United States (Somali diaspora)

How many Somalis live in the United States?

US counts differ by the question asked. The 2020 Census counted 221,043 people who named Somali as a detailed race group, alone or with another (US Census Bureau, 21 September 2023). The 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) put the figure at 259,694 (ACS 2024 1-year, B02025, via Census Reporter).

The five-year survey for 2020 to 2024 gives 223,725 by race and 166,157 by ancestry (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, via Census Reporter; ACS 2020–2024, B04006). It counts 93,405 people born in Somalia (ACS 2020–2024, B05006). So more than half of the people counted as Somali were not born in Somalia.

Which states have the most Somalis?

By the 2020–2024 survey, counting Somali as a race group (ACS 2020–2024, B02025, via Census Reporter):

1. Minnesota: 88,796; see Minneapolis–St Paul, St. Cloud and Rochester
2. Ohio: 31,237; see Columbus
3. Washington: 17,733; see Seattle and South King County
4. Georgia: 6,768; see Atlanta and Clarkston
5. Texas: 6,436; see Dallas–Fort Worth
6. New York: 6,400
7. California: 5,916; see San Diego
8. Virginia: 5,807; see Washington DC area
9. Wisconsin: 4,642
10. Missouri: 4,237; see Kansas City
11. Arizona: 3,582; see Phoenix
12. Colorado: 3,467; see Denver and Colorado
13. Tennessee: 3,117; see Nashville
14. Maine: 3,111; see Lewiston and Portland, Maine

These are survey estimates. Georgia's figure, for example, has a margin of error of 2,074, so states from fourth place down may swap order (Census Reporter). Smaller communities in other states are on the other US communities page.

How many Somali refugees has the US admitted each year?

Somali refugee arrivals by fiscal year, from the government's immigration yearbooks (INS Statistical Yearbook 1996, table 25; INS Statistical Yearbook 1999, table 24; DHS Yearbook 2009, table 14; DHS Yearbook 2011, table 14; DHS Yearbook 2014, table 14; DHS Yearbook 2024, table 14):

• 1990–1994: 25 · 192 · 1,570 · 2,753 · 3,555
• 1995–1999: 2,506 · 6,436 · 4,974 · 2,951 · 4,320
• 2000–2004: 6,026 · 4,951 · 237 · 1,994 · 13,331
• 2005–2009: 10,405 · 10,357 · 6,969 · 2,523 · 4,189
• 2010–2014: 4,884 · 3,161 · 4,911 · 7,608 · 9,000
• 2015–2019: 8,850 · 9,030 · 6,120 · 260 · 230
• 2020–2024: 150 · 200 · 490 · 1,410 · 4,790

Figures from 2015 are rounded to the nearest 10 (DHS). Together they add up to about 151,400 people. In fiscal 2024, Somalis were 4,790 of 100,060 refugees admitted (DHS).

In fiscal 2025, the State Department recorded 2,496 Somali refugee arrivals, all in October 2024 to January 2025 (Refugee Processing Center, FY 2025 arrivals by state and nationality). Minnesota received 670 of them, Ohio 245 and New York 211 (RPC). The programme has been suspended since late January 2025 (Congressional Research Service, July 2026).

How did others come, and how many became citizens?

Some Somalis won asylum inside the US. Affirmative asylum grants to Somalis rose from 119 in 1993 to 2,368 in 1999 (INS Statistical Yearbook 1999, table 26). By 2011 they had fallen to 30 (DHS Yearbook 2011).

Green cards (permanent residence) for people born in Somalia peaked at 13,390 in 2009 (DHS Yearbook 2009, table 3). They were 2,030 in 2024: 1,170 spouses, children or parents of US citizens, 390 refugees and asylees, and 380 diversity lottery winners (DHS Yearbook 2024, table 3; table 10).

Naturalisation followed. People born in Somalia became US citizens in these numbers (DHS Yearbook 2011; DHS Yearbook 2024, table 22):

• 2002: 1,789
• 2011: 7,971
• 2019: 6,920
• 2022: 7,700, the highest year shown
• 2024: 2,440

What was TPS, and what happened to it?

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) let Somalis already in the US stay and work while Somalia was unsafe (USCIS). The US designated Somalia for TPS on 16 September 1991 (USCIS). A termination notice was published on 14 January 2026, and the designation ended on 14 August 2026 (USCIS).

What the change means for people's papers is on Refugee papers and status. At the end of 2024, UNHCR counted 1,355 recognised refugees and 3,945 asylum seekers from Somalia in the US (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder API).

What schooling and work do they have?

Minnesota, home to about two in five Somali Americans, is the best measured (Census Reporter). In 2020 to 2024, 47.8% of Somali Minnesotans were born in the US (Minnesota Compass).

Among Somali Minnesotans aged 25 and over, 63.9% had finished high school and 17.2% held a bachelor's degree or higher (Minnesota Compass). One in three (33.6%) spoke English less than "very well" (Minnesota Compass). Jobs, income and homeownership in Minnesota are on the Minneapolis–St Paul page.

Who speaks for the community?

