# Washington DC area (Somali community)

> Somalis in the Washington DC area: Census counts for Fairfax, Prince William and the metro, Northern Virginia shops, and Somalia's reopened embassy.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/diaspora/washington-dc-area/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

The US Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey counted 6,080 Somali people in the Washington DC metro area, most of them in Northern Virginia ([US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, B02025, via Census Reporter](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B02025&geo_ids=31000US47900)). Fairfax County alone counted 3,064 ([ACS 2020–2024, B02025, Fairfax County](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B02025&geo_ids=05000US51059)).

## How many Somalis live in the Washington DC area?

The American Community Survey (ACS) for 2020–2024 counted 6,080 people in the metro area who named Somali as a race group, alone or with another (margin of error 1,164) ([ACS 2020–2024, B02025](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B02025&geo_ids=31000US47900)). By ancestry it counted 4,269, and 2,600 people were born in Somalia ([ACS 2020–2024, B04006](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B04006&geo_ids=31000US47900); [B05006](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B05006&geo_ids=31000US47900)). By ancestry, that makes it the second-largest Somali metro outside Minnesota and [Ohio](/en/diaspora/columbus/), after Seattle ([ACS 2020–2024, B04006, Seattle metro](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B04006&geo_ids=31000US42660)).

Most live in Virginia. By race, the survey counted ([ACS 2020–2024, B02025, via Census Reporter](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B02025&geo_ids=05000US51059,05000US51153,05000US51107,05000US24031,16000US5101000,05000US51013,05000US24033,04000US11)):

- Fairfax County, Virginia: 3,064
- Prince William County, Virginia: 1,314
- Loudoun County, Virginia: 569
- Montgomery County, Maryland: 335
- Alexandria, Virginia: 246
- Prince George's County, Maryland: 182
- Arlington County, Virginia: 153
- District of Columbia: 76

Virginia as a whole counted 5,807, the eighth-largest state count, while Maryland counted 838 ([ACS 2020–2024, B02025, by state](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B02025&geo_ids=040|01000US)). Fairfax County had 1,289 people born in Somalia ([ACS 2020–2024, B05006, Fairfax County](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B05006&geo_ids=05000US51059)). County figures under 1,500 carry wide margins of error ([Census Reporter](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B02025&geo_ids=05000US51153)).

## How did Somalis come to the Washington area?

Somalia's link to Washington began with independence: its embassy there was established in 1960 ([Embassy of Somalia in Washington, Ministry of Foreign Affairs](https://usa.mfa.gov.so/about/)). The embassy closed during the war and stayed closed for about 24 years ([Voice of America, November 2015](https://www.voanews.com/a/somalia-us-embassy-reopens-after-24-years/3065136.html)).

Nationally, only about 2,500 Somalis lived in the United States in 1990 ([Pew Research Center, June 2016](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/06/01/5-facts-about-the-global-somali-diaspora/)). The US then admitted about 151,000 Somali refugees from 1990 to 2024, with the largest yearly intake, 13,331, in 2004 ([DHS Yearbook 2009, Table 14](https://ohss.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-12/ois_yb_2009.pdf); [DHS Yearbook 2024, Table 14](https://ohss.dhs.gov/topics/immigration/yearbook/2024/table14)).

Few Somali refugees are placed directly in the capital region today. In the 2025 fiscal year, 8 were placed in Virginia, 19 in Maryland and 1 in the District of Columbia ([Refugee Processing Center, FY2025 arrivals by state](https://www.rpc.state.gov/documents/FY%202025%20Arrivals%20by%20State%20and%20Nationality%20as%20of%2030%20Sep%202025.pdf)).

## Work and business

Bailey's Crossroads, in Fairfax County, is a centre of East African business in the region ([Washingtonian, September 2023](https://washingtonian.com/2023/09/07/experience-ethiopian-cuisine-at-these-local-restaurants-and-markets/)). Build America Plaza there, a mainly Ethiopian pair of strip malls, includes a Somali takeout counter ([Washingtonian](https://washingtonian.com/2023/09/07/experience-ethiopian-cuisine-at-these-local-restaurants-and-markets/)).

The Somali diaspora as a whole sent US$1.73 billion home in 2023, a World Bank-based figure ([Minnesota Reformer, March 2026](https://minnesotareformer.com/2026/03/10/feds-making-it-harder-for-immigrants-to-send-money-to-family/)). Since 1 January 2026, a 1% US tax applies to cash-funded transfers abroad ([Minnesota Reformer](https://minnesotareformer.com/2026/03/10/feds-making-it-harder-for-immigrants-to-send-money-to-family/)).

## Who speaks for the community?

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Somalia, at 1609 22nd Street NW, is the Somali state's office in the United States ([Ministry of Foreign Affairs](https://usa.mfa.gov.so/about/)). At its reopening ceremony in November 2015, Somalia's foreign minister said "we are out of the dark, we are part of the world" ([VOA, 2015](https://www.voanews.com/a/somalia-us-embassy-reopens-after-24-years/3065136.html)). US Assistant Secretary of State Linda Thomas-Greenfield attended ([VOA](https://www.voanews.com/a/somalia-us-embassy-reopens-after-24-years/3065136.html)).

