The South Africa Diaspora in the United States Explained

SOUTH AFRICA · DIASPORA

The South Africa diaspora in the United States is small, with 156,094 South African-born residents in 2024, about 0.3% of all US immigrants. This guide explains where they live, how they arrive, what they send home and how US policy touches them, as of October 2026.

In Plain English: Who Counts as Diaspora

A diaspora is a community of people who have left their homeland but keep ties to it. This guide to the South Africa diaspora uses two counts, because no single number captures everyone.

The first count is people born in South Africa who now live in the United States. The second is Americans who tell the census that they have South African ancestry, a group that can include US-born children and grandchildren.

Both counts come from the American Community Survey, the US Census Bureau’s yearly sample survey of households. The two numbers differ because each person chooses their own ancestry answer.

• Born in South Africa: 156,094 US residents in 2024, with a margin of error of 9,945.
• South African ancestry: 110,308 people in 2024, with a margin of error of 9,103.
• For who these communities are back home, see our guide to South Africa’s population and ethnic groups.

How Many South Africans Live in the United States

The Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey counted 156,094 people born in South Africa, out of about 50.2 million foreign-born residents. That is about 0.3% of all immigrants in the country.

The count is a survey estimate with a margin of error of 9,945, so the true number most likely lies between about 146,000 and 166,000.The Census Bureau’s Southern Africa group, which adds a handful of smaller neighbours, totals 162,737 residents, and South Africans make up about 96% of it.The whole African-born population in the United States reached 2,968,817 in 2024, so South Africans are about 5% of it.

Where South Africans Live in the United States

California holds more South African-born residents than any other state, with 24,001 in the 2024 survey. Texas follows with 19,201 and Florida with 14,221.

Together those three states hold about 37% of the national total, or 57,423 people. Each state figure carries a margin of error of roughly 2,700 to 3,900 people, so the ranking is firm only at the top.

The biggest communities sit in large states on the Pacific coast, in the south and in the northeast. Smaller but sizeable groups show up in North Carolina, Colorado and Arizona, which are listed below with the other leading states.

The survey publishes a state figure only where enough households answered, and 30 states had one for South Africans in 2024. Smaller communities exist elsewhere, but their size is not measured.

• New York: 8,418 South African-born residents (2024 estimate).
• Georgia: 6,700, and Washington state: 6,487.
• North Carolina: 5,873, and New Jersey: 5,342.
• Arizona: 4,920, Pennsylvania: 4,752 and Colorado: 4,340.

How South Africans Reach the United States

Most South Africans arrive through the same doors as other nationals: work visas, family sponsorship, student visas and permanent residence, known as the green card. Skilled workers usually start on an employer-sponsored work visa such as the H-1B, which is capped each year and tied to one employer.

The Department of Homeland Security, the US agency that runs immigration, proposed a fee of US$103,265 on 25 August 2026. It would apply to each H-1B petition that counts against the annual cap, and the final amount could change after public comment.

A green card holder can later apply for US citizenship, which brings the right to vote in federal elections. Our guide to travel authorisation for US visitors to South Africa covers the trip in the other direction.

What South Africans Earn and Send Home

A benchmark helps here. The median personal income of US residents aged 15 and over with income was US$41,765 in 2024, and US$39,748 for the foreign-born.

Remittances are money that migrants send home to relatives. The World Bank, a global development lender, counted US$1.0 billion flowing into South Africa in 2025, or 0.24% of its economy.

South Africa also sends money out, with US$1.13 billion of personal remittances paid abroad in 2025. At 0.24% of national output, money from migrants is a minor income source for the country.

How US Policy Touches the South Africa Diaspora

The sharpest policy link is a refugee track for Afrikaners, a mostly white, Afrikaans-speaking community in South Africa. On 25 September 2026 President Donald Trump set the US refugee ceiling for fiscal 2027 at up to 17,500 people.

