Haitians and Syrians who fled dangerous circumstances in their home countries are losing their right to stay in the US. The US Supreme Court case Mullin v. Doe challenged the Temporary Protected Status program that allows individuals to stay in the US to escape ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters or other extraordinary conditions in their home countries. The Supreme Court ruled to allow the Trump administration to strip these individuals of their protected status, putting 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians in legal limbo. Temporary Protected Status was first designated for Haitians in 2010 after a devastating earthquake, and the program was extended by the federal government multiple times during the next 16 years because of other natural disasters and political instability.
We used Social Explorer to examine where Haitians live in the US and to learn which communities could be impacted the most.
American Community Survey Data Insights about Haitians in the US:
The U.S. Haitian population has grown consistently — up 46.7% in Haitian ancestry and 45.6% in Haiti-born residents from 2009 to 2024 according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (detailed five-year-estimates) The Haitian-ancestry population is over 1.13 million, and the Haitian foreign-born population reached 750,543.
Florida has become the center of the Haitian-American population. Looking at the county-level data, Broward County leads the nation with the highest population with Haitian ancestry (foreign born as well as later generations) at 133,787, followed by Miami-Dade (106,108) and Palm Beach (94,124). In fact, the top five counties with the highest Haitian populations are all in Florida. New York's strongest showing is Kings County (Brooklyn) at rank six.
The following map shows the Haitian foreign-born population by state from the ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates. The geographic concentrations are stark:
Florida dominates by a wide margin with 361,463 Haitians born in Haiti — more than double the next state. New York ranks second at 127,877, centered largely in the New York City metro area. Massachusetts ranks third at 60,232, driven by the Boston/Brockton metro area. Additionally, New Jersey, Georgia, and Texas form a secondary tier. The pattern reflects the well-established Haitian diaspora corridor along the Eastern Seaboard, with South Florida as the historic anchor. Breaking with that trend, a recent Haitian community has emerged in the midwest.
Ohio's Haitian Population Boom
Haitian migration has reached other enclaves as well, most notably, Ohio. From a flat baseline of roughly 2,000 to 2,200 ancestry residents between 2009 and 2017, the population more than tripled to 7,755 by 2024 — a 253% increase during that period (more than five times the national growth rate over the same span). Ohio ranks 15th among all U.S. states in Haitian ancestry, sitting between Illinois (9,473) and Delaware (5,523). The state has a relatively small Haitian population compared to Florida and New York, but its growth trajectory is among the steepest in the country.
The foreign-born share has risen sharply as well. In 2009, only 49% of Ohio's Haitian-ancestry residents were born in Haiti. By 2024, that share has increased to 75%, highlighting that the recent growth is almost entirely first-generation immigration, including the TPS migrants in the news.
The inflection point is between 2017 and 2021
Ohio's foreign-born Haitian population grew by 377% from 2016 to 2024 (1,214 to 5,789), a substantial increase that itself is largely driven by the city of Springfield. Springfield's 1,052 foreign-born Haitians in 2024 represent 18% of Ohio's entire foreign-born Haitian population, despite the city accounting for less than 0.5% of Ohio's total population. (Springfield’s Haitian community was thrown into the national spotlight when Trump falsely claimed they were “eating the pets” during a September 2024 presidential debate.)
Nationally, Haitian ancestry grew by about 15% (983,336 to 1,131,642) from 2016 to 2024. In Springfield, it grew by roughly 965% — from 105 to 1,119 — a dramatic local shift that far outpaces the national rate.
As the following chart shows, the foreign-born population, especially Haitians, kept Ohio from losing population overall.
Ohio's total population grew by just 1.9% from 2016 to 2024, lagging behind the national rate of 5.1%. The foreign-born population grew at a much faster clip (+27%), consistent with immigration being the primary driver of what little population growth Ohio has seen. The Haitian-born population, at +377%, is in a completely different category, driven almost entirely by the post-2020 migration surge concentrated in the Springfield area.
Haitian Americans in Employment and the Community:
Extensive news reporting has examined how Haitian immigrants have contributed to economic sectors including manufacturing and healthcare in Springfield and around the country.
Detailed employment sector data available from the 2024 five-year American Community Survey shows that manufacturing in Ohio, and especially Springfield, outpaces the nation. Nationally, 9.9% of employed workers are in the manufacturing sector. In Ohio, that number is 14.7% and in Springfield it's 18.8% (close to twice the national rate). Haitians in Springfield have contributed to that growth, such as working in auto parts factories.
While the American Community Survey combines Educational Services and Health Care workers in the same category making comparisons more difficult, the County Business Patterns (CBP) data (available in Social Explorer for 2023, with 2024 data coming soon) offers a more detailed picture of healthcare-related employment for Clark County (where Springfield, OH, is located). Healthcare is a dominant field across the nation, and Haitian Americans work in a variety of health care roles. Despite not having large hospitals, Springfield, OH, has a sizable health care sector, especially nursing and other hard-to-fill care jobs. Most notably, the “Nursing & Residential Care” subcategory in Clark County (28.1%) is well above both Ohio (17.1%) and the U.S. (14.9%).
While the ACS and CBP data do not break down employment data by ancestry or foreign born origin, the details of the size of sectors that are known to employ Haitian Americans help tell the story of the community and the impact of TPS.
Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has called on Trump to reconsider ending TPS for Haitian migrants, citing the many contributions Haitians have made to state communities and industries. Another Republican, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) whose Hudson Valley district has a large Haitian migrant community, has also emphasized the need to extend TPS protections in light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti. He co-led HR 1689, a bill that would extend Haiti's TPS designation for three years. Ten Republicans broke party lines to pass it, including three from the state with the most Haitian migrants, Florida–Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-26), Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27) and Carlos A. Gimenez (FL-28).
Social Explorer data and analysis help add context to the Supreme Court ruling and its impact on people, communities, the economy, and politics.
Dig Deeper with Social Explorer:
Check out Social Explorer’s reporting and mapping tools to learn more about Haitians and other communities that could be affected by the Supreme Court case about Temporary Protected Status. Social Explorer has foreign-born population data for 130 countries and ancestry data for 90 groups! And stay up-to-date with the latest available data releases.
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