List of U.S. states and territories by religiosity

The degree of religiosity in the population of the United States can be compared to that in other countries and compared state-by-state, based on individual self-assessment and polling data.

Methodologies

The Gallup Poll assesses religiosity around the world,^[1] asking "Is religion important in your daily life?" and in the United States by state, asking the degree to which respondents consider themselves to be religious. The Pew Research Center and Public Religion Research Institute have conducted studies of reported frequency of attendance to religious service.^[2] The Harris Poll has conducted surveys of the percentage of people who believe in God.^[3]

Results

Religious Denominations (Pew Research 2014)

Religion in the United States by State and the District of Columbia (2014)

Region	Protestant (%)	Catholic (%)	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (%)	Other Christian (%)	Other (%)	Irreligion (%)	Don't know (%)	References
Alabama	80.0	7.0	1.0	<1.0	1.0	12.0	1.0	^[4]
Mississippi	79.0	4.0	1.0	<1.0	2.0	14.0	1.0	^[5]
Tennessee	77.0	6.0	1.0	1.0	3.0	14.0	1.0	^[6]
Arkansas	75.0	8.0	1.0	<1.0	3.0	18.0	1.0	^[7]
West Virginia	73.0	6.0	2.0	<1.0	3.0	18.0	1.0	^[8]
Oklahoma	70.0	8.0	1.0	<1.0	2.0	18.0	1.0	^[9]
Georgia	70.0	9.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	18.0	1.0	^[10]
North Carolina	69.0	9.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	20.0	1.0	^[11]
South Carolina	68.0	10.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	19.0	1.0	^[12]
Kentucky	67.0	10.0	<1.0	<1.0	2.0	22.0	1.0	^[13]
Iowa	65.0	18.0	<1.0	<1.0	1.0	21.0	1.0	^[14]
Missouri	60.0	16.0	1.0	<1.0	3.0	20.0	1.0	^[15]
Virginia	59.0	12.0	2.0	1.0	6.0	20.0	<1.0	^[16]
Kansas	58.0	18.0	1.0	1.0	4.0	20.0	<1,0	^[17]
Louisiana	58.0	26.0	<1.0	2.0	2.0	13.0	1.0	^[18]
South Dakota	58.0	22.0	<1.0	<1.0	3.0	18.0	<1.0	^[19]
Ohio	55.0	18.0	1.0	1.0	4.0	22.0	<1.0	^[20]
Indiana	55.0	18.0	1.0	<1.0	2.0	26.0	<1.0	^[21]
Maryland	54.0	15.0	1.0	2.0	8.0	23.0	<1.0	^[22]
Michigan	54.0	18.0	<1.0	2.0	5.0	24.0	1.0	^[23]
Nebraska	53.0	23.0	1.0	<1.0	4.0	20.0	<1,0	^[24]
North Dakota	52.0	26.0	<1.0	<1.0	3.0	20.0	<1.0	^[25]
Minnesota	50.0	22.0	1.0	<1.0	5.0	20.0	2.0	^[25]
Texas	50.0	23.0	1.0	2.0	4.0	18.0	<1.0	^[26]
Pennsylvania	47.0	24.0	<1.0	1.0	6.0	21.0	1.0	^[27]
United States	46.5	20.8	1.6	1.7	5.9	22.8	0.6	^[28]
Delaware	46.0	22.0	<1.0	1.0	6.0	23.0	1.0	^[29]
Florida	46.0	21.0	1.0	2.0	6.0	24.0	<1.0	^[30]
Wisconsin	44.0	25.0	<1.0	2.0	4.0	25.0	<1.0	^[31]
Colorado	43.0	16.0	2.0	2.0	5.0	29.0	2.0	^[32]
Illinois	43.0	28.0	<1.0	2.0	6.0	22.0	1.0	^[33]
Oregon	43.0	12.0	4.0	2.0	7.0	31.0	1.0	^[34]
Wyoming	43.0	14.0	9.0	4.0	3.0	26.0	<1.0	^[35]
Montana	42.0	17.0	4.0	2.0	5.0	30.0	<1.0	^[36]
District of Columbia	41.0	20.0	2.0	1.0	9.0	25.0	1.0	^[37]
Washington	40.0	17.0	3.0	3.0	6.0	32.0	1.0	^[38]
Arizona	39.0	21.0	5.0	1.0	6.0	27.0	<1.0	^[39]
Hawaii	38.0	20.0	3.0	2.0	10.0	26.0	1.0	^[40]
New Mexico	38.0	34.0	2.0	1.0	4.0	21.0	<1.0	^[41]
Alaska	37.0	16.0	5.0	5.0	6.0	31.0	1.0	^[42]
Idaho	37.0	10.0	19.0	1.0	4.0	27.0	<1.0	^[43]
Maine	37.0	21.0	2.0	1.0	7.0	31.0	2.0	^[44]
Connecticut	35.0	33.0	1.0	2.0	7.0	23.0	1.0	^[45]
Nevada	35.0	25.0	4.0	2.0	5.0	28.0	1.0	^[46]
California	32.0	28.0	1.0	3.0	9.0	27.0	1.0	^[47]
New Jersey	31.0	34.0	1.0	2.0	14.0	18.0	1.0	^[48]
New Hampshire	30.0	26.0	1.0	2.0	5.0	36.0	<1.0	^[49]
Rhode Island	30.0	42.0	1.0	2.0	5.0	20.0	1.0	^[50]
Vermont	30.0	22.0	<1.0	1.0	8.0	37.0	2.0	^[51]
New York	26.0	31.0	<1.0	2.0	12.0	27.0	1.0	^[52]
Massachusetts	21.0	34.0	1.0	1.0	9.0	32.0	1.0	^[53]
Utah	13.0	5.0	55.0	<1.0	4.0	22.0	1.0	^[54]

