we keep each other engaged and develop our national and local outreach and development efforts. What will it take to build each other up and to assist expansion efforts so that we are not only active participants in our democracy but we are effective in getting ahead of the curve, going forward.