Kentucky Is America’s #8 Amish State — Here Are Its 10 Biggest Communities

Kentucky is home to America’s eighth-largest Amish population. Over 16,000 Amish live in more than 50 settlements across the state.

These ten communities are the largest in Kentucky, based on the most current Amish population estimates.

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

1. Munfordville

Munfordville (Hart County)
Community founded: 1989
Total Amish population: 2,525

Kentucky’s largest Amish settlement sits in Hart County in the area of Munfordville and Horse Cave, in the south-central part of the state. Founded in 1989 by Amish from Geauga County, Ohio, it has been among the fastest-growing Amish settlements, now at 21 church districts (congregations).

---

2. Hopkinsville

Hopkinsville (Christian & Trigg Counties)
Community founded: 1989
Total Amish population: 2,430

The state’s second-largest community, just behind Munfordville,  lies in Christian and Trigg Counties, in western Kentucky’s Pennyrile region near the Tennessee line. It was also founded in 1989, and has seen similar rapid growth. Hopkinsville now numbers 18 church districts. Along with Munfordville, these two alone account for nearly a third of all the Amish in Kentucky.

---

3. Owingsville/Preston

Owingsville/Preston (Bath County)
Community founded: 2009
Total Amish population: 645

After the top two, there’s a steep drop in size. In third place is the Owingsville/Preston settlement in Bath County. The county is one of the more heavily Amish-settled corners of the state, and it turns up again later on this list.

---

4. Crab Orchard

Crab Orchard (Lincoln County)
Community founded: 1994
Total Amish population: 590

The wonderfully-named Crab Orchard sits in Lincoln County in central Kentucky. Founded in 1994, the Amish here have grown their settlement to five church districts. Lincoln County is also home to a second, newer Amish community at nearby Hustonville, founded in 2015.

---

5. Hudson/Harned

Hudson/Harned (Breckinridge County)
Community founded: 1997
Total Amish population: 560

The Hudson/Harned community lies in Breckinridge County in west-central Kentucky. Breckinridge County has drawn steady Amish settlement over the years, and is home to two more communities, at Irvington and Stephensport.

---

6. Bethel (Tie)

Bath County/Bethel (Bath & Fleming Counties)
Community founded: 2014
Total Amish population: 525

Tied for sixth is a second Bath County settlement, spilling over into neighboring Fleming County, around Bethel.

---

6. Carlisle (Tie)

Carlisle (Nicholas County)
Community founded: 2006
Total Amish population: 525

Also in sixth place at an estimated 525 people is the Carlisle community in Nicholas County, northeast of Lexington. Founded in 2006, it likewise numbers four church districts.

---

8. Flemingsburg

Flemingsburg (Fleming County)
Community founded: 2004
Total Amish population: 510

Flemingsburg, in Fleming County in northeastern Kentucky, was founded in 2004 and today numbers four church districts. It’s just one of a number of Amish settlements scattered about this region of the Bluegrass State.

---

9. Marion

Marion (Crittenden County)
Community founded: 1977
Total Amish population: 485

Marion is the oldest community in Kentucky’s top ten, dating to 1977. It sits in Crittenden County in far western Kentuckyr. Despite that head start, it’s grown at a relatively modest pace, now four church districts in size, roughly on par with communities founded decades later.

---

10. Glasgow

Glasgow (Barren County)
Community founded: 1982
Total Amish population: 480

Rounding out the top ten is Glasgow, in Barren County in south-central Kentucky, not far from the #1 community at Munfordville. Barren County has seen repeated Amish settlement over the years, with two more settlements, at Park City and Summer Shade, each numbering hundreds of Amish residents.

For more on Amish communities in the Bluegrass State, check out our Kentucky Amish state guide.

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

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