The embassy's own page dates the resumption of full operations to November 2016 ([Ministry of Foreign Affairs](https://usa.mfa.gov.so/about/)).

## What does the community face now?

**The end of Temporary Protected Status.** Somalia's TPS designation, in place since 16 September 1991, ended on 14 August 2026 ([USCIS](https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status/temporary-protected-status-designated-country-somalia)). About 700 people nationwide held it, and an appeal has been filed ([MPR News, August 2026](https://mprnews.org/story/2026/08/17/judges-order-allows-end-tps-protections-people-somalia)).

**Asylum cases.** At the end of 2024, UNHCR counted 1,355 recognised refugees and 3,945 asylum seekers from Somalia in the United States ([UNHCR Refugee Data Finder API](https://api.unhcr.org/population/v1/population/?limit=200&yearFrom=2024&yearTo=2024&coo=SOM&coa_all=true)). How many live in the Washington area is not published.

## How is the Washington area tied to home?

The embassy handles Somali passports, national ID (NIRA) registration and powers of attorney (wakaalad) for Somalis across the United States ([Ministry of Foreign Affairs](https://usa.mfa.gov.so/about/)). It also points visitors to Somalia's e-visa system ([Ministry of Foreign Affairs](https://usa.mfa.gov.so/about/)). For the national picture, see [United States (Somali diaspora)](/en/diaspora/united-states/).

## Related pages

- [United States (Somali diaspora)](/en/diaspora/united-states/)
- [Other US Somali communities](/en/diaspora/us-other/)
- [Seattle and South King County](/en/diaspora/seattle/)
- [Refugee papers and status](/en/diaspora/refugee-papers-and-status/)
- [Why and how Somalis left](/en/diaspora/why-and-how-somalis-left/)
- [Somali refugees by the numbers](/en/diaspora/somali-refugees-by-the-numbers/)

## Sources

1. US Census Bureau. American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Tables B02025, B04006 and B05006 (Somali), Washington metro, counties and cities of Northern Virginia and Maryland, District of Columbia and states. Via Census Reporter API. [censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B02025&geo_ids=31000US47900). Checked 2026-11-12.
2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somalia. Embassy of the Federal Republic of Somalia in Washington DC: about. [usa.mfa.gov.so](https://usa.mfa.gov.so/about/). Checked 2026-11-12.
3. Voice of America. "Somalia's US embassy reopens after 24 years." 19 November 2015. [voanews.com](https://www.voanews.com/a/somalia-us-embassy-reopens-after-24-years/3065136.html). Checked 2026-11-12.
4. Pew Research Center. "5 facts about the global Somali diaspora." 1 June 2016. [pewresearch.org](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/06/01/5-facts-about-the-global-somali-diaspora/). Checked 2026-11-12.
5. US Department of Homeland Security. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2009, Table 14 (refugee arrivals by nationality). [ohss.dhs.gov](https://ohss.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-12/ois_yb_2009.pdf). Checked 2026-11-12.
6. US Department of Homeland Security, Office of Homeland Security Statistics. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2024, Table 14. [ohss.dhs.gov](https://ohss.dhs.gov/topics/immigration/yearbook/2024/table14). Checked 2026-11-12.
7. US Department of State, Refugee Processing Center. "FY 2025 Arrivals by State and Nationality as of 30 Sep 2025." [rpc.state.gov](https://www.rpc.state.gov/documents/FY%202025%20Arrivals%20by%20State%20and%20Nationality%20as%20of%2030%20Sep%202025.pdf). Checked 2026-11-12.
8. Ike Allen, Washingtonian. "Experience Ethiopian cuisine at these local restaurants and markets." 7 September 2023. [washingtonian.com](https://washingtonian.com/2023/09/07/experience-ethiopian-cuisine-at-these-local-restaurants-and-markets/). Checked 2026-11-12.
9. Minnesota Reformer. "Feds making it harder for immigrants to send money to family." 10 March 2026. [minnesotareformer.com](https://minnesotareformer.com/2026/03/10/feds-making-it-harder-for-immigrants-to-send-money-to-family/). Checked 2026-11-12.
10. US Citizenship and Immigration Services. "Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Somalia." [uscis.gov](https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status/temporary-protected-status-designated-country-somalia). Checked 2026-11-12.
11. MPR News. "Judge's order allows end to TPS protections for people from Somalia." 17 August 2026. [mprnews.org](https://mprnews.org/story/2026/08/17/judges-order-allows-end-tps-protections-people-somalia). Checked 2026-11-12.
12. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia as country of origin, 2024. [unhcr.org](https://api.unhcr.org/population/v1/population/?limit=200&yearFrom=2024&yearTo=2024&coo=SOM&coa_all=true). Checked 2026-11-12.

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