Somali Population in United States by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, the Somali population in the United States stands at 163,769 individuals. Columbus contains the largest Somali community with 22,899 residents, followed by Minneapolis (19,870) and St. Paul (6,669), with many other cities across the country home to active Somali communities of varying sizes. This nationwide ranking highlights how Somali populations are distributed across American cities, offering a broader view into their settlement patterns and regional diversity.

Top 5 cities with the largest Somali population in United States

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  • 1
    Columbus
    Somali population in Columbus is 22,899
    2.53% of Columbus population is Somali
  • 2
    Minneapolis
    Somali population in Minneapolis is 19,870
    4.66% of Minneapolis population is Somali
  • 3
    St. Paul
    Somali population in St. Paul is 6,669
    2.17% of St. Paul population is Somali
  • 4
    Kent
    Somali population in Kent is 4,148
    3.07% of Kent population is Somali
  • 5
    Seattle
    Somali population in Seattle is 3,949
    0.53% of Seattle population is Somali

U.S. Cities by Somali Population : National Rankings

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show significant Somali populations in leading metropolitan areas, including Columbus, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Kent, while numerous other incorporated cities recorded minimal or zero residents identified as Americans of Somali birth or descent. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in United States ranked by Somali population count
Rank by Somali Population
City
Somali Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total United States Somali Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Columbus 22,899 2.53% 13.98%
2 Minneapolis 19,870 4.66% 12.13%
3 St. Paul 6,669 2.17% 4.07%
4 Kent 4,148 3.07% 2.53%
5 Seattle 3,949 0.53% 2.41%
6 St. Cloud 3,740 5.35% 2.28%
7 San Diego 2,700 0.19% 1.65%
8 2,482 11.27% 1.52%
9 2,408 3.81% 1.47%
10 2,327 1.91% 1.42%
11 2,242 9.17% 1.37%
12 1,948 0.40% 1.19%
13 1,694 1.91% 1.03%
14 1,525 0.09% 0.93%
15 1,490 2.19% 0.91%
16 1,263 0.59% 0.77%
17 1,257 2.79% 0.77%
18 1,246 1.94% 0.76%
19 1,227 3.24% 0.75%
20 1,196 0.87% 0.73%
21 1,154 0.20% 0.70%
22 1,116 3.58% 0.68%
23 1,104 0.17% 0.67%
24 1,042 1.87% 0.64%
25 996 0.77% 0.61%
26 901 4.19% 0.55%
27 894 0.10% 0.55%
28 865 0.12% 0.53%
28 865 2.89% 0.53%
29 862 0.03% 0.53%
30 856 0.13% 0.52%
31 837 0.21% 0.51%
32 831 2.54% 0.51%
33 829 0.57% 0.51%
34 821 0.97% 0.50%
35 811 0.76% 0.50%
36 757 3.58% 0.46%
37 745 0.97% 0.45%
38 744 0.15% 0.45%
39 735 0.39% 0.45%
40 714 1.04% 0.44%
41 679 0.96% 0.41%
42 671 0.01% 0.41%
43 668 2.40% 0.41%
44 663 0.23% 0.40%
45 653 0.33% 0.40%
46 652 0.42% 0.40%
47 625 0.54% 0.38%
48 617 0.16% 0.38%
49 567 0.27% 0.35%
50 557 0.04% 0.34%
51 554 0.65% 0.34%
52 549 1.22% 0.34%
53 537 0.75% 0.33%
53 537 1.50% 0.33%
54 528 0.79% 0.32%
55 516 3.72% 0.32%
56 511 1.39% 0.31%
57 506 0.25% 0.31%
58 477 0.17% 0.29%
59 475 0.42% 0.29%
60 445 0.76% 0.27%
61 433 0.22% 0.26%
62 418 0.04% 0.26%
63 416 0.02% 0.25%
64 406 3.49% 0.25%
65 398 0.07% 0.24%
66 394 0.37% 0.24%
67 392 2.10% 0.24%
68 388 0.40% 0.24%
69 382 0.77% 0.23%
70 375 35.48% 0.23%
71 372 22.16% 0.23%
72 358 1.10% 0.22%
73 355 1.33% 0.22%
74 353 1.33% 0.22%
75 351 0.86% 0.21%
76 349 4.97% 0.21%
77 344 0.65% 0.21%
78 335 0.09% 0.20%
79 322 0.12% 0.20%
80 318 0.11% 0.19%
81 311 2.57% 0.19%
82 309 0.49% 0.19%
83 303 0.68% 0.19%
84 301 0.13% 0.18%
85 298 8.08% 0.18%
85 298 0.30% 0.18%
86 289 0.78% 0.18%
87 288 0.14% 0.18%
88 267 3.20% 0.16%
89 265 2.54% 0.16%
90 253 0.13% 0.15%
91 249 11.89% 0.15%
92 247 1.73% 0.15%
93 245 0.14% 0.15%
93 245 0.34% 0.15%
94 240 0.54% 0.15%
95 238 0.90% 0.15%
96 235 1.69% 0.14%
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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 United States 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 United States 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.