Denver and Colorado (Somali community)

The US Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey counted 3,467 Somali people in Colorado, most of them in Aurora and Denver (US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, B02025, via Census Reporter). Meat plants also drew Somali workers to Greeley and Fort Morgan from the mid-2000s (Weld County, County 150; The Gazette, March 2016).

How many Somalis live in Denver and Colorado?

The American Community Survey (ACS) for 2020–2024 counted these people of Somali race or origin, each with a wide margin of error (ACS 2020–2024, B02025):

• Colorado: 3,467 (plus or minus 1,172)
• Aurora: 1,676
• Denver: 823
• Arapahoe County: 1,116; Adams County: 753
• Greeley: 503

The Denver–Aurora metro area had 2,585 people of Somali ancestry and 1,058 born in Somalia (ACS 2020–2024, B04006; ACS 2020–2024, B05006). Small samples mean these figures can move a lot between surveys.

Local estimates differ. In Fort Morgan, about 1,200 Somali immigrants made up roughly one in ten residents in 2016 (The Gazette, 2016). A former US ambassador estimated about 540 Somali Bantu in Denver in 2014 (David Shinn blog, February 2014). A 2025 Sentinel Colorado column said "several thousand" Somalis live in or near Aurora, without a source (Sentinel Colorado, December 2025).

How did Somalis come to Colorado?

In 1998, leaders of Denver's Somali community formed the Somali American Community Center (Chinook Fund). More than 9,500 African refugees and asylum seekers settled in Colorado in federal fiscal years 1980 to 2014 (The Gazette, 2016).

Somali Bantu families were arriving in Denver by early 2005 (Denver Public Library, April 2024). The library's photo archive shows them at job and English classes in March 2005, and at the African Community Center (Denver Public Library).

Meat plants pulled others north and east. After a December 2006 immigration raid detained about 270 Hispanic workers at the Greeley beef plant, many Somalis took jobs there (Associated Press via GV Wire, June 2021). Weld County's history office says more than 1,000 Somali refugees came to the county in 2006 (Weld County, County 150).

In Fort Morgan, the first small Somali group arrived in 2005, mainly for jobs at the Cargill plant (David Shinn blog, 2014). In federal fiscal year 2025, Colorado received 47 Somali refugees (US Refugee Processing Center, FY2025).

Work and business

Many Somali Bantu families had farmed in Somalia. One woman photographed in 2005 had a plot at Denver's Fairview Garden (Denver Public Library). In spring 2013, Somali Bantu farmers planted first crops at a new farm in Denver's Westwood area, helped by a $5,000 Denver Foundation gift (Confluence Denver, May 2013).

Meatpacking became a major employer. In 2016, about a third of the 2,100 workers at Cargill's Fort Morgan plant were East African (The Gazette, 2016). In the Denver area, Somalis drive for ride-share and shuttle firms, work at Denver International Airport and run restaurants and groceries (Sentinel Colorado, 2025).

Mango House on East Colfax Avenue in Aurora has served refugees since 2012, and its food court includes a Somali bakery café (CBS Colorado, June 2019). Somalis abroad sent home US$3,134 million in 2025, about 24% of Somalia's GDP (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025).

What did the federal job cases find?

Greeley. In 2010, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued JBS Swift over its Greeley beef plant, case 10-cv-2103 in Denver federal court (US EEOC, June 2021). The EEOC alleged Muslim workers were denied prayer, and water fountains were shut off during Ramadan 2008 (US EEOC, 2021).

In 2021, JBS agreed to pay up to $5.5 million to about 300 workers and to provide clean prayer spaces outside bathrooms (US EEOC, 2021). The company did not admit liability (AP via GV Wire, 2021). The EEOC also published the announcement in Somali (US EEOC, Somali version).

Fort Morgan. The Gazette reported in 2016 that about 150 East African workers left the Cargill line over prayer time and were fired (The Gazette, 2016). In 2018, after finding reasonable cause of harassment and denied prayer breaks, the EEOC announced a $1.5 million settlement (US EEOC, September 2018). Cargill did not accept the findings (US EEOC, 2018).

Who speaks for the community?

• Somali American Community Center of Colorado, formed in 1998, offers job help, education and cultural events across metro Denver (Chinook Fund).
• East African Community of Colorado, formed by Somali elders in Greeley in 2008, began English classes in January 2009 (Weld County, County 150).
• African Community Center of Denver helped resettle Somali Bantu families in the 2000s (Denver Public Library).

