San Diego (Somali community)

The US Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey counted about 3,300 Somali people in San Diego County, most of them in the city of San Diego (US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, B02025, via Census Reporter). Local estimates run from 10,000 to 20,000, centred on City Heights (Voice of San Diego, 2013; KPBS, 2010).

How many Somalis live in San Diego?

The American Community Survey (ACS) for 2020–2024 counted 3,304 people in San Diego County who named Somali as a race group, alone or with another (margin of error 935) (US Census Bureau, B02025, via Census Reporter). It counted 3,222 by Somali ancestry and 1,338 people born in Somalia (ACS 2020–2024, B04006; ACS 2020–2024, B05006).

Inside the city of San Diego, the same survey counted 2,840 by race and 2,585 by ancestry (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, city of San Diego; B04006). California as a whole had 5,916 by race (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, California).

Local figures are much higher. KPBS reported "nearly 20,000" Somalis in 2010 (KPBS, September 2010). Voice of San Diego put the community above 10,000 in 2013, without naming a source (Voice of San Diego, February 2013). KPBS still describes San Diego as having the second-largest Somali refugee population in the country, after Minnesota (KPBS, January 2026). The survey does not support that ranking today: Ohio, Washington and several other states count more (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, by state).

How did Somalis come to San Diego?

San Diego's resettlement network began in 1975, when the International Rescue Committee (IRC) helped Vietnamese refugees housed at Camp Pendleton (Voice of San Diego, 2013). In the early 1980s the city received refugees from Ethiopia, many of them ethnic Somalis from the Ogaden (Voice of San Diego).

A small group of Somali military personnel trained with US forces at Camp Pendleton and stayed after the war began in 1991 (Voice of San Diego). A large wave of Somali refugees followed in the 1990s (KPBS, 2010). The IRC's local director said family ties counted for more than the cost of living in placement decisions (Voice of San Diego).

About 400 Somali Bantu refugees came to San Diego from 2004 onwards, as part of a large US resettlement (Voice of San Diego, June 2009). With the IRC, their community organisation secured land in 2007 for New Roots Community Farm, a two-acre plot on 54th Street (Voice of San Diego, 2009).

New arrivals are now few. In the 2025 fiscal year, 16 refugees from Somalia were placed in all of California (Refugee Processing Center, FY2025 arrivals by state). San Diego County as a whole received more than 9,600 refugees of all origins from 2020 to 2023 (Voice of San Diego, August 2025).

Work and business

In 2010, a community director estimated Somali unemployment in San Diego at 40 to 50% (KPBS, 2010). Common jobs then included hotel work, housekeeping, cleaning and security, often part-time (KPBS). Many families had also bought homes and businesses, many in City Heights (KPBS).

The community's shops and mosques cluster in City Heights, in an area locals call "Little Mogadishu" (Voice of San Diego, 2025). Somali women also run home child care centres in the city (KPBS, January 2026).

Money sent home matters to families in Somalia. The Somali diaspora as a whole sent US$1.73 billion in 2023, a World Bank-based figure (Minnesota Reformer, March 2026). From 1 January 2026, a 1% US tax applies to transfers paid in cash or money orders (Minnesota Reformer).

Who speaks for the community?

Somali Family Service of San Diego began in 2000 with a youth programme set up as gang violence rose (KPBS, November 2025). It now serves at least 10,000 people a year, in more than 15 languages (KPBS, 2025).

The Horn of Africa community centre has served East African refugees since at least 2010 (KPBS, February 2013). The Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), based in City Heights, and CAIR San Diego spoke for families when TPS was ended (KPBS, January 2026).

Among elected officials, City Council member Sean Elo-Rivera said in January 2026 that treating every Somali as a fraud suspect "is racist" (KPBS, January 2026). He pledged to work with police on reports of harassment (KPBS).

What does the community face now?

Harassment of child care providers. In January 2026, a care workers' union counted at least seven incidents of strangers filming or following Somali providers within a week (KPBS, January 2026). The union urged providers to report them to police as hate incidents (KPBS).

The end of Temporary Protected Status. Somalia was designated for TPS on 16 September 1991, and 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). KPBS reported that only a small number live in San Diego (KPBS, January 2026).

A court case remembered. In 2013 a federal jury in San Diego convicted four local men of sending, or conspiring to send, $10,900 to al-Shabaab (US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, United States v. Moalin, 2020). In 2020 the appeals court upheld the convictions but held that the NSA's bulk phone-records programme had violated federal law (Ninth Circuit). The case shocked many in the community, and many there had themselves fled al-Shabaab (KPBS, November 2013).

How is San Diego tied to home?

After the US recognised Somalia's government in January 2013, some young people raised in City Heights planned to work there (KPBS, February 2013). A student group from San Diego State University surveyed rural schools in Somalia that winter (KPBS).

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 API). For the national picture, see United States (Somali diaspora).

What else has been reported?

• Local estimate, 2025: local Somali leaders estimated about 15,000 people of Somali descent in San Diego, the Union-Tribune reported (San Diego Union-Tribune, 2025, via ArcaMax). East County Magazine has given 15,000 to 20,000 (East County Magazine). The census counts about 3,300.

Related pages

• United States (Somali diaspora)
• Other US Somali communities
• Minneapolis–St Paul
• Columbus, Ohio
• Why and how Somalis left
• 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), San Diego County, city of San Diego, California and states. Via Census Reporter API. censusreporter.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. Megan Burks, Voice of San Diego. "San Diego's Somali population, explained." 22 February 2013. voiceofsandiego.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. Amita Sharma, KPBS. "Somalis adjust to US life, but integration and jobs still problems." 28 September 2010. kpbs.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. John Carroll, KPBS. "Anxiety rises in San Diego's Somali community over TPS revocation." 14 January 2026. kpbs.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. Voice of San Diego. "Building a farm and saving a culture." 4 June 2009. voiceofsandiego.org. 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. Voice of San Diego. "Can San Diego remain a hub for refugees?" 21 August 2025. voiceofsandiego.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. Katie Hyson, KPBS. "Somali child care providers in San Diego say strangers are surveilling their centers." 8 January 2026. kpbs.org. 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. Audy McAfee, KPBS. "San Diego nonprofit combats hate crimes with education and community programs." 19 November 2025. kpbs.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. Megan Burks, KPBS. "Somalis raised in City Heights consider returning to their homeland." 18 February 2013. kpbs.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 Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. United States v. Moalin, No. 13-50572, opinion of 2 September 2020. law.justia.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
15. Amita Sharma, KPBS. "Three local Somalis get prison terms for sending money to terrorists." 18 November 2013. kpbs.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
16. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia as country of origin, 2024. unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
17. San Diego Union-Tribune, 2025, syndicated via ArcaMax. https://www.arcamax.com/currentnews/newsheadlines/s-3959094. Checked 2026-11-12.
18. East County Magazine. Article on San Diego's East African community. https://eastcountymagazine.org/?p=10540. Checked 2026-11-12.