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Where refugees in New Jersey are arriving from

Written by:
October 9, 2024
Robsonphoto // Shutterstock

Where refugees in New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey:
#1. Venezuela: 87
#2. Guatemala: 33
#3. Afghanistan: 30
#3. Syria: 30
#5. Nicaragua: 4
#6. Myanmar: 3
#7. El Salvador: 2
#7. Haiti: 2
#9. Eritrea: 1
#9. Iraq: 1
#9. Palestine: 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 New Jersey has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.

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An aerial view of caracas, Venezuela.
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Canva

#1. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To New Jersey: 353

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

Daily scene of tuktuks, street stalls and motorbikes in San Pedro
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Lauren Squire // Shutterstock

#2. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To New Jersey: 160

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

People buying spices at a street market in Damascus
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hanohiki // Shutterstock

#3. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To New Jersey: 142

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

Afghan women in burkas pass by a man outside a market
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#4. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To New Jersey: 139

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

An aerial view of El Salvador.
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#5. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To New Jersey: 73

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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People walking by a Cathedral in Granada, Nicaragua
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Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock

#6. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To New Jersey: 71

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

Pedestrians on a street in Bogota, Columbia
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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#7. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To New Jersey: 55

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

Woman and child on busy market street of Copan
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amnat30 // Shutterstock

#8. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To New Jersey: 34

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

#9. Pakistan

Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To New Jersey: 22

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

A distant view of homes on a hillside in Haiti.
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#10. Haiti

Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To New Jersey: 14

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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Woman carries basket through street in Bukavu
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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#10. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To New Jersey: 14

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

Woman crossing road by Medlar Market in Asmara
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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#12. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To New Jersey: 8

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

Panoramic view of Dogondoutchi, Niger.
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#13. Niger

Refugees that arrived from Niger since October 2023
To New Jersey: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 6
Top states receiving refugees from Niger
#1. New Jersey: 6

People walking on busy street with market stalls in Gaza
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Stephen Butler // Shutterstock

#14. Palestine

Refugees that arrived from Palestine since October 2023
To New Jersey: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 30
Top states receiving refugees from Palestine
#1. Illinois: 10
#2. New Jersey: 4
#2. Ohio: 4
#2. Oregon: 4
#5. Michigan: 3

Busy street in Colombo, Sri Lanka
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alionabirukova // Shutterstock

#14. Sri Lanka

Refugees that arrived from Sri Lanka since October 2023
To New Jersey: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 11
Top states receiving refugees from Sri Lanka
#1. Texas: 5
#2. New Jersey: 4
#3. New York: 2

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A distant view of Mount Victoria in Cameroon.
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#14. Cameroon

Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To New Jersey: 4

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

Woman carrying child to Lviv train station on snowy day
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Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock

#14. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To New Jersey: 4

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

A distant view of the Havana skyline in Cuba.
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#14. Cuba

Refugees that arrived from Cuba since October 2023
To New Jersey: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 255
Top states receiving refugees from Cuba
#1. Florida: 98
#2. Texas: 33
#3. New York: 12
#3. Maryland: 12
#5. Tennessee: 10

Aerial drone shot of Conakry, Guinea.
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Flightseeing-Germany // Shutterstock

#19. Guinea

Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To New Jersey: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 78
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 9
#3. North Carolina: 7
#4. Michigan: 6
#5. Arizona: 5

A horse-drawn taxi passes through a busy shopping area
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Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock

#19. Myanmar

Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To New Jersey: 3

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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Elevated view of Baghdad street scene
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Focus and Blur // Shutterstock

#19. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To New Jersey: 3

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

Muslim woman in hijab waking on streets of Hargeisa
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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#22. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To New Jersey: 2

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

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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