Largest U.S. Population of Amish
A Christian faith, the Amish first began to migrate to North America in the 1700s, according to a report from Ohio State University. At most Amish religious services, the Bible is quoted in German, although the Amish are multilingual. With an extremely young population driven by the existence of large families, the number of Amish in the U.S. is increasing rapidly.
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Largest State Population
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The largest population of Amish in the U.S. resides in Ohio, according to the Ohio Secretary of State. A 2005 study by Ohio University's Voinovich Center placed Ohio's Amish population at 53,000, with the majority of those Amish citizens residing in Holmes and Wayne counties in the Buckeye state. Interestingly, the Amish are not counted as a separate group in the U.S. Census.
U.S. Population
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A 2008 story by the Associated Press and USA Today reported on the findings of research from Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. That study indicated that, as of 2008, the total U.S. Amish population was estimated at more than 227,000 people, a number that had nearly doubled in a span of 16 years. An update on that study in 2010 reported a population increase to 249,000 American Amish.
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Population Increases
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While Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana have long been the chief population centers for Amish families, they are increasingly moving further west, with Amish communities now recognized in 28 states. Places such as Missouri, Kentucky and Minnesota have seen recent Amish population increases of as much as 130 percent. Other states with new, thriving Amish communities include Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, Washington and West Virginia.
Young Amish
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Researchers suggest that the ever-surging increase is due to the fact that most Amish families produce more than five offspring -- often as many as seven -- with more than 80 percent of young Amish choosing to remain within the culture. It is estimated that 50 percent of the total U.S. Amish population is under 21 years of age. While places such as Alaska and Mexico have yet to see any established Amish communities, recent Amish expeditions have investigated the possibility of settling in those states.
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References
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