Survey: Nearly 1 in 3 US Somalis live in Minnesota

Published 10:06 am Wednesday, December 15, 2010

MINNEAPOLIS  — Nearly one in three people with Somali ancestry in the United States live in Minnesota, although some activists claim there are more.

The 1 in 3 estimate comes from new survey data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The bureau’s American Community Survey says there are about 25,000 people with Somali ancestry in Minnesota and about 85,700 in the United States.

The other states with large Somali populations are Ohio, Washington and California, but their communities are much smaller than Minnesota’s.

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The figures include people born in Somalia and their descendants.

The latest release is an aggregate of five years of survey data that demographers say gives the best look at small population groups and small geographical areas since the 2000 Census.