Where refugees in California are arriving from
During the past five decades, the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees, making it one of the leading countries for finding new homes for people fleeing violence, persecution, and war.
In 2021, then-President Donald Trump lowered the annual cap of refugees that could be admitted into the country to 15,000. Even as the Biden administration has raised the ceiling to 125,000, the annual number of refugees arriving in the U.S. didn't immediately bounce back to pre-Trump administration levels. The numbers are increasing though, with over 25,000 refugees arriving in the U.S. in the 2022 fiscal year, twice the 2021 total.
Refugee arrivals during the 2023 fiscal year dramatically outpaced the prior two years, reaching over 60,000 from October 2022 to September 2023.
In March 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.
For the last three decades, Congo, also called the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been struggling with a series of civil wars and internal battles that have left millions of people displaced, both internally and externally, with many people fleeing to neighboring countries. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. In Myanmar, state-sponsored violence against the Rohingya people has displaced nearly 2 million people internally. Another million are in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.
Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in California in March 2024.
March refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in March
To California:
#1. Afghanistan: 220
#2. Syria: 48
#3. Guatemala: 33
#4. Iran: 23
#5. Russia: 20
#6. Congo: 19
#7. Nicaragua: 18
#7. Iraq: 18
#9. Somalia: 15
#10. Armenia: 13
#11. Ukraine: 12
#12. Venezuela: 11
#13. El Salvador: 9
#14. Belarus: 7
#15. Myanmar: 6
#16. Moldova: 5
#16. Cambodia: 5
#18. Eritrea: 4
#18. Honduras: 4
#20. Colombia: 3
#21. Republic of South Sudan: 1
#21. Cameroon: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 2,089
#2. Afghanistan: 1,031
#3. Myanmar: 765
#4. Syria: 594
#5. Venezuela: 563
States that accepted the most refugees in March:
#1. Texas: 916
#2. California: 495
#3. New York: 473
#4. Pennsylvania: 346
#5. Florida: 315
Read on to see the countries that California has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
#1. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To California: 1,449
To the U.S. as a whole: 6,956
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,449
#2. Virginia: 710
#3. Texas: 700
#4. Washington: 482
#5. Maryland: 303
#2. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To California: 409
To the U.S. as a whole: 7,412
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 702
#2. Michigan: 699
#3. Pennsylvania: 516
#4. Texas: 434
#5. California: 409
#3. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To California: 301
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,220
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 301
#2. Texas: 210
#3. North Carolina: 163
#4. Florida: 141
#5. New York: 95
#4. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To California: 154
To the U.S. as a whole: 844
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 154
#2. Michigan: 105
#3. Texas: 50
#4. Nebraska: 47
#5. Washington: 42
#5. Iran
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To California: 133
To the U.S. as a whole: 234
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 133
#2. Texas: 19
#3. Washington: 10
#3. North Carolina: 10
#5. Illinois: 9
#6. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To California: 122
To the U.S. as a whole: 810
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 291
#2. California: 122
#3. New York: 42
#4. Ohio: 40
#5. Florida: 37
#6. Armenia
Refugees that arrived from Armenia since October 2023
To California: 122
To the U.S. as a whole: 128
Top states receiving refugees from Armenia
#1. California: 122
#2. South Carolina: 5
#3. Oregon: 1
#8. Moldova
Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2023
To California: 94
To the U.S. as a whole: 292
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. California: 94
#2. Washington: 87
#3. Florida: 18
#4. Minnesota: 17
#4. Oregon: 17
#9. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To California: 93
To the U.S. as a whole: 789
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Texas: 100
#2. California: 93
#3. Maryland: 78
#4. North Carolina: 62
#5. Virginia: 59
#10. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To California: 89
To the U.S. as a whole: 12,018
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,049
#2. Kentucky: 1,013
#3. Arizona: 854
#4. New York: 762
#5. Ohio: 761
#11. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To California: 78
To the U.S. as a whole: 939
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 161
#2. California: 78
#3. Texas: 65
#4. Minnesota: 46
#5. North Carolina: 40
#12. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To California: 57
To the U.S. as a whole: 248
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 75
#2. California: 57
#3. Oregon: 24
#4. Minnesota: 20
#5. North Carolina: 19
#13. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To California: 55
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,067
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 612
#2. Texas: 429
#3. Georgia: 170
