Where refugees in Ohio 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 April 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 Ohio in April 2024.
April refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in April
To Ohio:
#1. Congo: 61
#2. Somalia: 31
#3. Sudan: 18
#4. Myanmar: 15
#5. Eritrea: 8
#5. Ukraine: 8
#7. Republic of Congo: 7
#8. Venezuela: 6
#9. Nicaragua: 5
#10. Guatemala: 3
#11. Afghanistan: 2
#11. Syria: 2
#13. Kenya: 1
#13. Republic of South Sudan: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 1,548
#2. Afghanistan: 815
#3. Myanmar: 601
#4. Somalia: 548
#5. Venezuela: 449
States that accepted the most refugees in April:
#1. Texas: 620
#2. California: 414
#3. New York: 360
#4. Pennsylvania: 355
#5. lowa: 339
Read on to see the countries that Ohio has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
#1. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Ohio: 826
To the U.S. as a whole: 13,322
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,213
#2. Kentucky: 1,106
#3. Arizona: 933
#4. New York: 829
#5. Ohio: 826
#2. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Ohio: 370
To the U.S. as a whole: 7,781
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 749
#2. Michigan: 742
#3. Pennsylvania: 551
#4. Texas: 440
#5. California: 429
#3. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Ohio: 157
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,148
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 670
#2. Ohio: 157
#3. Arizona: 113
#4. New York: 110
#5. Missouri: 102
#4. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Ohio: 149
To the U.S. as a whole: 7,771
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,624
#2. Texas: 803
#3. Virginia: 775
#4. Washington: 519
#5. Maryland: 329
#5. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Ohio: 73
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,259
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 139
#2. Washington: 120
#3. lowa: 75
#4. North Carolina: 74
#5. Ohio: 73
#6. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Ohio: 71
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,225
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 98
#2. Texas: 92
#3. Pennsylvania: 89
#4. Missouri: 73
#5. Ohio: 71
#7. Myanmar
Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Ohio: 56
To the U.S. as a whole: 4,265
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 497
#2. Illinois: 490
#3. New York: 396
#4. Georgia: 295
#5. Wisconsin: 258
#8. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Ohio: 48
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,033
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 377
#2. California: 166
#3. New York: 57
#4. Florida: 51
#5. Ohio: 48
#9. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Ohio: 40
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,516
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 668
#2. Texas: 489
#3. Illinois: 210
#4. Georgia: 185
#5. New Jersey: 131
#10. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Ohio: 34
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,474
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 328
#2. Texas: 240
#3. North Carolina: 167
#4. Florida: 161
#5. New York: 113
#11. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Ohio: 31
To the U.S. as a whole: 921
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 162
#2. Michigan: 116
#3. Texas: 66
#4. Washington: 56
#5. Nebraska: 54
#12. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Ohio: 26
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,078
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 171
#2. California: 92
#3. Texas: 69
#4. Minnesota: 57
#5. North Carolina: 46
#12. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Ohio: 26
To the U.S. as a whole: 799
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Texas: 86
#2. Nebraska: 70
#3. Colorado: 57
#4. Arizona: 54
#5. Connecticut: 53
#14. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Ohio: 25
To the U.S. as a whole: 289
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 76
#2. Washington: 28
#3. Georgia: 25
#3. Ohio: 25
#5. Texas: 23
#15. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Ohio: 17
To the U.S. as a whole: 605
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 98
#2. Texas: 61
#3. Virginia: 57
#4. North Carolina: 46
#5. New York: 37
#16. Republic of Congo
Refugees that arrived from Republic of Congo since October 2023
To Ohio: 14
To the U.S. as a whole: 311
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of Congo
#1. Missouri: 29
#1. Pennsylvania: 29
#3. South Carolina: 24
#3. Illinois: 24
#5. Massachusetts: 21
#17. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Ohio: 13
To the U.S. as a whole: 425
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 54
#2. Arizona: 48
#3. New York: 41
#4. Pennsylvania: 37
#5. Maryland: 23
#18. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Ohio: 11
To the U.S. as a whole: 760
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 98
#2. North Carolina: 70
#3. Texas: 58
#4. New York: 56
#5. Washington: 46
#19. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Ohio: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 866
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Texas: 119
#2. California: 99
#3. Maryland: 83
#4. Virginia: 69
#5. North Carolina: 63
#20. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Ohio: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 665
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 75
#2. Texas: 72
#3. Michigan: 55
#4. Georgia: 43
#5. Pennsylvania: 38
#21. Uzbekistan
Refugees that arrived from Uzbekistan since October 2023
To Ohio: 6
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
#21. Yemen
Refugees that arrived from Yemen since October 2023
To Ohio: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 103
Top states receiving refugees from Yemen
#1. Michigan: 16
#2. New York: 13
#2. Georgia: 13
#4. Montana: 12
#5. Arizona: 8
#23. Uganda
Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2023
To Ohio: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 40
Top states receiving refugees from Uganda
#1. Massachusetts: 6
#1. Missouri: 6
#3. Ohio: 5
#4. Michigan: 4
#4. Washington: 4
#23. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Ohio: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 595
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 104
#2. Florida: 81
#3. Georgia: 40
#4. California: 39
#5. New York: 32
#25. Mali
Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2023
To Ohio: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 164
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. Pennsylvania: 25
#2. New York: 24
#3. South Carolina: 23
#4. Connecticut: 13
#4. Michigan: 13
#25. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To Ohio: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 63
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 15
#2. Texas: 8
#3. Georgia: 7
#4. South Carolina: 5
#5. Ohio: 4
#27. Belarus
Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Ohio: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 241
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 61
#2. California: 45
#3. Massachusetts: 26
#4. Pennsylvania: 21
#5. New York: 19
#27. India
Refugees that arrived from India since October 2023
To Ohio: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 7
Top states receiving refugees from India
#1. Oregon: 4
#2. Ohio: 3
#29. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 285
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 77
#2. California: 57
#3. Oregon: 24
#4. North Carolina: 22
#5. Minnesota: 20
#29. Ivory Coast
Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 62
Top states receiving refugees from Ivory Coast
#1. Pennsylvania: 10
#2. Minnesota: 8
#3. Massachusetts: 7
#4. Arkansas: 5
#5. Florida: 4
#29. Guinea
Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 79
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 9
#3. North Carolina: 7
#4. Arizona: 5
#4. Michigan: 5
#29. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
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
#29. Jamaica
Refugees that arrived from Jamaica since October 2023
To Ohio: 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
#34. Nepal
Refugees that arrived from Nepal since October 2023
To Ohio: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 1
Top states receiving refugees from Nepal
#1. Ohio: 1
#34. Kenya
Refugees that arrived from Kenya since October 2023
To Ohio: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 6
Top states receiving refugees from Kenya
#1. Illinois: 2
#1. Washington: 2
#3. Minnesota: 1
#3. Ohio: 1
#34. Palestine
Refugees that arrived from Palestine since October 2023
To Ohio: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 16
Top states receiving refugees from Palestine
#1. Illinois: 9
#2. New Jersey: 3
#3. Georgia: 2
#4. Ohio: 1
#4. Texas: 1
#34. Iran
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To Ohio: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 278
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 165
#2. Texas: 19
#3. Washington: 11
#4. North Carolina: 10
#5. Virginia: 9
#34. The Gambia
Refugees that arrived from The Gambia since October 2023
To Ohio: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 14
Top states receiving refugees from The Gambia
#1. Texas: 4
#2. Michigan: 3
#3. Georgia: 2
#3. Illinois: 2
#5. Arizona: 1
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 45 states.
