Percentage of samali samali in MN on public assistance

1. Data snapshots: what the headline numbers say

A conservative, program‑by‑program view from the immigration-studies">Center for Immigration Studies reports about 54% of Somali‑headed households in Minnesota receive food stamps (SNAP) and 73% have at least one member on Medicaid, and it finds roughly 27% of Somali households receive cash welfare such as TANF or SSI ^[1]; FactCheck’s examination of ACS microdata summarized by the Minnesota state demographer produced a complementary portrait: 8% of people reporting Somali ancestry reported receiving “public assistance income,” 60% reported receiving SNAP in the prior year, and 78% reported Medicaid as their health insurance, with an aggregate statistic that 84% received at least one of those benefits between 2019 and 2023 ^[2].

2. Why figures differ: households vs. individuals, program mix, and sampling

Differences arise because sources measure different units (households vs. individuals), different benefit combinations, and different time windows; CIS emphasizes household receipt across a multi‑year window while the state demographer’s ACS breakdown cited by FactCheck focuses on individuals and specific programs, and the demographer cautioned that sampling error affects some estimates (for example “public assistance income” among adults had a margin that could place the true rate between about 6.3% and 10.1%) ^{[1] [2]}.

3. What “on public assistance” actually includes — and what it does not

“On public assistance” is not a single, uniform status: reporting mixes cash welfare (TANF/SSI), SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid (health insurance), and other program income; CIS’s and FactCheck’s numbers show SNAP and Medicaid dominate benefit receipt for Somali Minnesotans, while cash‑welfare receipt is a much smaller share — CIS: 27% of Somali households receive cash welfare vs. 6% of native households — underscoring that the vast majority of program use is in non‑cash benefits ^{[1] [2]}.

4. Limits of the available reporting and what cannot be concluded

The available sources rely on ACS public‑use microdata and interpretive reports that are sensitive to definitions, sample sizes, and multi‑year pooling; they do not fully resolve questions about duration of benefit receipt (short‑term vs. long‑term), nativity and generational differences (immigrants vs. U.S.‑born Somali Americans), or program eligibility factors tied to refugee status — gaps the sources themselves acknowledge ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

5. Political context: why numbers are contested and how they’re used

These statistics have been seized in political debate around a high‑profile fraud investigation in Minnesota and national rhetoric about immigration, and different outlets and commentators selectively highlight program‑level or household measures to support divergent narratives — from warnings about fraud and proposed immigration penalties (Fox, AEI summaries) to defenses emphasizing community contributions and workforce participation (CNN, Empowering Strategies, Minnesota Chamber) — meaning the numbers are often framed to advance policy or political aims rather than to nuance program‑by‑program realities ^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]}.

6. Bottom line — best current summary

Depending on how “on public assistance” is defined, recent evidence supports two consistent conclusions: SNAP and Medicaid participation among Somali Minnesotans is very high (roughly 54–78% depending on household vs. individual measures and source), while receipt of cash welfare is substantially lower (around the mid‑20% range for Somali households per CIS and roughly 6–10% as a percent of individuals receiving “public assistance income” in ACS summaries), and aggregated ACS counts reported by the state demographer show as many as 84% of people reporting Somali ancestry used at least one of SNAP, Medicaid, or public‑assistance income in 2019–2023 — all figures that must be read with attention to definitions, sampling error, and political context ^{[1] [2]}.