Vietnamese Population in Kent County, MI by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Vietnamese population in Kent County, MI is recorded at 5,390 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Kent County - including Kentwood, Gaines charter township, Grand Rapids, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Vietnamese presence. However, the combined population across these cities exceeds the official county total - a likely result of rounding differences or sampling variations in small-population census data. The analysis below explores how Vietnamese communities are spread across Kent County, MI and comparable counties throughout Michigan.

Top 5 cities with the largest Vietnamese population in Kent County

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  • 1
    Kentwood
    Vietnamese population in Kentwood is 1,597
    2.95% of Kentwood population is Vietnamese
  • 2
    Gaines charter township
    Vietnamese population in Gaines charter township is 1,105
    3.80% of Gaines charter township population is Vietnamese
  • 3
    Grand Rapids
    Vietnamese population in Grand Rapids is 861
    0.44% of Grand Rapids population is Vietnamese
  • 4
    Wyoming
    Vietnamese population in Wyoming is 845
    1.10% of Wyoming population is Vietnamese
  • 5
    Byron township
    Vietnamese population in Byron township is 299
    1.10% of Byron township population is Vietnamese

Overview of Vietnamese population in Kent County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Kent County with 5,390 Vietnamese residents (0.82% of 658,844 total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 97th percentile nationally among counties and 98th percentile within Michigan for Vietnamese population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Kent County's Vietnamese population of 0.82% surpassing both Michigan's state average of 0.24% and the national average of 0.68%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey indicate Kent County's 5,390 Vietnamese residents constitute 21.9% of Michigan's total Vietnamese population of 24,607, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 21.9% of all Michigan Vietnamese Americans residing within county boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Kent County maintains 6.3 Vietnamese Americans per square mile, representing more than fourteen times Michigan's average of 0.43 per square mile, establishing the county as an exceptional concentration center comparable to major metropolitan demographic areas.
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33 Cities in Kent County Ranked by Vietnamese Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Vietnamese populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Kentwood, Gaines charter township, Grand Rapids, and Wyoming. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 33 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Kent County, MI ranked by Vietnamese population count
Rank by Vietnamese Population
City
Vietnamese Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Kent County Vietnamese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Kentwood 1,597 2.95% 29.63%
2 Gaines charter township 1,105 3.80% 20.50%
3 Grand Rapids 861 0.44% 15.97%
4 Wyoming 845 1.10% 15.68%
5 Byron township 299 1.10% 5.55%
6 Walker 196 0.78% 3.64%
7 Sparta township 185 1.96% 3.43%
8 80 0.41% 1.48%
9 60 0.37% 1.11%
10 54 0.29% 1.00%
11 34 0.24% 0.63%
12 25 0.07% 0.46%
13 22 0.52% 0.41%
14 19 0.13% 0.35%
15 18 0.43% 0.33%
16 9 0.08% 0.17%
17 3 0.02% 0.06%
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
18 0 - -
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Kent County, MI by their Vietnamese population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Vietnamese population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Vietnamese ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Vietnamese alone, while others identify as Vietnamese along with another race (such as Vietnamese and German).
  • We’ve used the “Vietnamese alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Vietnamese population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Vietnamese alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Vietnamese .
  2. % of Total Kent County Vietnamese Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Vietnamese population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Vietnamese populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Vietnamese population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Vietnamese populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.