Where Refugees in Washington Are Arriving From

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Where refugees in Washington 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 August 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 Washington in August 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.

August refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in August
To Washington:
#1. Afghanistan: 115
#2. Venezuela: 76
#3. Congo: 46
#4. Iraq: 36
#5. Nicaragua: 29
#6. Syria: 24
#7. Colombia: 22
#8. Guatemala: 21
#8. Belarus: 21
#10. Somalia: 20
#10. Ukraine: 20
#12. Eritrea: 18
#13. Sudan: 17
#14. Moldova: 12
#15. Myanmar: 8
#16. Russia: 6
#17. Armenia: 5
#17. Republic of South Sudan: 5
#19. Haiti: 3
#19. Ethiopia: 3

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 2,310
#2. Congo: 1,503
#3. Afghanistan: 1,460
#4. Syria: 695
#5. Guatemala: 655

States that accepted the most refugees in August:
#1. Texas: 1,213
#2. California: 808
#3. Florida: 527
#4. New York: 514
#5. Washington: 507

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

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Afghan women in burkas pass by a man outside a market

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#1. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Washington: 777

To the U.S. as a whole: 12,634
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 2,611
#2. Texas: 1,299
#3. Virginia: 1,042
#4. Washington: 777
#5. New York: 582

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Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock

#2. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Washington: 507

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,346
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 507
#2. California: 226
#3. New York: 81
#4. Florida: 66
#5. Ohio: 54

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 Washington: 281

To the U.S. as a whole: 9,689
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 972
#2. Michigan: 964
#3. Pennsylvania: 808
#4. Texas: 581
#5. California: 552

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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#4. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Washington: 204

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,908
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 209
#2. Washington: 204
#3. lowa: 135
#4. North Carolina: 116
#5. Ohio: 113

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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#5. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Washington: 196

To the U.S. as a whole: 17,626
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,574
#2. Kentucky: 1,505
#3. Ohio: 1,217
#4. Arizona: 1,196
#5. New York: 1,112

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#5. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Washington: 196

To the U.S. as a whole: 9,225
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Texas: 1,488
#2. Florida: 1,425
#3. Illinois: 522
#4. New York: 379
#5. Georgia: 362

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Lauren Squire // Shutterstock

#7. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Washington: 139

To the U.S. as a whole: 4,320
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 631
#2. Texas: 492
#3. Florida: 235
#4. North Carolina: 230
#5. New York: 187

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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#8. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Washington: 118

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,940
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 1,118
#2. New York: 278
#3. Ohio: 261
#4. Missouri: 224
#5. Arizona: 214

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Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock

#9. Myanmar

Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Washington: 115

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,891
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 666
#2. New York: 605
#3. Illinois: 569
#4. Wisconsin: 453
#5. Georgia: 415

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JackKPhoto // Shutterstock

#10. Moldova

Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2023
To Washington: 114

To the U.S. as a whole: 360
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. Washington: 114
#2. California: 105
#3. Florida: 24
#3. Oregon: 24
#5. Minnesota: 17

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#10. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Washington: 114

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,897
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 283
#2. Michigan: 219
#3. Texas: 173
#4. Nebraska: 127
#5. Washington: 114

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karp5 // Shutterstock

#12. Belarus

Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Washington: 91

To the U.S. as a whole: 348
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 91
#2. California: 57
#3. Massachusetts: 28
#4. New York: 27
#5. Pennsylvania: 24

Pedestrians on a street in Bogota, Columbia

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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#13. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Washington: 89

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,242
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 135
#2. Texas: 104
#3. New York: 95
#4. North Carolina: 93
#5. Washington: 89

People walking by a Cathedral in Granada, Nicaragua

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Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock

#14. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Washington: 88

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,776
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 331
#2. Texas: 256
#3. California: 225
#4. Minnesota: 124
#5. Arizona: 108

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#15. Russia

Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Washington: 83

To the U.S. as a whole: 335
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 83
#2. California: 75
#3. Oregon: 43
#4. Minnesota: 22
#4. North Carolina: 22

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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#16. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Washington: 75

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,902
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 188
#2. Texas: 158
#3. Ohio: 130
#4. Pennsylvania: 120
#5. Missouri: 117

Pedestrians and traffic on the streets of Almaty

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Omri Eliyahu // Shutterstock

#17. Kazakhstan

Refugees that arrived from Kazakhstan since October 2023
To Washington: 41

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

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Artush // Shutterstock

#18. Ethiopia

Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Washington: 31

To the U.S. as a whole: 376
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 111
#2. Washington: 31
#2. Texas: 31
#4. Ohio: 27
#5. Georgia: 26