Fiscal 2027 runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, and the text says admissions go primarily to Afrikaners from South Africa. That follows Executive Order 14204, which covers Afrikaners the US government describes as victims of unjust racial discrimination.

The text sets a ceiling, not a count, and says admissions may reach but not exceed 17,500. A refugee who lives in the country at the time of a later survey is counted in the South African-born total like any other resident.

Relations between Washington and Pretoria, South Africa’s seat of government, shape the mood around these policies. Our guides to South Africa and the United States and to who runs South Africa in 2026 cover trade, diplomacy and the coalition government.

How to Read the Numbers

Every figure in this guide comes from a sample, not a head count of every household. The American Community Survey asks a small share of US households each year, and the Census Bureau reports a margin of error with each estimate.

A margin of error of 9,945 on a count of 156,094 means the true number most likely sits within about 6% of the estimate. State figures are noisier, because fewer households answer in each state, so a gap of a few hundred people between two states means little.

The survey counts people who live in the country, whatever their visa or citizenship, so it includes students, workers, green card holders and naturalised citizens. Short-term visitors are not residents and fall outside the count.

Birthplace asks where a person was born, while ancestry asks which heritage a person claims. The South Africa diaspora therefore looks smaller or larger depending on the count.

What It Means for US Readers

For US employers, a South African-born worker faces most of the same visa rules and fees as other foreign applicants. That includes the proposed H-1B fee of US$103,265, so hiring plans that depend on new H-1B workers should follow the final rule.

For investors, remittances of US$1.0 billion a year are a small flow against South Africa’s economy. For readers with South African roots, the 2024 count of 110,308 people with South African ancestry shows how many Americans share them.

To place the diaspora in its home story, our guide to South Africa’s history explains how the country reached 2026. The South Africa diaspora is small beside the 50 million immigrants in the United States, but it is growing.

What Is Not Known

The published survey tables give no South Africa-specific median income, education level or citizenship share. They also do not show how many South Africans arrive through each visa route.

The number of Afrikaner refugees admitted in fiscal 2027 is unknown, because the presidential determination sets only a ceiling. How much of South Africa’s US$1.0 billion in remittances comes from the United States is not broken out in the World Bank series.

Whether a South African keeps South African citizenship after becoming a US citizen depends on South African law and personal circumstances. Anyone weighing it should ask the South African Department of Home Affairs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many South Africans live in the United States?

The 2024 American Community Survey counted 156,094 residents born in South Africa. Both are survey estimates, with a margin of error of 9,945 in 2024.

Where do most South Africans in the US live?

California has the most, with 24,001, followed by Texas with 19,201 and Florida with 14,221. Together those three states hold about 37% of the national total.

How much money do South Africans abroad send home?

The World Bank counted US$1.0 billion in remittances into South Africa from all countries in 2025, or 0.24% of its economy. The series does not say how much came from the United States.

Can Afrikaners come to the United States as refugees?

A presidential determination of 25 September 2026 sets a ceiling of 17,500 refugees for fiscal 2027, allocated primarily among Afrikaners from South Africa. It sets a limit, not a guaranteed number.

What is the proposed H-1B fee?

The Department of Homeland Security proposed on 25 August 2026 a fee of US$103,265 for each H-1B petition that counts against the annual cap. It is a proposal and could change.

How is the South Africa diaspora counted?

The Census Bureau counts people by birthplace and, separately, by self-reported ancestry. In 2024 it found 156,094 South African-born residents and 110,308 people reporting South African ancestry.

Sources: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, Table B05006 Place of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population, 2026-10-29; US Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, Table B04006 People Reporting Ancestry, 2026-10-29; US Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, Table B06011 Median Income by Place of Birth, 2026-10-29; World Bank, World Development Indicators, personal remittances received and paid, South Africa, 2026-10-08; Presidential Determination No. 2026-24 on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2027, Federal Register, 2026-10-02; Department of Homeland Security, proposed rule Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions, Federal Register, 2026-08-25.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief