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 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 Washington in April 2024.
April refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in April
To Washington:
#1. Ukraine: 86
#2. Afghanistan: 37
#3. Eritrea: 25
#4. Congo: 15
#5. Iraq: 14
#6. Somalia: 12
#6. Myanmar: 12
#8. Guatemala: 11
#8. Syria: 11
#10. Moldova: 7
#11. Pakistan: 5
#12. Ethiopia: 4
#13. Nicaragua: 3
#14. Honduras: 2
#14. Armenia: 2
#14. Russia: 2
#14. Sudan: 2
#14. Kenya: 2
#19. Iran: 1
#19. Central African Republic: 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 Washington has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
#1. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Washington: 519
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
#2. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Washington: 377
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
#3. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Washington: 244
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
#4. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Washington: 130
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
#5. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Washington: 120
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. Moldova
Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2023
To Washington: 94
To the U.S. as a whole: 300
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. California: 95
#2. Washington: 94
#3. Florida: 18
#4. Minnesota: 17
#4. Oregon: 17
#7. Myanmar
Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Washington: 93
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. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Washington: 92
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
#9. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Washington: 77
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
#9. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Washington: 77
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
#11. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Washington: 67
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
#12. Belarus
Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Washington: 61
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
#13. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Washington: 56
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
#14. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Washington: 46
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
#15. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Washington: 42
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
#16. 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
#17. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Washington: 32
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
#18. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Washington: 28
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
#19. 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
#19. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Washington: 23
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
#21. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Washington: 14
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
#21. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Washington: 14
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
#23. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Washington: 12
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
#23. Uzbekistan
Refugees that arrived from Uzbekistan since October 2023
To Washington: 12
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
#25. Iran
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To Washington: 11
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
#26. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Washington: 9
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
#27. Cuba
Refugees that arrived from Cuba since October 2023
To Washington: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 89
Top states receiving refugees from Cuba
#1. Florida: 39
#2. Texas: 10
#3. Tennessee: 7
#4. Washington: 6
#5. New Hampshire: 4
#28. Rwanda
Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Washington: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 197
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 46
#2. South Carolina: 12
#2. Arizona: 12
#4. Kentucky: 11
#4. Illinois: 11
#28. Guinea
Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To Washington: 5
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
#30. Uganda
Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2023
To Washington: 4
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
#30. China
Refugees that arrived from China since October 2023
To Washington: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 4
Top states receiving refugees from China
#1. Washington: 4
#32. Nigeria
Refugees that arrived from Nigeria since October 2023
To Washington: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 103
Top states receiving refugees from Nigeria
#1. Illinois: 16
#2. Missouri: 14
#3. Arizona: 13
#3. North Carolina: 13
#5. Kansas: 9
#32. 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
#32. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Washington: 3
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
#35. Kenya
Refugees that arrived from Kenya since October 2023
To Washington: 2
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
#35. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To Washington: 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
#35. Armenia
Refugees that arrived from Armenia since October 2023
To Washington: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 184
Top states receiving refugees from Armenia
#1. California: 171
#2. Oregon: 5
#2. South Carolina: 5
#4. Washington: 2
#5. Nevada: 1
#35. Haiti
Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To Washington: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 130
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. Pennsylvania: 25
#2. Florida: 19
#3. Georgia: 14
#4. Colorado: 9
#5. California: 8
#39. Mauritania
Refugees that arrived from Mauritania since October 2023
To Washington: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 3
Top states receiving refugees from Mauritania
#1. Oregon: 1
#1. Rhode Island: 1
#1. Washington: 1
#39. Ivory Coast
Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To Washington: 1
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
#39. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To Washington: 1
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
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 45 states.
