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Where refugees in California are arriving from

Written by:
October 9, 2024
Robsonphoto // Shutterstock

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 September 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Venezeula, Afghanistan, and Congo. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.

In Venezuela, over 7.5 million people have left the country due to extreme inflation, violence, food and medicine scarcity, and other factors. Most have resettled in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. 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.

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 September 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.

September refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in September
To California:
#1. Afghanistan: 560
#2. Syria: 211
#3. Guatemala: 163
#4. Venezuela: 159
#5. Iraq: 81
#6. Armenia: 63
#7. Myanmar: 40
#8. El Salvador: 38
#9. Congo: 37
#10. Nicaragua: 34
#11. Belarus: 32
#12. Ukraine: 22
#13. Eritrea: 21
#14. Ethiopia: 14
#15. Somalia: 13
#16. Sudan: 10
#17. Iran: 9
#17. Uzbekistan: 9
#19. Republic of South Sudan: 8
#20. Vietnam: 7
#21. Honduras: 6
#22. Haiti: 4
#23. Russia: 3
#24. Colombia: 2
#24. Moldova: 2
#26. Yemen: 1

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 3,653
#2. Congo: 2,296
#3. Afghanistan: 2,068
#4. Syria: 1,585
#5. Myanmar: 1,455

States that accepted the most refugees in September:
#1. Texas: 1,702
#2. California: 1,550
#3. New York: 918
#4. Florida: 768
#5. Illinois: 750

Read on to see the countries that California has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.

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Canva

#1. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To California: 3,171

To the U.S. as a whole: 14,707
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 3,171
#2. Texas: 1,574
#3. Virginia: 1,257
#4. Washington: 889
#5. New York: 658

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Lauren Squire // Shutterstock

#2. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To California: 794

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,017
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 794
#2. Texas: 551
#3. Florida: 257
#4. North Carolina: 255
#5. New York: 219

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hanohiki // Shutterstock

#3. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To California: 763

To the U.S. as a whole: 11,274
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. Michigan: 1,186
#2. New York: 1,112
#3. Pennsylvania: 954
#4. California: 763
#5. Texas: 676

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Focus and Blur // Shutterstock

#4. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To California: 364

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,278
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 364
#2. Michigan: 260
#3. Texas: 189
#4. Nebraska: 136
#5. Illinois: 122

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#5. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To California: 332

To the U.S. as a whole: 12,878
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Texas: 2,039
#2. Florida: 1,883
#3. Illinois: 664
#4. New York: 514
#5. Georgia: 512

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Sebastian Castelier // Shutterstock

#6. Armenia

Refugees that arrived from Armenia since October 2023
To California: 280

To the U.S. as a whole: 319
Top states receiving refugees from Armenia
#1. California: 280
#2. Washington: 21
#3. South Carolina: 9
#4. Oregon: 5
#5. Ohio: 4

People gather in a urban park on the streets of Tehran
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Andrew V Marcus // Shutterstock

#7. Iran

Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To California: 277

To the U.S. as a whole: 470
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 277
#2. Texas: 53
#3. Michigan: 17
#4. Washington: 14
#4. Georgia: 14

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Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock

#8. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To California: 259

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,299
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 382
#2. Texas: 313
#3. California: 259
#4. North Carolina: 139
#5. Minnesota: 135

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Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock

#9. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To California: 248

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,447
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 524
#2. California: 248
#3. New York: 90
#4. Florida: 74
#5. South Carolina: 61

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Canva

#10. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To California: 187

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,331
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. California: 187
#2. Texas: 174
#3. Maryland: 119
#4. Virginia: 99
#5. North Carolina: 83

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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#11. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To California: 174

To the U.S. as a whole: 19,922
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,791
#2. Kentucky: 1,735
#3. Ohio: 1,343
#4. New York: 1,295
#5. Arizona: 1,274

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JackKPhoto // Shutterstock

#12. Moldova

Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2023
To California: 107

To the U.S. as a whole: 366
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. Washington: 114
#2. California: 107
#3. Florida: 24
#3. Oregon: 24
#5. Minnesota: 17

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karp5 // Shutterstock

#13. Belarus

Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To California: 89

To the U.S. as a whole: 391
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 91
#2. California: 89
#3. Massachusetts: 34
#4. New York: 27
#5. Pennsylvania: 24

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YuryKara // Shutterstock

#14. Russia

Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To California: 78

To the U.S. as a whole: 347
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 83
#2. California: 78
#3. Oregon: 43
#4. Minnesota: 22
#4. North Carolina: 22

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Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock

#15. Myanmar

Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To California: 77

To the U.S. as a whole: 7,347
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 882
#2. Illinois: 761
#3. New York: 736
#4. Wisconsin: 570
#5. Georgia: 462

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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#16. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To California: 60

To the U.S. as a whole: 4,801
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 1,267
#2. New York: 366
#3. Ohio: 326
#4. Arizona: 280
#5. Missouri: 257