In December 2025, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said the city would stand behind its Somali residents (Sentinel Colorado, 2025). State Representative Naquetta Ricks of Aurora, who heads the Colorado African Chamber of Commerce, called the national rhetoric dangerous (Sentinel Colorado).

What does the community face now?

On 2 December 2025, the US president said at a cabinet meeting that Somalis "contribute nothing" and were not wanted in the country (Sentinel Colorado, 2025). Aurora's mayor and a state lawmaker answered publicly, as above (Sentinel Colorado).

In Fort Morgan in 2016, Somali residents still prayed in two rented rooms because they could not buy land for a mosque (The Gazette, 2016). That year, 800 of the county's 6,000 pupils were learning English as a second language (The Gazette).

Across the United States, UNHCR counted 1,355 refugees and 3,945 asylum seekers from Somalia at the end of 2024 (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder).

How is Colorado tied to home?

In 2007, the African Community Center held a Somali Bantu dance at Washington Park to welcome new arrivals (Denver Public Library). Somali Bantu farmers in Denver combine the farming methods they used in Somalia with techniques suited to Colorado's climate (David Shinn blog, 2014).

What else has been reported?

• Greeley walkout, 2008: on 5 September 2008, about 220 workers at the JBS Swift beef plant in Greeley walked out over prayer breaks during Ramadan, by the company's estimate (NPR, 1 October 2008; Manufacturing.net, AP, 2008). Swift said it fired 101; the UFCW Local 7 union put the number closer to 150. The company said the firings were for refusing to return to work, not religion.

Related pages

• Other US Somali communities
• United States (Somali diaspora)
• Kansas City
• Phoenix
• Why and how Somalis left
• Migration routes
• Refugee camps
• Refugee papers and status
• Life after leaving
• Somali refugees by the numbers

Sources

1. US Census Bureau. American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Tables B02025, B04006 and B05006 (Somali), Colorado, Aurora, Denver, Greeley, Arapahoe and Adams counties and Denver metro, via Census Reporter. censusreporter.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. US Refugee Processing Center. "FY 2025 Arrivals by State and Nationality as of 30 Sep 2025." rpc.state.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "JBS Swift to pay up to $5.5 million to settle EEOC race and religious discrimination claim at Greeley plant." 9 June 2021 (and Somali version). eeoc.gov · eeoc.gov (Somali). Checked 2026-11-12.
4. US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "Cargill Meat resolves EEOC discrimination class finding." 14 September 2018. eeoc.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. Weld County. "East African Community" (County 150 history). weld.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. Alejandro Hernández, Denver Public Library Special Collections. "Somalis in Colorado" (photo gallery). 23 April 2024. denverlibrary.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. Chinook Fund. "Somali American Community Center" (grantee profile). chinookfund.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. James Anderson, The Gazette (Colorado Springs). "Assimilation is a long process for Somalis in Colorado farm town." 19 March 2016. gazette.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. David H. Shinn (former US ambassador). "Somali communities in Colorado." 12 February 2014. blogspot.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. Associated Press (via GV Wire). "Meatpacker settles Muslim discrimination lawsuit for $5.5 million." 9 June 2021. gvwire.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. Chris Meehan, Confluence Denver. "Bantu urban farm marries Somali tradition with sustainable farming in Denver." 15 May 2013. confluence-denver.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
12. CBS Colorado. "New food court in Aurora gives refugees new beginning." 7 June 2019. cbsnews.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
13. Dave Perry, Sentinel Colorado (opinion). "Aurora worries as Trump crosses a line with racist rant about Somali immigrants." 6 December 2025. sentinelcolorado.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
14. Central Bank of Somalia. "Annual Report 2025." August 2026. centralbank.gov.so. Checked 2026-11-12.
15. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia as country of origin, 2024. unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
16. NPR. "Fired Muslims to sue over prayer break dispute". 1 Oct 2008. https://www.npr.org/2008/10/01/95254631/fired-muslims-to-sue-over-prayer-break-dispute. Checked 2026-11-12.
17. Associated Press, via Manufacturing.net. "Somali workers fight plant over prayer". Sep 2008. https://www.manufacturing.net/labor/news/13064399/somali-workers-fight-plant-over-prayer. Checked 2026-11-12.