We started the week talking Amish population–so why don’t we close doing more of the same! First, there were a number of interesting points from the recent Young Center Amish population data that I wanted to share, but couldn’t really fit on the Amish population infographic: There are 480 Amish settlements, but most are small. Fifty-two percent of all settlements are just one district in size. There…
You may remember news last summer that researchers had conducted a nationwide Amish population survey. I just had a chance to read an interesting paper detailing their findings. Here are 5 of them: 1. New settlements On average a new settlement is founded every few weeks. This rate has been increasing. From 1990-2000, a settlement was founded, on average, every 5.33 weeks. 2000-2010 saw this…
Pennsylania Amishman John Stoltzfus has agreed to answer some reader questions. Last week’s concerned Amish medical care and use of vaccinations. As before, John notes that he will take a general approach to his answers, keeping in mind that communities differ. Today’s question is on Amish migration: How do settlements get started? Is it just people from previous settlements moving and starting them in other…
Two weeks ago we looked at growth of the Amish in Tennessee. This documentary examines Amish expansion near the town of Moira, New York. Karen Johnson-Weiner provides some good commentary. I found the various reactions of the locals particularly interesting. What do you think?
The Young Center of Elizabethtown College has just released annual Amish population estimates. The big news: over the past year Amish settled two states with no existing communities. Wyoming I had heard about Amish heading to Wyoming late last summer. I’m told the new community has ties with Amish in southern Wisconsin. At around half a million people, Wyoming is America’s least-populated state, but one…
In 1991, there were 215 Amish settlements in North America. 20 years later, the number was 427 (see this 20-year review at the Amish Studies site). The Amish population doubles every 2 decades (give or take). But this doesn’t mean that existing communities just double in size. As they grow, Amish move. Big communities lose members to daughter settlements. Smaller settlements shed residents too, as Amish form new churches…
How big is the Amish population? As of 2011, the total Amish population is 261,150, according to the latest estimates by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. No new states made the list this year. So the total Amish tally remains at 28 states (and Ontario). I guess we’ll have to wait another year for that Hawaii Amish entry. It makes me…
Once, an Amish acquaintance with an interest in numbers showed me a few calculations. He had worked out the theoretical Amish population far into the future, using the assumption that it doubles every 20 years. The numbers get big quickly. Total Amish population (currently 250,000) hits a million sometime in the 2050s, and rockets from there. A recent academic study (on the spread of a…
Amish have lived in Iowa for over 160 years. The oldest and largest community in Iowa is found in Johnson and Washington Counties, around the town of Kalona. Iowa has a significant but relatively modest Amish population given its long history. Amish in Iowa number around 7,000 today (see Young Center Amish Studies website). Facts on Amish communities in Iowa: Amish in some Iowa settlements…
Sometime in the next few weeks, we’ll be launching a new feature on Amish America. The Amish State Guide will provide a state-by-state look at Amish communities in all 28 states (plus Canada) where they are currently present. The Amish State Guide will cover locations of present communities, history of Amish settlement in the state, as well as Amish business listings and other useful information….