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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#17. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To California: 58

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,180
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 194
#2. Texas: 170
#3. Ohio: 146
#4. Pennsylvania: 132
#5. Missouri: 124

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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#18. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To California: 53

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,410
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 286
#2. Washington: 253
#3. lowa: 162
#4. North Carolina: 141
#5. Maryland: 129

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amnat30 // Shutterstock

#19. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To California: 48

To the U.S. as a whole: 901
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 144
#2. Florida: 108
#3. New York: 62
#4. California: 48
#5. Georgia: 44

People walking through the Chitta Gate in the old town area of Lahore
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W_NAMKET // Shutterstock

#20. Pakistan

Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To California: 27

To the U.S. as a whole: 856
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 120
#2. Texas: 88
#3. Virginia: 62
#4. Illinois: 57
#5. North Carolina: 56

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Omri Eliyahu // Shutterstock

#21. Kazakhstan

Refugees that arrived from Kazakhstan since October 2023
To California: 19

To the U.S. as a whole: 111
Top states receiving refugees from Kazakhstan
#1. Washington: 43
#2. California: 19
#2. Pennsylvania: 19
#4. Oregon: 10
#5. Massachusetts: 8

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Artush // Shutterstock

#22. Ethiopia

Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To California: 18

To the U.S. as a whole: 501
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 152
#2. Washington: 46
#3. Texas: 38
#4. Ohio: 33
#5. Georgia: 29

An aerial shot of Tashkent TV Tower in Uzbekistan at sunset.
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#23. Uzbekistan

Refugees that arrived from Uzbekistan since October 2023
To California: 17

To the U.S. as a whole: 53
Top states receiving refugees from Uzbekistan
#1. California: 17
#2. New York: 13
#3. Washington: 12
#4. Ohio: 6
#5. Oregon: 5

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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#23. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To California: 17

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,382
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 137
#2. Texas: 117
#3. New York: 114
#4. Washington: 95
#5. North Carolina: 93

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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#25. Republic of Congo

Refugees that arrived from Republic of Congo since October 2023
To California: 14

To the U.S. as a whole: 353
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of Congo
#1. Missouri: 32
#2. Pennsylvania: 28
#3. Wisconsin: 26
#4. New York: 25
#4. Illinois: 25

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#26. Haiti

Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To California: 13

To the U.S. as a whole: 256
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. Pennsylvania: 41
#2. Florida: 31
#3. Nevada: 16
#3. Texas: 16
#5. Georgia: 15

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punghi // Shutterstock

#27. Republic of South Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To California: 9

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,320
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Nebraska: 151
#2. Texas: 122
#3. New York: 94
#4. lowa: 88
#5. Colorado: 68

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#28. Vietnam

Refugees that arrived from Vietnam since October 2023
To California: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 118
Top states receiving refugees from Vietnam
#1. Minnesota: 52
#2. North Carolina: 37
#3. California: 8
#4. Oklahoma: 7
#5. Arkansas: 5

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#29. Algeria

Refugees that arrived from Algeria since October 2023
To California: 7

To the U.S. as a whole: 11
Top states receiving refugees from Algeria
#1. California: 7
#2. Massachusetts: 2
#2. New York: 2

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#29. Cameroon

Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To California: 7

To the U.S. as a whole: 120
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. Pennsylvania: 13
#1. Texas: 13
#3. Minnesota: 9
#4. Nevada: 8
#5. Maryland: 7

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aleksander hunta // Shutterstock

#31. Cambodia

Refugees that arrived from Cambodia since October 2023
To California: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 58
Top states receiving refugees from Cambodia
#1. Texas: 17
#2. Rhode Island: 10
#3. North Carolina: 7
#4. California: 5
#4. Oregon: 5

Wide view of traditional, older buildings on a hillside in Yemen.
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#32. Yemen

Refugees that arrived from Yemen since October 2023
To California: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 198
Top states receiving refugees from Yemen
#1. Michigan: 46
#2. New York: 26
#3. Georgia: 17
#4. Texas: 15
#5. North Carolina: 13

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Beata Tabak // Shutterstock

#33. Ivory Coast

Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To California: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 66
Top states receiving refugees from Ivory Coast
#1. Pennsylvania: 10
#2. Minnesota: 8
#3. Massachusetts: 7
#4. Arkansas: 6
#5. Florida: 4

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#33. 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

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Salvador Aznar // Shutterstock

#35. Senegal

Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To California: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 84
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 16
#2. South Carolina: 15
#3. Florida: 9
#3. Georgia: 9
#5. Texas: 8

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#35. Jamaica

Refugees that arrived from Jamaica since October 2023
To California: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 12
Top states receiving refugees from Jamaica
#1. California: 2
#1. Colorado: 2
#1. Connecticut: 2
#1. Michigan: 2
#1. North Carolina: 2

This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.

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