Somali community in Minnesota

Extracted Attributes

• Status

  Largest Somali diaspora in the United States

• Location

  Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

• Primary Neighborhood

  Cedar-Riverside (Riverside Plaza)

• Child Poverty Representation

  12.8% of Minnesota's child poverty (despite being 2.5% of child population)

• Population (Born in Somalia)

  43,000 (as of 2018)

• Somali Speakers in Minnesota

  94,000 (as of 2018)

Timeline

• Virtually no Somalis living in Minnesota prior to this period. (Source: Web Search)

  1990-01-01

• Somali government collapse leads to mass displacement and refugees seeking asylum in Minnesota. (Source: Web Search)

  1991-01-01

• Founding of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota (CSCM). (Source: Web Search)

  1994-01-01

• Somali population in Minnesota reaches over 10,000. (Source: Web Search)

  2000-01-01

• Somali-ancestry population in Minnesota triples compared to 2000 levels. (Source: Web Search)

  2010-01-01

• Minnesota Demographers Office estimates Somali population between 40,200 and 52,400. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2016-01-01

• Approximately 43,000 Somali-born residents and 94,000 Somali speakers recorded in Minnesota. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2018-01-01

• Public visibility of the community in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood noted in media reports. (Source: Web Search)

  2022-05-01

• Reports indicate the population of Somali ancestry in Minnesota exceeds 75,000. (Source: Web Search)

  2024-01-01

• Reports of anxiety within the community regarding federal immigration operations targeting the Twin Cities. (Source: Web Search)

  2025-12-07

History of Somalis in Minneapolis–Saint Paul

Somalis are an ethnic group in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area that makes up the largest Somali diaspora in the United States. By 2018, approximately 43,000 people born in Somalia were living in Minnesota, and approximately 94,000 Minnesotans spoke the Somali language at home.

Web Search Results

• History of Somalis in Minneapolis–Saint Paul - Wikipedia

  ## Community organizations [edit] The Somali community in Minnesota is represented by various Somali-run organizations. Among these are the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota (CSCM) and Somali American Parent Association (SAPA), which offer a number of social services to the state's resident Somalis. [...] In early 2016, the Minnesota Demographers Office gave an estimate that there are between 40,200 and 52,400 Somalis in Minnesota, although some from the Somali community put the number as high as 80,000. These estimates include people born in Somalia and of Somali descent. Somalis in Minnesota reside throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area and the surrounding towns. Many Somalis inhabit Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, particularly newly arrived immigrants. Some Somali [...] Somalis are an ethnic group in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area that makes up the largest Somali diaspora in the United States. By 2018, approximately 43,000 people born in Somalia were living in Minnesota, and approximately 94,000 Minnesotans spoke the Somali language at home. ## History [edit]

• Minnesota Somali Community Center: Home

  Minnesota Somali Community Center is a Minnesota based 501 (c) (3) nonprofit that prides itself on centering all community needs. We provide support and resources for livability issues facing Somalis and other communities in Minnesota. We provide tutoring to kids, workforce development, addiction help, financial services, housing, immigration, justice system and advocating on behalf of the communities. We are working on providing all these wrap around services under a one stop shop. [...] Do you need help? Email us at admin@mnsomalicommunitycenter.org or call us at 612 440 1531 Workforce Development Are you interested in starting a new career? Let us know what you are interested in! Domestic Violence Advocacy Minnesota Somali Community Center in partnership with Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC Clinic) will provide the assistance you need in a sexual assault/domestic violence situation. Email us at admin@mnsomalicommunitycenter.org or call us at 612 440 1531

• Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota

  CSCM is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1994. The Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota (CSCM) has been Minnesota’s go-to agency serving Minnesota’s Somali community. We provide services aimed at promoting and building self-sufficiency and equity in Minnesota. Our primary purpose is help Somali youth and families overcome the social and economic obstacles that impede growth while maintaining our cultural heritage. CSCM’s youth programming helps Somali youth, whether they

• Somali Immigrants in Minnesota

  Burden on the State. The Somali community in Minnesota is small relative to the state’s total population. Nevertheless, because the disparities shown in Table 1 are so large, some of the state’s poverty-related problems still have a pronounced Somali component. For example, Table 2 shows that Somali households account for 2.5 percent of children in Minnesota but 12.8 percent of the state’s child poverty. In fractional terms, one out of every eight children in poverty in the state comes from a [...] # Somali Immigrants in Minnesota ## Profile of a struggling group By Jason Richwine on December 10, 2025 ## Summary The migration of Somalis to Minnesota has created stark socioeconomic disparities in a region once known for its egalitarianism. This report documents the struggles of the Minnesota Somali population, now numbering over 75,000, in an otherwise high-achieving state. Among the findings: [...] The burden added by immigration varies widely across the U.S., but there is perhaps no starker case than that of Somalis in Minnesota. As Figure 1 indicates, there were virtually no Somalis in Minnesota in 1990, but over 10,000 appeared over the following decade, largely as refugees from Somalia’s clan wars.1 The Somali-ancestry population in Minnesota would triple by 2010 and continue to grow. In 2024, in the wake of the immigration surge of the preceding four years, people of Somali ancestry

• Somalis are embraced by Minnesota after being scorned ...

  Riverside Plaza, an apartment complex home to many Somali American residents, overlooks the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood as a planned federal operation targeting Somali immigrants looms in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday. Tim Evans/Reuters Anxiety grips Minneapolis’s Somali community as immigration agents zero in on the Twin Cities [...] Meanwhile, public officials in Minnesota have taken pains to show their solidarity with the Somali community. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara joined an interfaith prayer circle. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made the rounds Wednesday at a mall that caters primarily to the Somali population. [...] A woman and a child hold hands as they walk down a street in the predominantly Somali neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside in Minneapolis in May 2022. Jessie Wardarski/AP Prior to the 1990s, there were very few Somalis living in Minnesota. The early part of that decade saw the Somali government collapse as the country descended into violence. Millions of residents were displaced or ultimately fled, seeking refuge and asylum.