Where refugees in Kentucky 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 January 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Syria, and Afghanistan. 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. Syria has seen more than 5 million refugees flee to neighboring nations since 2011 while a longstanding civil war rages, with an additional 6.8 million people forced from their homes and seeking refuge elsewhere in the country. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans.

Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Kentucky in January 2024.

January refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in January
To Kentucky:
#1. Congo: 111
#2. Afghanistan: 23
#3. Syria: 20
#4. Guatemala: 13
#5. Republic of South Sudan: 8
#6. Sudan: 7
#7. Somalia: 6
#8. Iraq: 5
#9. El Salvador: 3
#9. Honduras: 3
#9. Venezuela: 3
#12. Burma: 2
#13. Pakistan: 1

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Afghanistan: 1,723
#2. Congo: 1,695
#3. Syria: 1,356
#4. Burma: 765
#5. Guatemala: 540

States that accepted the most refugees in January:
#1. California: 803
#2. Texas: 779
#3. New York: 645
#4. Pennsylvania: 492
#5. Arizona: 401

Read on to see the countries that Kentucky has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.

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#1. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Kentucky: 685

To the U.S. as a whole: 7,408
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 685
#2. Texas: 636
#3. Arizona: 541
#4. Ohio: 513
#5. New York: 471

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#2. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Kentucky: 86

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,837
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 616
#2. Michigan: 558
#3. Pennsylvania: 419
#4. California: 325
#5. Ohio: 315

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#3. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Kentucky: 30

To the U.S. as a whole: 4,626
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 998
#2. Virginia: 530
#3. Texas: 377
#4. Washington: 327
#5. Maryland: 199

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#3. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Kentucky: 30

To the U.S. as a whole: 957
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 332
#2. Ohio: 85
#3. Arizona: 61
#4. New York: 54
#5. Georgia: 48

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#5. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Kentucky: 24

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,325
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 177
#2. North Carolina: 103
#3. Texas: 97
#4. Florida: 77
#5. New York: 69

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#6. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Kentucky: 23

To the U.S. as a whole: 625
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 208
#2. California: 83
#3. Ohio: 37
#4. New York: 34
#5. Florida: 32

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#7. Republic of South Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Kentucky: 11

To the U.S. as a whole: 490
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Connecticut: 53
#2. Nebraska: 48
#3. Maryland: 39
#4. Colorado: 36
#5. Texas: 33

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#8. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Kentucky: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 676
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 136
#2. Michigan: 88
#3. Washington: 38
#4. Nebraska: 36
#5. Texas: 35

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#9. Burma

Refugees that arrived from Burma since October 2023
To Kentucky: 9

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,073
Top states receiving refugees from Burma
#1. Illinois: 218
#2. New York: 200
#3. Texas: 189
#4. Georgia: 142
#5. Indiana: 138

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#10. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Kentucky: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 369
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 75
#2. Florida: 40
#3. Georgia: 21
#4. New York: 20
#4. California: 20

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#10. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Kentucky: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 536
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Washington: 51
#2. Maryland: 49
#3. Texas: 47
#4. North Carolina: 33
#5. Ohio: 32

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#12. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Kentucky: 7

To the U.S. as a whole: 572
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. Pennsylvania: 42
#2. New York: 34
#3. Tennessee: 32
#4. Georgia: 31
#5. Ohio: 30

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#13. Rwanda

Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Kentucky: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 56
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. North Carolina: 11
#2. South Carolina: 10
#3. Illinois: 6
#4. Indiana: 5
#4. Kentucky: 5

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#13. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Kentucky: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,274
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 268
#2. Texas: 157
#3. Tennessee: 76
#4. North Carolina: 62
#5. Illinois: 59

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#15. Belarus

Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Kentucky: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 122
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. California: 33
#2. Washington: 30
#3. Massachusetts: 16
#4. New York: 14
#5. Pennsylvania: 8

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#16. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Kentucky: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 486
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. California: 61
#2. Texas: 50
#3. North Carolina: 48
#4. Virginia: 45
#5. Maryland: 42

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#17. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Kentucky: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 640
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 135
#2. Minnesota: 44
#3. California: 41
#4. Washington: 34
#5. Tennessee: 33

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#18. Pakistan

Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Kentucky: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 399
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 57
#2. Texas: 45
#3. North Carolina: 36
#4. Virginia: 33
#5. New York: 25

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#18. Burundi

Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Kentucky: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 121
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. New York: 22
#2. Texas: 19
#3. Maryland: 13
#4. Arizona: 11
#5. Georgia: 9

This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 45 states.