MISSOURI – 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 Venezuela, 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 Missouri in September 2024.
Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.
Countries where refugees arrived from in September:
To Missouri:
#1. Congo: 72
#2. Afghanistan: 68
#3. Syria: 62
#4. Venezuela: 38
#5. Somalia: 33
#6. Eritrea: 30
#7. Iraq: 16
#8. Myanmar: 13
#9. Nicaragua: 1
#10. Republic of South Sudan: 10
#11. Central African Republic: 9
#11. Burundi: 9
#13. Guatemala: 8
#14. Sudan: 7
#15. Ukraine: 6
#15. Uganda: 6
#17. Honduras: 3
#18. Senegal: 2
#18. Ethiopia: 2
#18. Colombia: 2
#21. Guinea: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 3,653
#2. Congo: 2,29
#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 Missouri has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
You may also like: How many people are receiving substance use treatment in Missouri
#1. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Missouri: 981
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
#2. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Missouri: 326
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
#3. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Missouri: 257
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
#4. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Missouri: 188
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
#5. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Missouri: 124
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,180
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 194
#2. Texas: 170
#3. Ohio: 146
#4. Pennsylvania: 132
#5. Missouri: 124
You may also like: Best-performing Missouri stocks last week
#6. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Missouri: 113
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
#7. Myanmar
Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Missouri: 94
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
#8. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Missouri: 89
To the U.S. as a whole: 864
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 89
#2. Texas: 82
#3. Michigan: 63
#4. Georgia: 60
#5. Colorado: 56
#9. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Missouri: 72
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
#10. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Missouri: 60
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
You may also like: Missouri ranks #42 in mental health care deserts
#11. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Missouri: 49
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,320
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Nebraska: 151
#2. Texas: 122
#3. New York: 94
#4. lowa: 88
#5. Colorado: 68
#12. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Missouri: 48
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
#13. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Missouri: 42
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
#14. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Missouri: 36
To the U.S. as a whole: 588
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 79
#2. Arizona: 50
#3. Pennsylvania: 44
#4. New York: 43
#5. lowa: 37
#15. Republic of Congo
Refugees that arrived from Republic of Congo since October 2023
To Missouri: 32
To the U.S. as a whole: 353
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of Congo
#1. Missouri: 32
#2. Pennsylvania: 28
#3. Wisconsin: 26
#4. New York: 25
#4. Illinois: 25
You may also like: Best counties to live in Missouri
#16. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Missouri: 28
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
#17. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Missouri: 25
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
#18. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Missouri: 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
#19. Mali
Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2023
To Missouri: 16
To the U.S. as a whole: 185
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. Pennsylvania: 27
#2. New York: 24
#3. South Carolina: 23
#4. Missouri: 16
#5. Connecticut: 13
#20. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Missouri: 15
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
You may also like: Risky reservoirs: Missouri counties where aging dams pose the greatest threat
#21. Nigeria
Refugees that arrived from Nigeria since October 2023
To Missouri: 14
To the U.S. as a whole: 111
Top states receiving refugees from Nigeria
#1. Illinois: 16
#2. Missouri: 14
#3. Arizona: 13
#3. North Carolina: 13
#5. Texas: 11
#22. Haiti
Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To Missouri: 12
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
#23. Uganda
Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2023
To Missouri: 12
To the U.S. as a whole: 46
Top states receiving refugees from Uganda
#1. Missouri: 12
#2. Massachusetts: 6
#3. Michigan: 5
#3. Ohio: 5
#5. Washington: 4
#24. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Missouri: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 501
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 152
#2. Washington: 46
#3. Texas: 38
#4. Ohio: 33
#5. Georgia: 29
#25. Moldova
Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2023
To Missouri: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 366
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. Washington: 114
#2. California: 107
#3. Florida: 24
#3. Oregon: 24
#5. Minnesota: 17
You may also like: How much manufacturers in Missouri spend on equipment
#26. Rwanda
Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Missouri: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 220
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 49
#2. Arizona: 19
#3. Kentucky: 13
#4. South Carolina: 12
#5. Illinois: 11
#27. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To Missouri: 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
#27. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Missouri: 4
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
#29. Ivory Coast
Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To Missouri: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 66
Top states receiving refugees from Ivory Coast
#1. Pennsylvania: 10
#2. Minnesota: 8
#3. Massachusetts: 7
#4. Arkansas: 6
#5. Florida: 4
You may also like: Counties receiving the most SBA loans in Missouri
#29. Burkina Faso
Refugees that arrived from Burkina Faso since October 2023
To Missouri: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 3
Top states receiving refugees from Burkina Faso
#1. Missouri: 3
#31. Guinea
Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To Missouri: 2
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
#32. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To Missouri: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 84
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 16
#2. South Carolina: 15
#3. Florida: 9
#3. Georgia: 9
#5. Texas: 8
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states
