Karen Americans (S'gaw Karen: ပှၤကညီဖိလၢကီၢ်အမဲရံကး) are Americans of full or partial Karen ancestry. They are a recent but rapidly growing immigrant population in the United States. Many Karen who emigrate are refugees as a result of violence in their homeland. Many come either from their traditional homeland of Kawthoolei in Myanmar or from refugee camps in Thailand. Minnesota was reported to have had more than 12,000 Karen residents in 2017, making it the state with the largest Karen community. Other states with significant populations are California, Texas, New York, and Indiana.