Migrating To Minnesota: Exploring Factors Driving Somali Migration and Comparing Socioeconomic Outcomes Across Six U.S. States

Abstract

Minnesota has the largest Somali community in the United States and continues to attract more Somali people to move here. This paper explores the factors driving Somali migration and compares socioeconomic outcomes across six U.S. States. This paper is not a production of new knowledge but a synthesis of what is known using literature review and descriptive statistics. After cleaning the data, T-tests were used to see if the averages of Minnesota were statistically significantly different from the averages of five other comparison states. The findings indicate that Somalis residing in Minnesota on average have similar or slightly better outcomes than those living in the comparison states, except for housing outcomes.