Where Do the Most Ethiopian Americans Live?
Roughly 386,500 Americans trace their ancestry to Ethiopia, and their geography is unusually concentrated. One metro area holds more than a fifth of the entire national total, and it is not one of the usual immigrant gateways. It is Washington, D.C.
The Washington metro is home to 79,733 people of Ethiopian ancestry, more than the next three metros combined. The District's U Street and Shaw corridors have long been the heart of Ethiopian America, sometimes called Little Ethiopia, and the community has spread out into the Maryland and Virginia suburbs that surround the capital. That is why Maryland and Virginia lead all states, essentially in a tie.
| Rank | State | Ethiopian residents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | 42,074 |
| 2 | Virginia | 41,193 |
| 3 | California | 36,738 |
| 4 | Texas | 36,364 |
| 5 | Minnesota | 31,589 |
| 6 | Washington | 27,892 |
| 7 | Georgia | 27,006 |
| 8 | Colorado | 13,102 |
Beyond Washington: a refugee-resettlement map
After the capital, the largest Ethiopian communities sit in metros that have been major centers of refugee resettlement since the 1980s. Minneapolis and Seattle rank second and third, followed by Atlanta and Dallas. Minnesota's standing as a resettlement hub for East Africans, better known for its Somali community, extends to Ethiopians as well.
| Rank | Metro area | Ethiopian residents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington, DC | 79,733 |
| 2 | Minneapolis, MN | 29,162 |
| 3 | Seattle, WA | 26,289 |
| 4 | Atlanta, GA | 25,514 |
| 5 | Dallas, TX | 22,745 |
| 6 | Los Angeles, CA | 12,299 |
| 7 | Denver, CO | 11,719 |
| 8 | Las Vegas, NV | 11,183 |
At the city and suburb level, the same clusters show up: Washington itself, then Seattle, Dallas, and the Ethiopian centers of Alexandria in Virginia, Aurora in Colorado, Silver Spring in Maryland, and St. Paul in Minnesota. These are among the fastest-growing recent-immigrant communities in the country, and the census category is still expanding as the second generation grows up.
You can see the full ranking for every state, metro, and city on the largest Ethiopian population by state and by metro pages, or compare any two places with the compare tool.
Sources
Figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (self-reported ancestry), compiled on the CensusEasy Ethiopian ancestry rankings.
A draft rule would stop counting undocumented immigrants and drop race from the Census
Documents viewed by WIRED show a draft rule that would exclude undocumented immigrants from 2030 apportionment and eliminate race and sexual orientation questions. It matches the June proposed rule advocacy groups warned about, point for point.
Census officials confirm entire datasets will disappear under the new privacy rule
At a statistical conference in Boston, Census Bureau officials confirmed the noise infusion ban will pull historically published datasets, with small populations hit hardest. Officials denied political motives while the OECD's chief statistician questioned the process.
Prince William County ranks among the 10 most diverse counties in America
Prince William County, Virginia ranks 9th of 3,144 counties on the CensusEasy Diversity Score, with white, Hispanic, Black, and Asian residents split more evenly than almost anywhere. In 1990 it was 83.5 percent white.
How many Ethiopian Americans are there?
About 386,500 people in the United States report Ethiopian ancestry, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Which city has the most Ethiopian Americans?
Washington, D.C. The D.C. metro area is home to 79,733 people of Ethiopian ancestry, more than a fifth of the national total, centered on the U Street corridor and spreading into the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.
Where else do Ethiopian Americans live?
After Washington, the largest communities are in the Minneapolis, Seattle, Atlanta, and Dallas metros, all major centers of East African refugee resettlement since the 1980s.
