Phoenix, Arizona (Somali community)

The US Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey counted 3,056 Somali people in metro Phoenix and 3,582 in Arizona (US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, B02025, via Census Reporter; Arizona). Arizona has received more than 7,000 Somali refugees since 1992, by state resettlement figures reported locally (Cronkite News, November 2019).

How many Somalis live in Phoenix?

The American Community Survey (ACS) for 2020–2024 counted 3,056 people in the Phoenix metro area who named Somali as a race group, alone or with another (ACS 2020–2024, B02025). By ancestry it counted 1,808, and 925 people were born in Somalia (ACS 2020–2024, B04006; B05006).

The city of Phoenix had 2,063 by race and Tempe 838, both with wide margins of error (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, Phoenix; Tempe). Arizona ranks 11th among US states by the race count (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, by state).

Arrival totals are much higher than the survey count. Cronkite News reported 7,446 Somali refugees arriving in Arizona since 1992, the most from any African country (Cronkite News, 2019). An Arizona State University project cited 7,097 from the Arizona Refugee Resettlement Program (Visualizing Immigrant Phoenix, ASU, April 2018). The gap is explained in part by people moving to other states.

How did Somalis come to Phoenix?

Most came through refugee resettlement after the war began in 1991 (Cronkite News, 2019). The state has been a large resettlement site: Arizona took 3,600 refugees of all origins in 2013 alone, by state figures (The State Press, June 2014).

Somali Bantu arrivals. One of the first Somali Bantu families resettled in the US reached Phoenix on 22 May 2003 (Smithsonian, January 2004). The family had fled southern Somalia in 1991 and spent years in the Marafa and Kakuma camps in Kenya (Smithsonian). Lutheran Social Ministry of the Southwest handled their resettlement (Smithsonian).

Moving on. Local advocates have said about half of Somali refugees resettled in Arizona later leave, often for Minnesota, after struggling to find work (Visualizing Immigrant Phoenix, ASU, 2018). A Phoenix shop owner told researchers that services for refugees were better in Minnesota (ASU).

Still arriving. In the 2025 fiscal year, 98 refugees from Somalia were placed in Arizona, the fifth-highest of any state (Refugee Processing Center, FY2025 arrivals by state).

Work and business

Somali refugees in Phoenix often start in low-wage work, and some open small businesses (Visualizing Immigrant Phoenix, ASU, 2018). Isra Market, near 32nd Street and McDowell Road, sells halal meat, East African staples and women's clothing (ASU). A cafe in a strip mall near 50th Street and McDowell Road serves as a community meeting point (KJZZ, May 2023).

The first Somali Bantu father in Phoenix described by Smithsonian worked first as a cleaner, then collecting luggage carts at the airport (Smithsonian, 2004).

The Somali diaspora as a whole sent US$1.73 billion home 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?

The Somali American United Council of Arizona, in Phoenix, works with Somali families, including tutoring for school pupils (Cronkite School Humphrey Fellows blog, October 2016). The Somali Association of Arizona has helped families with groceries and medical visits (Phoenix New Times, 2017).

Walalaha FC, a soccer team founded in 2008 by a Somali refugee, gives young African refugees a team and a community (Cronkite News, 2019). Walalaha means "brothers" in Somali, and the team travels to play other refugee teams, including in Minnesota (Cronkite News).

A Somali community leader sat on the Phoenix Police Department's refugee advisory board until 2018 (KJZZ, May 2023). No Somali American has yet been found among Arizona's elected officials.

What does the community face now?

Schools and language. A 2016 account described Somali pupils in Phoenix schools struggling under state limits on teaching in a pupil's first language (Cronkite School Humphrey Fellows blog).

Policing and trust. In 2022, Phoenix police shot and killed a Somali former refugee who was throwing rocks at officers (KJZZ, May 2023). The county attorney filed no charges, and in November 2023 the city settled the family's federal lawsuit for $5.5 million (KJZZ, November 2023). A community leader said the man had a mental health problem and needed help, and pressed for independent police oversight (KJZZ).

The end of Temporary Protected Status. Somalia's TPS designation, in place since 16 September 1991, ended on 14 August 2026 (USCIS). About 700 people nationwide held it, and an appeal has been filed (MPR News, August 2026).