Men gathered in the streets with motorcycles in Juba

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#19. Republic of South Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Washington: 28

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,135
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Nebraska: 122
#2. Texas: 107
#3. New York: 91
#4. Colorado: 66
#4. Arizona: 66

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#20. Georgia

Refugees that arrived from Georgia since October 2023
To Washington: 23

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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Woman and child on busy market street of Copan

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amnat30 // Shutterstock

#20. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Washington: 23

To the U.S. as a whole: 825
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 132
#2. Florida: 104
#3. New York: 57
#4. California: 42
#4. Georgia: 42

Armenian people emerge from a church in the city of Metsamore

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Sebastian Castelier // Shutterstock

#22. Armenia

Refugees that arrived from Armenia since October 2023
To Washington: 21

To the U.S. as a whole: 256
Top states receiving refugees from Armenia
#1. California: 217
#2. Washington: 21
#3. South Carolina: 9
#4. Oregon: 5
#5. Ohio: 4

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#23. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Washington: 17

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,176
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Texas: 169
#2. California: 149
#3. Maryland: 112
#4. Virginia: 80
#5. North Carolina: 79

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W_NAMKET // Shutterstock

#24. Pakistan

Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Washington: 14

To the U.S. as a whole: 780
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 110
#2. Texas: 77
#3. Virginia: 62
#4. New York: 51
#5. Illinois: 49

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sandis sveicers // Shutterstock

#25. Central African Republic

Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Washington: 13

To the U.S. as a whole: 797
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 80
#2. Texas: 75
#3. Georgia: 60
#4. Colorado: 56
#5. Michigan: 55

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People gather in a urban park on the streets of Tehran

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Andrew V Marcus // Shutterstock

#25. Iran

Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To Washington: 13

To the U.S. as a whole: 440
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 268
#2. Texas: 47
#3. Michigan: 17
#4. Washington: 13
#4. Georgia: 13

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

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#27. Uzbekistan

Refugees that arrived from Uzbekistan since October 2023
To Washington: 12

To the U.S. as a whole: 44
Top states receiving refugees from Uzbekistan
#1. New York: 13
#2. Washington: 12
#3. California: 8
#4. Ohio: 6
#5. Oregon: 5

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#28. Cuba

Refugees that arrived from Cuba since October 2023
To Washington: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 196
Top states receiving refugees from Cuba
#1. Florida: 74
#2. Texas: 30
#3. New York: 12
#4. Tennessee: 10
#5. Washington: 8

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A. Aleksandravicius // Shutterstock

#29. China

Refugees that arrived from China since October 2023
To Washington: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 5
Top states receiving refugees from China
#1. Washington: 5

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#29. Haiti

Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To Washington: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 226
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. Pennsylvania: 37
#2. Florida: 31
#3. Texas: 16
#4. Georgia: 15
#5. Missouri: 12

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Oscar Espinosa // Shutterstock

#29. Rwanda

Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Washington: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 216
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 49
#2. Arizona: 16
#3. South Carolina: 12
#3. Kentucky: 12
#5. Illinois: 11

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#29. Guinea

Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To Washington: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 75
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 9
#3. North Carolina: 7
#4. Arizona: 5
#4. Michigan: 5

Woman walking on busy street in Kampala with basket of mangos

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Vlad Karavaev // Shutterstock

#33. Uganda

Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2023
To Washington: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 38
Top states receiving refugees from Uganda
#1. Massachusetts: 6
#1. Missouri: 6
#3. Michigan: 5
#3. Ohio: 5
#5. Washington: 4

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#34. Nigeria

Refugees that arrived from Nigeria since October 2023
To Washington: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 106
Top states receiving refugees from Nigeria
#1. Illinois: 16
#2. Missouri: 14
#3. Arizona: 13
#3. North Carolina: 13
#5. Kansas: 9

Burundian people gather at an outside market

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Rostasedlacek // Shutterstock

#34. Burundi

Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Washington: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 527
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 65
#2. Arizona: 49
#3. New York: 41
#4. Pennsylvania: 38
#5. Nebraska: 30

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#34. Sweden

Refugees that arrived from Sweden since October 2023
To Washington: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 3
Top states receiving refugees from Sweden
#1. Washington: 3

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#37. Cameroon

Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To Washington: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 105
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. Texas: 13
#1. Pennsylvania: 13
#3. Nevada: 8
#4. Maryland: 7
#4. California: 7