Atlanta and Clarkston, Georgia (Somali community)

The US Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey counted 6,490 Somali people in metro Atlanta and 6,768 in Georgia, the fourth-largest count of any state (US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, B02025, via Census Reporter; ACS by state). Most live in DeKalb County, around the small refugee city of Clarkston (ACS 2020–2024, DeKalb County).

How many Somalis live in metro Atlanta?

The American Community Survey (ACS) for 2020–2024 counted 6,768 people in Georgia who named Somali as a race group, alone or with another (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, Georgia). The margin of error is 2,074, so the true number may be well above or below (Census Reporter). By ancestry Georgia had 4,161, and 1,940 people were born in Somalia (ACS 2020–2024, B04006; B05006).

Within metro Atlanta, DeKalb County counted 4,478 by race and Gwinnett County 1,203 (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, DeKalb; Gwinnett). The city of Clarkston itself counted about 1,000, with a very wide margin of error (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, Clarkston).

Community estimates are close to the survey. In 2021, the director of the Somali American Community Center estimated 5,000 to 7,000 Somalis in the Atlanta area, mostly in DeKalb and Gwinnett (285 South, September 2021). In 2017 the centre said it worked with about 7,000 Somali refugees and immigrants (ThinkProgress, July 2017).

How did Somalis come to Atlanta?

A few Somalis came to Atlanta as students before the war; the centre's founder left Mogadishu in 1984 to study at Georgia Tech (285 South, 2021). The large arrival came in the early 1990s, and he estimated about 20,000 Somalis in Georgia at that time (285 South).

Clarkston became a resettlement site in the 1980s, chosen for its transit links and cheap apartments near Atlanta (Atlanta Magazine, January 2017). About 40,000 refugees came through Georgia over three decades, most of them first to Clarkston (KCUR, February 2020). From 2015 to 2019, Clarkston ranked first in the country for refugees resettled per head of population (KCUR).

Somali Bantu arrivals. The US designated Somali Bantu refugees in Kenya as a persecuted group in 1999 (Voice of America, June 2003). In 2003, about 120 Somali Bantu already lived in Clarkston, as nearly 12,000 more prepared to come to the US over two years (VOA, 2003).

Many moved on. Many Somalis later left Georgia for Minnesota, Ohio and Maine (285 South, 2021). Many of the families who built Lewiston's community in Maine after 2001 came from the Atlanta area (Bangor Daily News, December 2011). In the 2025 fiscal year, 74 refugees from Somalia were placed in Georgia (Refugee Processing Center, FY2025 arrivals by state).

Work and business

Somali Plaza, a strip mall in Clarkston, holds Somali-owned shops and the community centre's office (285 South, 2021). Clarkston as a whole has halal restaurants, immigrant grocers and African craft shops (ThinkProgress, 2017).

In 2017 Clarkston's mayor said 89% of recently arrived refugee families were self-sufficient (Atlanta Magazine, 2017). Unemployment in the city was then under 6% (Atlanta Magazine).

Money sent home links Atlanta families with relatives in Somalia. The Somali diaspora as a whole sent US$1.73 billion in 2023, a World Bank-based figure (Minnesota Reformer, March 2026). Since 1 January 2026, a 1% US tax applies to cash-funded transfers abroad (Minnesota Reformer).

Who speaks for the community?

Ahmed Hassan, born in Somalia, was elected to Clarkston's city council in 2013 (City of Clarkston). In 2017 the six-member council had two members from the immigrant community (Atlanta Magazine, 2017).

The Somali American Community Center was founded in Clarkston in 2009 (285 South, 2021). In a normal year it helped about 1,000 families, not only Somalis (285 South). Its director has spoken for Somali families in local news on detentions and on the end of TPS (WSB-TV, January 2026).

What does the community face now?