#4. Illinois: 163
#5. Tennessee: 120
#14. Belarus
Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To California: 42
To the U.S. as a whole: 223
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 61
#2. California: 42
#3. Pennsylvania: 21
#4. Massachusetts: 20
#5. New York: 19
#15. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To California: 38
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,067
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 83
#2. Texas: 80
#3. Pennsylvania: 76
#4. Nebraska: 65
#5. Missouri: 60
#16. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To California: 37
To the U.S. as a whole: 556
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 95
#2. Florida: 72
#3. Georgia: 40
#4. California: 37
#5. New York: 32
#17. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To California: 30
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,600
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 514
#2. Ohio: 126
#3. Arizona: 78
#3. New York: 78
#5. Georgia: 63
#18. Myanmar
Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To California: 20
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,664
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 416
#2. Illinois: 394
#3. New York: 349
#4. Georgia: 245
#5. Wisconsin: 232
#18. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To California: 20
To the U.S. as a whole: 557
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 89
#2. Virginia: 57
#3. Texas: 53
#4. North Carolina: 46
#5. Maryland: 36
#20. Kazakhstan
Refugees that arrived from Kazakhstan since October 2023
To California: 19
To the U.S. as a whole: 109
Top states receiving refugees from Kazakhstan
#1. Washington: 41
#2. California: 19
#2. Pennsylvania: 19
#4. Oregon: 10
#5. Massachusetts: 8
#21. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To California: 15
To the U.S. as a whole: 963
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 107
#2. Washington: 95
#3. Ohio: 67
#4. Maryland: 65
#5. North Carolina: 53
#22. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To California: 11
To the U.S. as a whole: 722
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 98
#2. North Carolina: 67
#3. Texas: 58
#4. New York: 52
#5. Washington: 46
#23. Uzbekistan
Refugees that arrived from Uzbekistan since October 2023
To California: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 40
Top states receiving refugees from Uzbekistan
#1. New York: 13
#2. Washington: 12
#3. California: 8
#4. Ohio: 6
#5. Minnesota: 1
#23. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To California: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 12,018
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,049
#2. Kentucky: 1,013
#3. Arizona: 854
#4. New York: 762
#5. Ohio: 761
#23. Haiti
Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To California: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 116
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. Pennsylvania: 24
#2. Florida: 18
#3. Georgia: 14
#4. Colorado: 9
#5. California: 8
#26. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To California: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 97
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. Texas: 11
#2. Pennsylvania: 10
#3. Nevada: 8
#4. California: 7
#5. South Carolina: 6
#27. Cambodia
Refugees that arrived from Cambodia since October 2023
To California: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 35
Top states receiving refugees from Cambodia
#1. Texas: 14
#2. North Carolina: 6
#3. California: 5
#4. Maine: 3
#5. Minnesota: 2
#28. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To California: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 253
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 76
#2. Ohio: 25
#3. Washington: 24
#4. Georgia: 23
#5. lowa: 12
#29. Algeria
Refugees that arrived from Algeria since October 2023
To California: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 8
Top states receiving refugees from Algeria
#1. California: 3
#2. Massachusetts: 2
#3. Maryland: 1
#3. New York: 1
#3. Pennsylvania: 1
#29. Georgia
Refugees that arrived from Georgia since October 2023
To California: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 34
Top states receiving refugees from Georgia
#1. Washington: 23
#2. Pennsylvania: 4
#3. California: 3
#4. Indiana: 2
#4. New York: 2
#31. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To California: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 60
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 15
#2. Texas: 8
#3. Georgia: 6
#4. South Carolina: 5
#5. Ohio: 4
#31. Jamaica
Refugees that arrived from Jamaica since October 2023
To California: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 13
Top states receiving refugees from Jamaica
#1. California: 2
#1. Colorado: 2
#1. Michigan: 2
#1. North Carolina: 2
#1. Ohio: 2
#33. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To California: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 713
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Texas: 66
#2. Nebraska: 65
#3. Colorado: 57
#4. Connecticut: 53
#5. New York: 47
#33. Togo
Refugees that arrived from Togo since October 2023
To California: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 1
Top states receiving refugees from Togo
#1. California: 1
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 47 states.
