IMPACT

of refugees
I N

C E N T R A L

O H I O

2015 Major findings from the Impact of

Refugees in Central Ohio Report

16,596

The median age

20.9 years

for new refugee arrivals

between 2003 and 2014
is lower than the median
age of all Franklin
County residents
(33.9 years).

Franklin County has had, by far,

the highest number of refugee
arrivals in Ohio between
2002 and 2014, accounting
for nearly half (48.4%) of all
refugees resettled in the state
during that period.

13.6%

ECONOMY

Employed refugees
age 16 and older who are business owners

Is more than double the general Franklin County rate of entrepreneurship (6.5%); indicating that
local refugees are more than twice as likely to own a business as the general population.

There are an estimated 873 refugee-owned businesses in the

Columbus MSA employing 3,960 workers.

48.4%

The average refugee household size is

, nearly double the average household size
for Franklin County households in general (2.49).

The local refugee community supports an estimated total of

21,273 jobs in the Columbus MSA.

4.60

43.0%

of refugees
age 18 and older are
currently enrolled in

college

or have graduated
from college

of all Franklin County

residents age 18 and older;
this suggests that refugees
COMPARED
in the community are just
as well-educated as the rest
of the population.

Households with six or more

people account for 29.3% of
refugee households, about nine
times the share of all Franklin
County households with six or
more people (3.2%).

Somalia
accounts for

53.5%

Refugees

Others

$42,000

$51,460

Franklin County median household income

of refugees

resettled in
Franklin County
since 2002.

Total yearly contribution to MSA

41.8%

Through entrepreneurism, self-sufficiency,

networking, and job skills, local refugees are
able to build social capital, which can have a
positive impact on the region.

I M PAC T

FA C T S

Since 1983

Refugees from around the world

were resettled in the Columbus
metro areamost of them (59.2%)
in the past ten years.

Refugee household
spending in the
Columbus MSA

The total
contribution
of refugees in
Franklin County

$35.9

MILLION

$1.6

BILLION

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The local refugee community defines success based

on both personal and family accomplishments.