Somali Population in Stearns County, MN by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Somali population in Stearns County, MN is recorded at 3,883 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Stearns County - including St. Cloud, St. Joseph, Waite Park, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Somali presence. However, the combined population across these cities exceeds the official county total - a likely result of rounding differences or sampling variations in small-population census data. The analysis below explores how Somali communities are spread across Stearns County, MN and comparable counties throughout Minnesota.

Top 5 cities with the largest Somali population in Stearns County

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  • 1
    St. Cloud
    Somali population in St. Cloud is 3,740
    5.35% of St. Cloud population is Somali
  • 2
    St. Joseph
    Somali population in St. Joseph is 349
    4.97% of St. Joseph population is Somali
  • 3
    Waite Park
    Somali population in Waite Park is 267
    3.20% of Waite Park population is Somali
  • 4
    Sartell
    Somali population in Sartell is 69
    0.35% of Sartell population is Somali
  • 5
    Kimball
    Somali population in Kimball is 3
    0.47% of Kimball population is Somali

Overview of Somali population in Stearns County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Stearns County contains 3,883 Somali residents (2.4% of 159,358 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 94th percentile within Minnesota for Somali demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Stearns County's Somali population of 2.4% surpassing both Minnesota's state average of 1.1% and the national average of 0.049%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents Stearns County with 3,883 Somali residents, representing 6.3% of Minnesota's total Somali population of 61,353.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Stearns County's density of 2.9 Somali Americans per square mile exceeds Minnesota's average of 0.77 per square mile by three and three-quarters times, establishing the county as a significant concentration center for Somali demographic communities.
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42 Cities in Stearns County Ranked by Somali Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Somali populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by St. Cloud, St. Joseph, Waite Park, and Sartell. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 42 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Stearns County, MN ranked by Somali population count
Rank by Somali Population
City
Somali Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Stearns County Somali Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 St. Cloud 3,740 5.35% 96.32%
2 St. Joseph 349 4.97% 8.99%
3 Waite Park 267 3.20% 6.88%
4 Sartell 69 0.35% 1.78%
5 Kimball 3 0.47% 0.08%
6 Albany 0 - -
6 Albany township 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
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6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
6 0 - -
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Stearns County, MN by their Somali population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Somali population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Somali ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Somali alone, while others identify as Somali along with another race (such as Somali and German).
  • We’ve used the “Somali alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Somali population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Somali alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Somali .
  2. % of Total Stearns County Somali Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Somali population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Somali populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Somali population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Somali populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.