Nearly half a million immigrants call Minnesota home, a population that includes citizens and non-citizens, students and workers, and refugees who fled their home countries. Minnesota has proportionally fewer immigrants compared to the nation as a whole, but we have long been a state shaped by immigration. In 2020, about 8% of Minnesotans were foreign-born, but that percentage was as high as 37% in the late 1800s. Immigration will continue to shape our communities for generations to come. Today, one in five Minnesota children is the child of an immigrant. Most of these children are native-born themselves.

Immigrants in Minnesota

Fast facts

499,000 foreign-born Minnesotans

9% of Minnesotans are immigrants, up from 5% in 2000 but down from 37% in the late 1800s.
9 %
Percent foreign born in Minnesota

Minnesota's largest immigrant groups

Mexican immigrants remain Minnesota's largest immigrant group, but the number of Mexican immigrants living in the state declined over the past decade. Somali immigrants are the second-largest immigrant group in Minnesota.

Foreign-born population by birthplace

Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken in Minnesota

Followed by languages in the language family containing Somali and Oromo, then by Hmong and Vietnamese.

Learn what are the most common language…

Three-quarters of immigrants are working

77% of Minnesota’s foreign-born residents are working, up from 70% a decade ago.
77 %
Proportion of foreign-born adults (age …

Minnesota's immigrants at a glance

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Explore data by immigrant group

Immigrant group Population
All immigrants 470,387
Burmese immigrants 12,480
Canadian immigrants 11,179
Chinese immigrants 17,746
Ecuadorian immigrants 6,703
Ethiopian immigrants 22,453
Filipino immigrants 9,936
German immigrants 6,811
Guatemalan immigrants 6,619
Hmong immigrants 29,034
Indian immigrants 30,632
Kenyan immigrants 11,181
Korean immigrants 13,727
Laotian immigrants 6,796
Liberian immigrants 12,446
Mexican immigrants 59,137
Nigerian immigrants 6,551
Russian immigrants 8,107
Salvadoran immigrants 7,302
Somali immigrants 42,503
Thai Immigrants 2,909
Vietnamese immigrants 16,078

Sources:

Integrated Public Use Microdata Series from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. (2017-2021).