What is the age distribution of Minnesota's Somali population in 2025 and how has it changed since 2010?
Executive summary
Available sources disagree on totals but consistently show Minnesota as the state with the largest Somali community and a very young age profile: several sources put Minnesota’s Somali population around 61,000–64,000 in 2025 (for example, Neilsberg reports 61,353; World Population Review reports 64,354) [1] [2]. State reporting and public-health analysis emphasize that “half or more” of Somali Minnesotans are under about age 22, meaning the Somali population is far younger than Minnesota’s overall population [3].
1. How many Somalis live in Minnesota in 2025 — competing estimates
There is no single authoritative number in the supplied results; private data aggregators and ACS-based analyses give closely clustered but different totals. Neilsberg’s October 2025 analysis reports 61,353 Somali residents in Minnesota (1.1% of state population) [1]. World Population Review lists 64,354 Somalis (1.12% of state population) [2]. Other aggregators give totals near 63,569 [4]. These variations reflect differing source years, methodology (survey-weighting, inclusion of Somali ancestry vs. Somali-born), and the American Community Survey sampling frame [1] [2] [4].
2. Age profile in 2025 — clearly younger than Minnesota overall
Health and demographic overviews for Minnesota explicitly state that Somali Minnesotans are much younger than the state average, with “half or more of the population under the age of 22” [3]. That single, explicit age-statistic is the strongest age-distribution claim in the provided reporting; the other sources emphasize population counts and geographic concentration rather than detailed age brackets [3] [1].
3. What changed since 2010 — growth and a persistently young population
Historical estimates show substantial growth since 2010 but differ in magnitude. The 2010 American Community Survey estimate of Somali ancestry nationwide placed about 25,000 Somalis in Minnesota (around one-third of the U.S. 85,700 figure for Somali ancestry at that time) [5]. Later counts and ACS-derived estimates indicate Minnesota’s Somali population increased markedly in the 2010s and into the 2020s: state sources and aggregators report totals in the tens of thousands by the late 2010s and early 2020s (for example, the Minnesota State Demographic Center reported about 33,500 Somali-born residents in 2018 and MN Compass/other sites reported higher ancestry totals) [6] [5]. The net change since 2010 therefore is a multi‑fold increase in counted Somali residents and in visible community size across Twin Cities neighborhoods [5] [6].
4. Why the numbers vary — measurement and definition issues
Differences come from whether a source counts Somali-born residents, people reporting Somali ancestry, or people identifying as Somali in ACS multi-race questions; whether U.S.-born children of Somali parents are included; and known undercounting issues in surveys where language, trust, or response rates differ [6] [1]. The Census/ACS itself notes Somali ancestry and related measures have historically been undercounted, and state analysts caution that estimates likely understate total community size because of survey response challenges [6].
5. Geography and concentration — where young Somalis live matters
The largest concentrations are in the Twin Cities metro — Hennepin County alone is repeatedly identified as the largest Somali population center (Neilsberg shows 28,053 in Hennepin County; other city-level breakdowns list Minneapolis and St. Paul as major hubs) [7] [1] [4]. That urban concentration amplifies the visibility of Somali youth in local schools and public-health data, contributing to policy attention on services for young, immigrant families [7] [4].
6. Policy and practical implications of a young population
State-level public-health and planning narratives flag Somali and Hmong communities as substantially younger than the white population, with over half under age 22; that demographic reality has implications for education, language services, child and maternal health programs, and workforce planning as these young cohorts age [3]. Available reporting links the youthfulness of Somali Minnesotans to state planning projections and to the fact Minnesota hosts many refugees and immigrant families [3].
7. Uncertainties and what reporting does not provide
Available sources do not provide a full 2025 age-by-bracket table (for example, percent under 5, 5–17, 18–34, 35–64, 65+) for Minnesota’s Somali population; the only specific age statement in the provided set is “half or more under age 22” [3]. Detailed longitudinal ACS tables or state demographic center breakdowns by single-year age for 2010 vs. 2025 are not included in the supplied sources, so precise numeric change by age bracket cannot be calculated here from the material provided (not found in current reporting).
8. Bottom line for readers and researchers
Use caution with point estimates: multiple reputable compilations place Minnesota’s Somali population in the low‑to‑mid 60,000s in 2025, and public‑health/demographic reporting unambiguously characterizes that population as very young with about half under 22 [1] [2] [3]. For policy or academic work requiring age‑by‑age change since 2010, consult the underlying ACS microdata or Minnesota State Demographic Center releases (sources above point to ACS-derived totals but do not publish the full 2010–2025 age tables in the provided excerpts) [1] [6].