Detentions. In April 2017, ICE detained ten Somali men in the Clarkston area who lacked papers (ThinkProgress, 2017). Clarkston's mayor said they had come legally but fell out of status. The city council then made Clarkston the first Georgia city with a "non-detainer" policy (ThinkProgress).

The end of Temporary Protected Status. In January 2026, Somali families in Clarkston told WSB-TV they feared more immigration enforcement after TPS for Somalia was ended (WSB-TV, January 2026). The termination took effect on 14 August 2026 (USCIS). About 700 Somalis held TPS nationally, and an appeal has been filed (MPR News, August 2026).

Fewer new arrivals. Refugee admissions to the United States fell sharply after 2017, and Georgia's governor has not publicly backed resettlement (KCUR, 2020). Somali refugee arrivals nationwide dropped from 9,030 in 2016 to 260 in 2018 (DHS Yearbook 2024, Table 14).

How is Atlanta tied to home?

Many of Atlanta's Somali families passed through camps in Kenya before resettlement, including the Somali Bantu who arrived after 2003 (VOA, 2003). Atlanta also served as a first home for families who then built Somali communities in other states (285 South, 2021). For the national picture, see United States (Somali diaspora).

What else has been reported?

• Somali Bantu plans, 2004: the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in March 2004 that the federal government had discussed resettling about 800 Somali Bantu in Georgia, in and near Decatur, Lawrenceville and Stone Mountain, though the number was uncertain (AJC, 31 March 2004, reprinted by a photographer's archive). Another AJC report put the expected number at up to 635 over two years in Clarkston, Decatur and Stone Mountain (AJC, via Free Republic repost).

Related pages

• United States (Somali diaspora)
• Other US Somali communities
• Lewiston and Portland, Maine
• Columbus, Ohio
• Why and how Somalis left
• Refugee camps
• Refugee papers and status
• Somali refugees by the numbers

Sources

1. US Census Bureau. American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Tables B02025, B04006 and B05006 (Somali), Georgia, Atlanta metro, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, Clarkston and states. Via Census Reporter API. censusreporter.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. Sophia Qureshi, 285 South. "Omar Shekhey is a lifeline for Somali families." 17 September 2021. 285south.substack.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. Kira Lerner, ThinkProgress. "As United States cracks down on refugee resettlement, the 'Ellis Island of the South' keeps open arms." 27 July 2017. thinkprogress.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. Matthew Shaer, Atlanta Magazine. "Ellis Island South: Welcome to the most diverse square mile in America." 19 January 2017. atlantamagazine.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. Andrea Tudhope, KCUR. "This Georgia town has welcomed thousands of refugees. Hear what residents have to say." 24 February 2020. kcur.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. Voice of America. Feature on Somali Bantu refugees in Clarkston, Georgia. June 2003. voanews.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. Bangor Daily News. "Struggle and progress: 10 years of Somalis in Lewiston." 18 December 2011. bangordailynews.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. US Department of State, Refugee Processing Center. "FY 2025 Arrivals by State and Nationality as of 30 Sep 2025." rpc.state.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. Minnesota Reformer. "Feds making it harder for immigrants to send money to family." 10 March 2026. minnesotareformer.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. City of Clarkston, Georgia. Councilman Ahmed Hassan. clarkstonga.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. Candace McCowan, WSB-TV. "Somali immigrants in metro Atlanta worried as protection status comes to an end." 14 January 2026. wsbtv.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
12. US Citizenship and Immigration Services. "Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Somalia." uscis.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
13. MPR News. "Judge's order allows end to TPS protections for people from Somalia." 17 August 2026. mprnews.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
14. US Department of Homeland Security, Office of Homeland Security Statistics. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2024, Table 14 (refugee arrivals by nationality). ohss.dhs.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
15. Mark Bixler. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 31 Mar 2004, reprinted at refugees.davidredd.com. https://refugees.davidredd.com/?p=357. Checked 2026-11-12.
16. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2004, reposted on Free Republic. https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/853758/posts. Checked 2026-11-12.