Ilhan Omar has represented Minnesota's 5th Congressional District since January 2019 (US House of Representatives, Rep. Omar). Born in Somalia, she spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before her family came to the US in the 1990s (omar.house.gov). State lawmakers, city officials and community groups are listed on each city page: Minneapolis–St Paul, Columbus, Seattle, Washington DC area, Atlanta and Clarkston, San Diego, Dallas–Fort Worth, Phoenix, Nashville, Lewiston and Portland, Maine and other US communities. Every Somali American found in elected or senior appointed office is listed on Somali Americans in public office.

What do they face now?

• Fewer new arrivals: total US refugee admissions fell from 100,034 in fiscal 2024 to 38,102 in fiscal 2025 (Pew Research Center, August 2026).
• The end of TPS: in force since 14 August 2026 (USCIS).
• A tax on cash transfers: a 1% federal excise tax applies to money sent abroad and paid for in cash, from 1 January 2026 (Bloomberg Tax).

How are they tied to home?

Money sent home ties families together. Individual remittances to Somalia reached about US$3.13 billion in 2025, about 24% of GDP (The EastAfrican, 2026; Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025). The US share of that total is discussed on other US communities.

Family reunion keeps the link alive too: most green cards for Somalia-born people in 2024 went to relatives of US citizens (DHS Yearbook 2024, table 10). For the wider picture, see Life after leaving and Somali refugees by the numbers.

What else has been reported?

• TPS holders: the Congressional Research Service counted 705 Somali TPS holders out of nearly 1.3 million TPS holders nationally, as reported by Sahan Journal and NPR in late 2025 (NPR, 4 December 2025). Reuters later reported nearly 1,100 Somalis held TPS when a court let the termination go ahead (Citizen Digital, citing Reuters).

Related pages

• Canada (Somali diaspora)
• Minneapolis–St Paul
• Columbus, Ohio
• Seattle and South King County
• Washington DC area
• Atlanta and Clarkston
• San Diego
• Dallas–Fort Worth
• Phoenix
• Nashville
• Lewiston and Portland, Maine
• St. Cloud, Minnesota
• Rochester, Minnesota
• Kansas City
• Denver and Colorado
• Other US Somali communities
• Why and how Somalis left
• Refugee camps
• Refugee papers and status
• US travel bans and Somalis
• Somali Bantu (Jareer) resettlement from Kenya to the United States

Sources

1. US Census Bureau. "2020 Census Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A." Press release, 21 September 2023. census.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, table B02025, via Census Reporter API. censusreporter.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year, table B02025 (states), via Census Reporter API. censusreporter.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year, table B04006 (ancestry). censusreporter.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year, table B05006 (place of birth). censusreporter.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. Immigration and Naturalization Service. "1996 Statistical Yearbook," table 25. October 1997. ohss.dhs.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. Immigration and Naturalization Service. "1999 Statistical Yearbook," tables 24 and 26. March 2002. ohss.dhs.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. DHS Office of Immigration Statistics. "2009 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics," tables 3 and 14. August 2010. ohss.dhs.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. DHS Office of Immigration Statistics. "2011 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics." September 2012. ohss.dhs.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. DHS. "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2014," table 14. ohss.dhs.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. DHS Office of Homeland Security Statistics. "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2024," tables 3, 10, 14 and 22. 2025. table 14 · table 3 · table 10 · table 22. Checked 2026-11-12.
12. US Department of State, Refugee Processing Center. "Refugee Arrivals by State and Nationality, FY 2025, as of 30 Sep 2025." rpc.state.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
13. Congressional Research Service. "U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in FY2025 and FY2026." IF13277, July 2026. everycrsreport.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
14. US Citizenship and Immigration Services. "Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Somalia." uscis.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
15. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia as country of origin, 2024. api.unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
16. Minnesota Compass (Wilder Research). "Somali" cultural community profile, ACS 2020–2024. mncompass.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
17. US House of Representatives. "About Ilhan." Office of Rep. Ilhan Omar. omar.house.gov. Checked 2026-11-12.
18. Pew Research Center. "Refugee admissions to the U.S. are dropping sharply in Trump's second term." 17 August 2026. pewresearch.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
19. Bloomberg Tax. "IRS Issues Proposed Regulations on 1 Percent Excise Tax on Certain Remittance Transfers." 2026. bloombergtax.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
20. The EastAfrican. "How diaspora steady Mogadishu economy in times of turmoil." 2026. theeastafrican.co.ke. Checked 2026-11-12.
21. Central Bank of Somalia. "Annual Report 2025." 2026. centralbank.gov.so. Checked 2026-11-12.
22. NPR. "Minnesota responds to Trump rhetoric on Somali immigrants". 4 Dec 2025. https://npr.org/2025/12/04/nx-s1-5632687/minnesota-responds-to-trump-rhetoric-on-somali-immigrants. Checked 2026-11-12.
23. Citizen Digital, citing Reuters. "US judge clears way for Trump to end Somalis' deportation protections". 2026. https://citizen.digital/article/us-judge-clears-way-for-trump-to-end-somalis-deportation-protections-n388381. Checked 2026-11-12.