Economy & Work
Somali Minnesotans work at higher rates than the state average, concentrate in sectors facing critical shortages, and have posted two decades of measurable upward mobility. Here is what the public record shows.
Two decades of upward mobility
Somali foreign-born population in Minnesota, 2000 vs. 2014–2018 · Minnesota Compass via Minnesota Chamber Foundation (Table 12)
Where Somali Minnesotans work
The top industries for Somali workers are education & health care, retail trade, transportation & warehousing, manufacturing — several of them sectors where Minnesota faces acute shortages. Nearly a third of the state's workforce is over 55, and immigrants have driven roughly 60% of Minnesota's recent workforce growth, making the young Somali community (median age about 22) a core part of the state's replacement workforce.
Entrepreneurship runs deep: from Karmel Mall — often described as America's first Somali mall — to commercial corridors in Willmar, St. Cloud, and Rochester, Somali-owned businesses in childcare, health care, transportation, restaurants, and retail anchor neighborhoods across the state, with women entrepreneurs especially prominent.
The full picture
A young, recently arrived community still faces real economic gaps. We show them because the trend lines — every one pointing up — are the story.