The Six States with a Single Amish Community (2025)
Amish Life Beyond the Heartland
States like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin are part of the “Amish heartland” – each home to dozens of Amish communities, and tens of thousands of Amish people.
But six U.S. states host exactly one Amish settlement each.
While some are well-established, others are relatively new, reflecting a pioneering spirit not uncommon to the Amish.
Here’s a look at those six states and communities, with locations, histories, and estimated populations:
1. Delaware
Settlement: Just west of Dover (Kent County)
Founded: 1915
Amish Population: 1,990
Delaware’s only Amish settlement is one of the oldest and largest outside the traditional Amish heartland. Founded in 1915 by families from states as varied as Wisconsin, Ohio, Montana and Alabama, the Dover community now consists of around 14 separate church congregations (known to the Amish as “church districts”).
The buggies here, with their distinct rounded sides, are characteristic to the area. While farmland pressures and suburban expansion have caused some out-migration, the community remains vibrant, with many households working in woodworking, blacksmithing, buggy-making, greenhouses, and other trades.
2. Florida
Settlement: Pinecraft, Sarasota
Founded: 1927
Year-round Amish Population: 100
Pinecraft is Florida’s only Amish settlement and one of the most atypical in the entire country. Founded as a winter retreat in the 1920s, it has evolved into a permanent community with two church districts. The year-round Amish population is small – but balloons in the winter months, when Amish visitors arrive in droves.
Pinecraft is an unusual “urban” Amish community, with no farmers or buggies. Amish residents and visitors get around by bicycle or large adult tricycles. A fifteen-minute drive will bring you to beaches like Siesta Key, popular with Amish and Mennonite visitors and locals.
3. Idaho
Settlement: Near Salmon (Lemhi County)
Founded: 2012
Amish Population: 115
Idaho’s only Amish community is located near the town of Salmon in Lemhi County. Established in 2012, this small settlement is situated in the eastern part of the state.
The area is known for its mountainous backdrop and beautiful scenery. The Amish-run Baker Country Market is popular with locals, providing baked goods, canned items, breakfast, sandwiches and more.
4. Texas
Settlement: Beeville (Bee County)
Founded: 1999
Amish Population: 75
The Beeville settlement in southern Texas was founded by families from Tennessee seeking in part to escape the humidity. Known for its dry climate and wide-open land, it remains small and distinctly remote.
The heat and limited interaction with other Amish groups have kept this community modest in size. The Beeville Amish are known for their annual school benefit auctions, drawing outsiders to the area in Spring and Autumn.
5. New Mexico
Settlement: Near Ortiz, CO (Rio Arriba County, NM)
Founded: 2020
Amish Population: 30
New Mexico’s only Amish settlement lies in the high-desert landscape near Ortiz, Colorado, just over the border in Rio Arriba County. The first Amish families arrived in 2020. With a handful of households, it’s one of the smallest and most geographically isolated Amish communities in North America.
6. Mississippi
Settlement: Randolph (Pontotoc County)
Founded: 1995
Amish Population: 130
Located in the hills of northeastern Mississippi, the Randolph settlement was mainly established by Amish from the conservative Ethridge, Tennessee community. It has remained small, with a single church district, and represents the only Amish presence in the Deep South.
This is a highly traditional Swartzentruber Amish settlement. Small, but a nice community to visit to buy Amish-made goods and foods (like nut brittle).
Bonus: New Brunswick, Canada
Settlement: Perth-Andover / Carlingford area (Victoria County)
Founded: 2015
Amish Population: 125
Canada’s Maritime provinces have little Amish presence—one exception being a small but growing community in western New Brunswick, settled around 2015 near the towns of Perth-Andover and Carlingford.
Though still small, the community has shown signs of steady growth. Located just a stone’s throw from the Maine border.
Outposts of Amish Tradition
These single-settlement states across the U.S.—and one province in Canada—demonstrate the tendency of Amish to settle well outside their traditional “heartland states”. Often distant, rural, and presenting a different set of challenges, these places represent an alternative for some Amish outside the better-known Amish states.
Article compiled with AI assistance
The Beeville, Texas Amish community is also interesting because of the fact that all the families are related, it’s just one big family. The community was started by the bishop and some of his married sons. It now includes at least one married grandson. Also at least two of the Bishops sons married sisters and the parents of those sisters also reside there. I don’t know of any other communities that are literally just one big family.
Ya’ll are welcome in Alabama! Come for a visit and see how you like it here.