Indiana Has Over 67,000 Amish — Here Are the 10 Biggest Communities

Indiana is where you’ll find America’s third-largest Amish population, with over 67,000 Amish living across the state.

These ten communities rank as the biggest in the Hoosier State, based on the most current population estimates. Note: two communities tie for the #10 spot, so eleven communities appear below.

Population numbers via Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (source link at bottom).

1. Elkhart-LaGrange Counties

Elkhart-LaGrange Counties
Community founded: 1841
Total Amish population: 29,905

America’s third-largest Amish settlement, the sprawling Elkhart-LaGrange community is centered around the popular tourist hub of Shipshewana, and spans parts of several northern Indiana counties and one in southern Michigan.

2. Adams County

Adams County
Community founded: 1840
Total Amish population: 11,055

Home to a thriving Swiss Amish population, the Adams County community is also identified by the town of Berne, and extends into neighboring Jay County, as well as across the border into Ohio.

3. Nappanee

Nappanee
Community founded: 1842
Total Amish population: 6,985

Founded in the same decade as both nearby Elkhart-LaGrange and Adams County, the Nappanee settlement spreads across four northern Indiana counties – Elkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall, and St. Joseph.

4. Daviess County

Daviess County
Community founded: 1868
Total Amish population: 6,335

Located in south-central Indiana near the towns of Odon and Montgomery, Daviess County is overshadowed by the better-known northern Indiana Amish settlements, but definitely worth a visit.

5. Allen County

Allen County
Community founded: 1844
Total Amish population: 4,005

Like neighboring Adams County, Allen County is home to a Swiss Amish group, known for their use of open-top buggies.

6. Parke County (Rockville)

Parke County (Rockville)
Community founded: 1992
Total Amish population: 1,940

Home to one of Indiana’s newer large Amish communities, Parke County is also known for its collection of over two dozen historic covered bridges.

7. Wayne County (Hagerstown)

Wayne County (Hagerstown)
Community founded: 1994
Total Amish population: 1,720

Like the Parke County settlement, this is a Lancaster County, PA-origin community which has grown steadily since its founding in the 1990s.

8. Washington County (Salem)

Washington County
Community founded: 1981
Total Amish population: 890

A mid-sized community of Swiss Amish in southern Indiana, spread across Washington County near the town of Salem. The county is also home to a smaller, unrelated New Order Amish settlement.

9. Orange County (Paoli)

Orange County (Paoli)
Community founded: 1957
Total Amish population: 595

Home to a markedly plain Amish group, Paoli sits in the hill country of Orange County in south-central Indiana.

10 (tie). Switzerland County (Vevay)

Switzerland County (Vevay)
Community founded: 1986
Total Amish population: 575

One of Indiana’s more southerly communities, Vevay lies in Switzerland County along the Ohio River. The area is home to three separate Amish settlements, with this being by far the largest.

10 (tie). Orange County (Orleans)

Orange County (Orleans)
Community founded: 1994
Total Amish population: 575

A more recently-founded neighbor to the Paoli community, the Orleans community is also located in Orange County and is an ultraconservative Swartzentruber affiliation.

Population numbers sourced from the Young Center (Elizabethtown College) Amish Settlement List.

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