Latest data on Somali Minnesotans from the American Community Survey, US Census, 2024. For link to census site – see below.
This data may be different from my earlier report as I am using the Census dataset which has a more comprehensive count of Somalis in Minnesota – American Community Survey 2024, using the definition “Somalis alone or in any combination.” Previously I used the dataset for those who described their ancestry as “Somali” and on the recommendation of the Minnesota State Demographer I am using this new data set as many people did not respond to the ancestry question. Population count in this data set is much higher, 108, 536.
Here is the link to the ACS 2024, I year dataset https://data.census.gov/table?t=1325&g=040XX00US27
A large percentage of the population is less than 18 years – 47 percent.
58 percent are native born Americans
42 percent are foreign born or recent immigrants.
95 percent are citizens
25.7 percent speak English less than very well
41, 605 are in the workforce or 72.2 percent.
Top industries where these workers are employed – Education and Healthcare, Retail Trade, Transportation and Warehousing and Manufacturing
70.2 percent have a high school degree or higher
26 percent have a bachelors degree or higher.
Unemployment rate is 7.8 percent
Poverty rate for all people is 22.8 percent, 20.6 percent for all families.
11.4 percent receive cash assistance income.
34.9 percent receive food stamps/SNAP benefits
Renters pay around $31 million monthly to property owners
Self-employment rate is 6 percent.
The latest data reveal that total income and estimated state and local taxes paid by Somali Minnesotans are much higher than what I estimated from earlier data – $1.9 billion. ( Population times per capita income ).
Assuming an average tax rate of 12 percent at per Minnesota Tax Incidence Study, estimated tax payments is $228 million.
Using an IMPLAN simulation of the Minnesotan economy, I estimate that Somali workers support $8 billion in goods and services produced in Minnesota.
See also https://empoweringstrategies.org/faq-economic-contributions-of-somalis-in-minnesota/
Here is the results of the IMPLAN study using the ALANA Brain Trust model of the Minnesota Economy – this study is an underestimate of the actual contributions of Somali Minnesotan workers as current data from the American Community Survey show a much larger workforce presence in Minnesota.
The way this model works is we input data on workers in different sectors of the economy and the model estimates the jobs, and output these workers support or help produce in the economy. In this case Somali workers help support 44,985 jobs and $8.6 billion in output and all this activity helps generate $1 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
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