Which Minnesota counties and cities have the largest Somali immigrant and Somali American communities in 2025?
Executive summary
Minnesota is widely reported as home to the nation’s largest Somali population — U.S. Census/ACS–based aggregations place the state’s Somali population around 61,000–64,000 in recent 2025 compilations, with Hennepin County and the city of Minneapolis hosting the single largest concentrations (Hennepin ~28,000; Minneapolis ~19,800) [1] [2]. Community estimates and some historical tallies are higher — community groups sometimes cite figures up to ~80,000 — and reporting notes that estimates vary by source and method [3] [4].
1. Where the largest Somali communities in Minnesota are located
Official-estimate summaries using recent American Community Survey (ACS) data show Hennepin County containing the largest Somali population in the state (about 28,053), followed by Ramsey County [5] [6] and Dakota County [7] [8] among counties listed; at the city level Minneapolis is identified as the largest Somali city community (~19,870), followed by St. Paul (~6,669) and St. Cloud (~3,740) in the Neilsberg/ACS-derived rollups [1] [2]. Other compilations using similar sources report statewide totals in the low‑60,000s and name the Twin Cities metro as the central hub for roughly three quarters of the population [1] [2] [9].
2. Why different sources give different totals
Demographers, community organizations and media use different methods: ACS/Census estimates capture people who self-identify on surveys and are often presented conservatively; community organizations and local history projects sometimes publish higher counts that include broader definitions (second‑generation Somali Americans, recent arrivals not counted in ACS, or community-based tallies), which is why some community estimates reach ~80,000 while ACS-based tallies sit near ~61–64,000 [3] [4] [10]. Minnesota Compass and other local trackers emphasize that survey undercounting, mobility and mixed‑generation households complicate a single “true” number (available sources do not mention a specific reconciled 2025 total from a single definitive count) [11] [12].
3. Where Somalis cluster inside the Twin Cities and beyond
Historic settlement patterns are durable: many Somali families settled in Minneapolis’ Cedar‑Riverside neighborhood and in neighborhoods across the Twin Cities region, which remains the core of social, business and civic life for Minnesota Somalis [3] [9]. Beyond Minneapolis and St. Paul, cities such as St. Cloud are repeatedly listed among the larger Somali city communities in the state [2]. County‑level lists place most residents in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, with additional pockets in suburban counties like Dakota [1].
4. Political and social context shaping the conversation in 2025
Recent 2025 reporting shows Somali Minnesotans are at the center of national policy debates — for example, statements by national political figures about terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in Minnesota triggered local mobilization, legal questions, and concerns about backlash and Islamophobia; advocates and elected officials pushed back, noting the community’s civic and economic roles and questioning the legal scope of such moves [13] [14] [15]. Coverage also highlights that the number of people actually covered by TPS is small relative to the overall Somali population, a point made in reporting that cautions against conflating large community size with the number affected by a particular federal status [13].
5. What the numbers tell — and what they don’t
ACS‑based county and city tallies provide a useful geographic snapshot — they identify Hennepin County and Minneapolis as the largest concentrations and place the statewide ACS figure in the low‑60,000s [1] [2]. They do not capture intangible measures: community influence, multi‑generational presence, informal networks, or people missed by surveys. Conversely, community estimates that are higher (e.g., ~80,000) signal local leaders’ view of a broader diaspora footprint, but those figures are not reconciled with ACS microdata in the sources provided [4] [3].
6. How to read and follow updates going forward
For the most consistent geographic breakdowns rely on ACS/Census releases and trusted local aggregators that cite those datasets [1] [10]. For community perspective and lived experience, consult Minnesota Compass, local Somali organizations and historical guides — they provide context about settlement history, business ownership and civic life that raw counts miss [11] [3] [16]. Be attentive to the difference between “people with Somali ancestry” and “Somali‑born” populations in any dataset; sources here emphasize both measurement limits and political pressures that can shape reporting [3] [10] [13].
Limitations: this summary relies on the provided 2025‑dated compilations (ACS‑based Neilsberg/ZipAtlas aggregates and local reporting) and community estimates cited in local histories; available sources do not provide a single authoritative reconciled 2025 total that merges ACS and community organization counts [1] [2] [4].