Which U.S. cities have the fastest-growing Somali communities since 2010?
Executive summary
Minnesota (especially the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro) has the largest and one of the fastest-growing Somali communities in the U.S., with reporting citing roughly 80,000–87,000 Somalis in Minnesota and about 83,000–94,000 in the Twin Cities region depending on the source [1] [2] [3] [4]. Columbus, Ohio, and Seattle/greater Washington state are repeatedly identified as the next-largest Somali hubs, with Columbus reported as a major center hosting tens of thousands [5] [6] [7] [8].
1. Minnesota: the established growth engine
Minnesota’s Twin Cities region is consistently described by multiple outlets as home to the nation’s largest Somali diaspora and the center of ongoing growth: Reuters reports about 80,000 Somalis live in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities metro [1]; local coverage and analyses put more than 83,000–94,000 Somalis in the metro area and roughly 87,000 statewide in recent counts [2] [3] [4]. Sources trace much of this growth to refugee resettlement beginning in the 1990s, ongoing family migration and secondary moves within the U.S., and continued arrivals in the 2000s and 2010s [3].
2. Columbus, Ohio: a fast-growing second hub
Multiple recent profiles identify Columbus as one of the fastest-growing Somali communities and, by some measures, the second-largest Somali hub in the country. A community profile says the Columbus metro hosts 50,000–60,000 Somali residents and that the community’s growth remade neighbourhoods with Somali-owned businesses and mosques [5]. City-level rankings also list Columbus among the largest Somali populations by city [6]. These figures suggest strong growth since 2010 tied to both secondary migration from established hubs and local refugee resettlement [5] [6].
3. Seattle / Washington state: a Pacific Northwest anchor
Washington state—and Seattle in particular—appears repeatedly among the top states and cities for Somali population. State-level rankings put Washington among the leading states (with figures like ~14,000 Somalis) and list Seattle as one of the three primary U.S. cities where Somalis concentrate alongside Minneapolis and Columbus [9] [10] [8]. This pattern indicates steady growth in the Pacific Northwest over the last decade driven by both new arrivals and internal migration [9] [10].
4. Other notable metros: pockets of growth in New England, California and beyond
Reporting notes smaller but active Somali communities in cities such as Boston and New York, and state-level lists flag places like Maine, California, Virginia and Georgia as having meaningful Somali populations [5] [9]. These communities are smaller than the Twin Cities, Columbus and Seattle but show local growth and organizational life—mosques, cultural organizations, businesses—that signal long-term settlement [5].
5. Numbers vary by source; measurement and timing matter
Estimates differ widely across outlets and data products. Some sources use U.S. Census/ACS categories (“Somali alone or in any combination”), while others rely on local estimates or nonprofit reporting; results range from state totals in the tens of thousands to metro-level counts exceeding 80,000 in Minnesota [8] [9] [4]. The same city can be called the “largest” or “second-largest” Somali hub depending on which dataset and year are cited [5] [6]. Analysts should treat point estimates cautiously and prefer trends rather than single-year tallies [8].
6. Why the growth since 2010? Policy, networks and refugee flows
Sources point to three drivers: refugee resettlement programs that funneled arrivals to established cities beginning in the 1990s and continuing into the 2010s; family and secondary migration—new arrivals gravitating to places with existing Somali services and social networks; and local economic niches and community institutions that anchor newcomers [3] [5]. Reporting on policy shifts and enforcement in 2025 also underscores how political context can affect the community’s visibility and stability [7] [1].
7. Competing narratives and political attention
The Somali diaspora’s size and concentration—especially in Minneapolis—have made it a focus of national politics and immigration enforcement reporting in 2025, producing both local defense of communities and federal scrutiny [7] [1] [11]. Sources document strong local pushback and civic support in Minnesota even as federal actions and rhetoric have intensified [1] [11].
Limitations and next steps: national and city-level counts differ across sources and years; available sources here do not provide a single, consistent list of “fastest-growing since 2010” ranked by growth rate. For a rigorous ranking by growth rate since 2010 you should consult longitudinal ACS microdata or local refugee resettlement records; those datasets are not included in the sources provided (not found in current reporting).