How many people of Somali ancestry lived in Minnesota each year from 2010–2024 according to the American Community Survey?
Executive summary
American Community Survey (ACS) estimates in the provided reporting show a clear upward trajectory in people reporting Somali ancestry in Minnesota from the early 2010s to 2024, with snapshots of roughly 25,000 , ~58,800 , ~91,000 , and about 107–108,000 , but the sources conflict in places and none provide a complete, year‑by‑year ACS time series for 2010–2024 [1] [2] [3] [4]. The discrepancies reflect different ACS tables, changing definitions (“Somali ancestry” vs “Somalis alone or in any combination”), and reporting updates — meaning the precise annual series must be pulled directly from Census/ACS microdata or IPUMS for a definitive year‑by‑year list [5] [2] [6].
1. What the user is actually asking — and what the sources can deliver
The request seeks a yearly, ACS‑based count of Minnesotans of Somali ancestry for every year from 2010 through 2024; the reporting available here offers valid ACS‑based point estimates for several years but does not supply a contiguous, cited annual series across all 15 years, so an authoritative annual sequence requires consulting the ACS 1‑year or 5‑year tables or IPUMS microdata directly [6] [5].
2. Key ACS snapshot estimates found in reporting
The earliest ACS snapshot cited in these sources places roughly 25,000 people of Somali ancestry in Minnesota in 2010 according to initial ACS findings reported by MPR in 2010 [1], a later Minnesota State Demographer/agency page reports about 58,800 Minnesotans reporting Somali ancestry in 2018 [2], decennial/ACS combinations place roughly 91,000 in Minnesota around the 2020 count (reported in 2025 summaries) [3], and multiple 2024 ACS summaries in late‑2024/2025 media report approximately 107,000–108,000 residents of Somali descent in Minnesota [4] [3] [7].
3. Conflicting figures and why they exist in the sources
Some outlets report higher or lower totals: an AP summary of ACS 2008–2010 tables cited “more than 32,000” Somalis in Minnesota for that pooled period (a higher figure than the single‑year 2010 ACS snapshot) [8], and other organizations or commentators publish still‑different 2024 totals (for example a CIS piece refers to “over 75,000” in 2024) — differences arise because sources use different ACS products (single‑year vs pooled 3/5‑year estimates), different ancestry coding (“alone” vs “alone or in combination”), or different definitions of “Somali” (ancestry vs birthplace vs language spoken at home) [9] [5] [2].
4. Measurement caveats that change year‑to‑year comparability
Ancestry is an open‑ended ACS question that many respondents skip or answer with broad labels like “African,” producing undercounts for specific ancestries, and the Census Bureau’s practice of offering 1‑year vs pooled multi‑year estimates alters precision for smaller populations; experts and the Minnesota State Demographer explicitly warn that these definitional choices and nonresponse can materially change reported totals [2] [5].
5. What a definitive year‑by‑year answer requires
To produce the requested list of Somali‑ancestry counts for every year from 2010–2024, the ACS 1‑year estimates or the IPUMS/ACS microdata should be queried for a consistent variable and definition (e.g., “Somali ancestry, alone or in any combination”) and one reliable estimation method should be applied across years; the reporting points to IPUMS and the Census Bureau as the data sources to extract that full annual series [6] [5].
6. Bottom line — best current, sourced point estimates in the reporting
Using the available citations as signposts: the best anchored published ACS snapshots in these reports are ~25,000 in 2010 (MPR reporting of ACS initial findings) [1], about 58,800 in 2018 (MN State Demographic Center) [2], roughly 91,000 around 2020 as reported by state/national summaries [3], and approximately 107,000–108,000 in 2024 according to multiple ACS summaries in late 2024/2025 coverage [4] [3]. These four anchor points illustrate the long‑term rise but do not substitute for the requested full annual series, which must be extracted directly from ACS/IPUMS to resolve definitional and pooling differences [6] [5].