How is Phoenix tied to home?

Many young Somalis in Phoenix were born or raised in Kenyan camps, and many players on Walalaha FC have family still in Africa (Cronkite News, 2019). Somali refugee arrivals nationwide fell from 9,030 in 2016 to 260 in 2018, which slowed family reunions (DHS Yearbook 2024, Table 14). For the national picture, see United States (Somali diaspora).

What else has been reported?

• Police shooting, 2022: in September 2022 Phoenix police shot and killed a 34-year-old former Somali refugee who had been throwing rocks at officers near 19th and Glendale avenues; friends and family said he had mental health problems (KJZZ, November 2023). The Maricopa County Attorney's Office did not file charges. In 2023 the city agreed to pay the family US$5.5 million, and the police chief later fired the officer, finding the shooting out of policy (KJZZ).
• Somali Bantu, 2003: Phoenix was scheduled to receive 660 Somali Bantu refugees in the first resettlement round (Gospel Herald, June 2003).
• Tucson: the Somali Bantu Association of Tucson says community surveys count about 1,500 Somali Bantu in the city (Idealist, SBATA profile); an older Arizona Daily Star report gave about 800 (Arizona Daily Star).

Related pages

• United States (Somali diaspora)
• Other US Somali communities
• San Diego
• Minneapolis–St Paul
• Why and how Somalis left
• Refugee camps
• Somali refugees by the numbers

Sources

1. US Census Bureau. American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Tables B02025, B04006 and B05006 (Somali), Phoenix metro, Phoenix, Tempe, Arizona and states. Via Census Reporter API. censusreporter.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. Kyle Dowd, Cronkite News. Somali refugee soccer team Walalaha FC, Phoenix. 20 November 2019. cronkitenews.azpbs.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. Sanhareb Nano, Visualizing Immigrant Phoenix (Arizona State University). "From the Somali Highlands to Phoenix's New Frontier." April 2018. visualizingimmigrantphoenix.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. Maggie Spear, The State Press. "Arizona offers a safe haven for newly displaced refugees." 26 June 2014. statepress.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. Gregory Jaynes, Smithsonian. "Coming to America." January 2004. smithsonianmag.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. 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.
7. Matthew Casey, KJZZ. "Independent oversight of Phoenix police has been slow. But this ex-Somali refugee is still hopeful." 24 May 2023. kjzz.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. Minnesota Reformer. "Feds making it harder for immigrants to send money to family." 10 March 2026. minnesotareformer.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. Bailey Netsch, Humphrey Fellows blog, Cronkite School (ASU). "The Somali community in Phoenix: language barriers in education." 2 October 2016. cronkitehhh.jmc.asu.edu. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. Phoenix New Times. "Many Somali refugees end up leaving Arizona, advocates say." 2017. phoenixnewtimes.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. Matthew Casey, KJZZ. "Phoenix settles lawsuit by family of former Somali refugee fatally shot by police for $5.5 million." 1 November 2023. kjzz.org. 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. ohss.dhs.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
15. KJZZ. "Phoenix settles lawsuit with family of former Somali refugee fatally shot by police for $5.5 million". Nov 2023. https://kjzz.org/content/1861764/phoenix-settles-lawsuit-family-former-somali-refugee-fatally-shot-police-55-million. Checked 2026-11-12.
16. KJZZ. Phoenix police chief fires officer over 2022 shooting. 2024. https://kjzz.org/content/1876725/phoenix-police-chief-fires-officer-who-shot-ali-osman. Checked 2026-11-12.
17. Gospel Herald. "First Somali Bantu refugee families arrive in U.S.". 5 Jun 2003. https://www.gospelherald.com/articles/3050/20030605/first-somali-bantu-refugee-families-arrive-in-u-s.htm. Checked 2026-11-12.
18. Idealist. Somali Bantu Association of Tucson Arizona (SBATA). https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/71ecc4bc9e7142b1a397e9953eda17ce-somali-bantu-association-of-tucson-arizona-sbata-tucson. Checked 2026-11-12.
19. Arizona Daily Star. Article on Tucson's Somali Bantu. https://tucson.com/news/local/article_5449b3c7-2f3e-5d20-b787-e85bdaac645a.html. Checked 2026-11-12.