A Look in The Amish Way of Life, including Documentary

According to a 2012 census commissioned by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, the North American Amish population grew from about 261,150 in 2011 to roughly 273,700 in 2012, counting both adults and children.

“The Amish are one of the fastest-growing religious groups in North America. Their population is doubling approximately every 21 to 22 years, primarily because they have large families, and the vast majority of sons and daughters remain in the community as adults, become baptized into the faith, start their own families, and continue the religious beliefs and practices,” says Dr. Donnermeyer, an Ohio State University professor of rural sociology who was involved in the research.

The Amish live in 29 states, with the majority of communities concentrated across the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. Communities can also be found in Florida and Texas in the South, Maine in the Northeast, and Montana in the West.

At the time of the study, there were approximately 456 Amish settlements, comprising a total of 1,868 Old Order Amish church districts. Ohio had the largest Amish population in the United States, with approximately 60,233 members. The state was also home to the country’s most heavily Amish-populated county, Holmes County, where approximately 42 percent of the population was Amish. Pennsylvania ranked second, with 59,078 Amish residents, followed by Indiana with 44,831.

The highest rates of Amish population growth over the previous year were recorded in New York, at 10 percent, with 15 new settlements established since 2010. Minnesota followed at 9 percent, Missouri at 8 percent, and Wisconsin and Illinois at 7 percent each.

Additionally, Lancaster County Tourism notes that:

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, holds the nation’s oldest Amish community.
Amish individuals are typically trilingual—speaking English, Pennsylvania Dutch (a German dialect), and High German, reflecting the community’s cultural and linguistic heritage.
Amish children generally attend school through the eighth grade, with education traditionally taking place in small, one-room schoolhouses rather than conventional public schools.