Kansas City

Demographics

Arrivals

*Data source: Refugee Processing Center: Arrivals and Admissions, excludes Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) from Afghanistan and Iraq.

**Immigrants comprise 7.1% of total population in KS; 10% in Kansas City Metro

Diversity Contributions

*Data source: New American Economy: Refugees in Kansas

Top Newcomer Languages

Swahili
Burmese
Somali
Arabic
Spanish

74.1%

Speak Host Country's Language

*Data source: American Immigration Council: Immigrants in Kansas

Economic Contributions

$89M

Total Refugee Federal Taxes paid

$42M

Total Refugee State & Local Taxes paid

*Data source: New American Economy: Refugees in Kansas

519.5M

Refugee Household Income

$388.1M

Total Spending Power

Top 3 Fields of Labor*

Manufacturing

20.3%

Health Care

14.2%

General Services

10.0%

*Top % share of the immigrant labor force in Kansas. Data source: American Immigration Council: Immigrants in Kansas.

181,463

Total # Refugee Entrepreneurs in KS

*$4.6B in business income from Kansas refugee entrepreneurs.

Socio-Familial Stability

Unaccompanied Children Released to Sponsors by the State

Data source: Office of Refugee Resettlement

# of Immigrant (refugee & asylee) Family Reunifications

*Data not available

Community & Educational Contributions

Refugee Educational Attainment

36.5%
Less than High School
34.1%
High School & Some College
14.9%
Bachelor's Degree
14.5%
Graduate Degree

*Data source: New American Economy: Immigrants in Kansas

74.1%

Naturalized Citizens

*Data source: American Immigration Council: Immigrants in Kansas

Six-year-old Rose tells the story of Covid-19. She and her family resettled from the Middle East to the Kansas City area in September of 2016.

January 9, 2021

A First Playdate

For many children, playdates and adventures are a natural part of childhood, but for those who have resettled into new communities from war-torn countries, the gift of a carefree childhood may be a luxury that doesn't come naturally.

More blog posts

Contact

[email protected]

Partners

KC for Refugees

Volunteers

Andrea Buley

Community Programs Coordinator, Kansas City/Missouri

Andrea Webb Buley has always believed that we are each children of God. Andrea has an innate love of children and worked as a pediatric RN and in nursing leadership before taking a (perhaps indefinite) sabbatical to raise her own children. Andrea has resided in several different US cities, and loves her home in the KC Metro area, where she lives with her southern-born husband, and their four children. She began her work with TSOS when gathering the harrowing stories of a Syrian family in the KC Metro area broke open her heart and mind to the immeasurable courage and strength of refugees worldwide. Andrea’s time living in Hungary showed her a more global perspective of life, cultures and people. Andrea worked three years with a Kansas City based nonprofit, telling stories on their social media platforms, and helping to provide children of many backgrounds with basic necessities and educational opportunities. Currently, Andrea serves as a community liaison for her faith, and continues to network in the Kansas City nonprofit community connecting the needs with willing hands to help.

Melanie Shashindranath

Chief Financial Officer

Melanie Hart Shashindranath is the Chief Financial Officer of TSOS, bringing with her 15 years of public accounting experience where she managed and lead a variety of teams and projects. Melanie also has served in various leadership roles over the last 6 years at a Kansas City, Kansas based non-profit, including president, emeritus president, treasurer, and board member.

Through this charitable work, Melanie developed a deep love for the children in Kansas City, KS who are largely of a minority and immigrant population, some of whom are refugees. Her passion for traveling has fostered a deep rooted love of all people and cultures and has stimulated a great desire to connect and support those that are displaced from their homes and the lives they once knew. Melanie resides in the Kansas City metro area with her India born and raised husband, Ashwin, and their three children.