Indiana Has Over 68,000 Amish — Here Are the 10 Biggest Communities

Amish couple walking gravel road as buggy passes, Indiana
Photo: Jim Halverson

Indiana is where you’ll find America’s third-largest Amish population, with over 68,000 Amish living across the state.

These ten communities rank as the biggest in the Hoosier State, based on the most current population estimates (2026).

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

1. Elkhart-LaGrange Counties

Amish buggy parked in Shipshewana, Indiana. Photo: Jim Halverson

Elkhart-LaGrange Counties
Community founded: 1841
Total Amish population: 30,795

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

Amish farmer in the Adams County settlement. Photo: S.I.

Adams County
Community founded: 1840
Total Amish population: 11,255

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

amish bike nappanee
Bicycles are frequently seen on the roads in the Nappanee, IN community.

Nappanee
Community founded: 1842
Total Amish population: 6,500

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

An autumn scene unfolds in the Daviess County Amish community in southern Indiana. Photo: S.I.

Daviess County
Community founded: 1868
Total Amish population: 6,490

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

The Allen County Amish community spreads out in all directions from the town of Grabill.

Allen County
Community founded: 1844
Total Amish population: 4,130

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)

An Amish farmer and boy “making hay” in Parke County, Indiana. Photo: Don Burke

Parke County (Rockville)
Community founded: 1992
Total Amish population: 1,965

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)

A scooter sits on an Amish property as snow falls in Wayne County, Indiana. Photo: S.I.

Wayne County (Hagerstown)
Community founded: 1994
Total Amish population: 1,790

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)

The Salem, Indiana area is home to two distinct Amish settlements.

Washington County
Community founded: 1981
Total Amish population: 925

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)

An Amish couple sells baskets on the roadside in Paoli, Indiana. Photo: Paul W9NED/flickr

Orange County (Paoli)
Community founded: 1957
Total Amish population: 620

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


10. Orange County (Orleans)

A buggy horse patiently waits for its owner in Orange County, IN. Photo: Cindy Cornett Seigle/flickr

Orange County (Orleans)
Community founded: 1994
Total Amish population: 600

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

See also:

  1. Pennsylvania’s 10 Largest Amish Communities
  2. Ohio’s 10 Largest Amish Communities
  3. Indiana’s 10 Largest Amish Communities
  4. Wisconsin’s 10 Largest Amish Communities
  5. New York’s 10 Largest Amish Communities
  6. Michigan’s 10 Largest Amish Communities
  7. Missouri’s 10 Largest Amish Communities
  8. Kentucky’s 10 Largest Amish Communities
  9. Iowa’s 10 Largest Amish Communities
  10. Illinois’ 10 Largest Amish Communities

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

 

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3 Comments

  1. Ron Scheffee

    Carroll County Indiana

    There is another small group.
    Carroll County. Delphi, Flora, Camden
    Old order and Swartzendruber. And a very large group of German Baptist

  2. Ed

    Allen County

    We don’t see as many open-top buggies now as we did 10 years ago near Grabill in Allen County.

  3. Graham

    Family Ties

    I’ve always been interested in the Amish, have visited many Indiana communities.Years ago I found out that my great great grandfather’s family came from the Amish of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. When they came to Indiana they settled on 100 acres at the main intersection of Silver Lake on St Rd 15. My great great grandfather’s name was John Fox Snoke 1854-1934 he married Rachel A. 1858-1936 an Englisher, they made their home in Marion, IN