Religions by metropolitan areas

Religion in Major U.S metropolitan areas (2014)^[55]

Metro area	Christian (%)	Evangelical (%)	Mainline (%)	Historically black (%)	Catholic (%)	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (%)	Non- Christian faiths (%)	None (%)
Dallas	78.0	38.0	14.0	7.0	15.0	1.0	4.0	18.0
Atlanta	76.0	33.0	12.0	18.0	11.0	1.0	3.0	20.0
Houston	73.0	30.0	11.0	9.0	19.0	1.0	4.0	20.0
Chicago	71.0	16.0	11.0	8.0	34.0	<1.0	7.0	22.0
Riverside, Calif.	71.0	30.0	10.0	3.0	22.0	3.0	4.0	25.0
Minneapolis	70.0	15.0	27.0	4.0	21.0	1.0	5.0	23.0
San Diego	68.0	14.0	16.0	2.0	32.0	2.0	5.0	27.0
Miami	68.0	20.0	11.0	8.0	27.0	<1.0	10.0	21.0
Philadelphia	68.0	13.0	17.0	11.0	26.0	<1.0	8.0	24.0
Detroit	67.0	20.0	14.0	15.0	16.0	<1.0	8.0	24.0
Phoenix	66.0	25.0	11.0	1.0	21.0	6.0	7.0	26.0
Los Angeles	65.0	18.0	9.0	3.0	32.0	<1.0	9.0	25.0
Washington, D.C.	65.0	14.0	15.0	12.0	19.0	1.0	10.0	24.0
New York City	59.0	9.0	8.0	6.0	33.0	<1.0	16.0	24.0
Boston	57.0	9.0	13.0	3.0	29.0	<1.0	10.0	33.0
Seattle	52.0	23.0	10.0	1.0	15.0	1.0	10.0	37.0
San Francisco	48.0	10.0	6.0	4.0	25.0	1.0	15.0	35.0

Attendance

 

Church or synagogue attendance by state in 2009

≥50% attending weekly   45-49% attending weekly   40-44% attending weekly   35-39% attending weekly

30-34% attending weekly   25-29% attending weekly   20-24% attending weekly   15-19% attending weekly

A 2013 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute reported that 31% of Americans attend religious services at least weekly.^[2] In 2006, a world-wide online Harris Poll surveyed 2,010 U.S. adults^[56] and found that 26% of those surveyed attended religious services "every week or more often", 9% went "once or twice a month", 21% went "a few times a year", 3% went "once a year", 22% went "less than once a year", and 18% never attend religious services. A 2013 Harris Poll reported an 8% decline in a belief in God, since a prior 2009 poll.^[3]

According to a 2011 Gallup poll, the state with the greatest percentage of respondents identifying as "very religious" was Mississippi (59%), and the state with the smallest percentage were Vermont and New Hampshire (23%), while Florida (39%) and Minnesota (40%) were near the median.^[57] A 2014 Pew Research poll found that the states with the greatest percentage of respondents who stated that religion was "very important" or "somewhat important" to their lives were Alabama (90%) and Louisiana (90%), while the state with the smallest percentage was Vermont (57%).^[58]

U.S. states and Washington, D.C.

 

Percentage of respondents in the USA stating that religion is "very important" or "somewhat important" to their lives, 2014^[58]

Weekly church attendance by state (Pew)^[59]

Rank	State	Percent
1	Utah	53%
2	Alabama	51%
2	Tennessee	51%
4	Mississippi	49%
5	South Carolina	47%
6	Louisiana	46%
6	West Virginia	46%
8	Virginia	44%
9	Oklahoma	43%
10	Georgia	42%
10	Texas	42%
12	Arkansas	41%
13	North Carolina	39%
13	Kentucky	39%
13	Nebraska	39%
16	Ohio	38%
16	Wyoming	38%
18	Missouri	37%
18	Kansas	37%
18	Indiana	37%
21	South Dakota	36%
21	New Mexico	36%
21	Iowa	36%
21	Rhode Island	36%
25	New Jersey	35%
25	Florida	35%
25	Idaho	35%
28	Arizona	34%
28	Pennsylvania	34%
28	Delaware	34%
28	Illinois	34%
28	Minnesota	34%
33	Michigan	33%
33	North Dakota	33%
35	Maryland	31%
35	California	31%
35	Nevada	31%
35	Montana	31%
39	Colorado	30%
39	Alaska	30%
39	Washington	30%
42	Oregon	29%
42	New York	29%
44	District of Columbia	28%
44	Hawaii	28%
44	Connecticut	28%
47	Wisconsin	27%
48	Massachusetts	23%
49	Maine	22%
49	New Hampshire	22%
51	Vermont	21%

Weekly church attendance by state (Gallup)^[60]

Rank	State	Percent
1	Utah	51%
2	Mississippi	47%
3	Alabama	46%
4	Louisiana	46%
5	Arkansas	45%
6	South Carolina	42%
7	Tennessee	42%
8	Kentucky	41%
9	North Carolina	40%
10	Georgia	39%
11	Texas	39%
12	Oklahoma	39%
13	New Mexico	36%
14	Nebraska	35%
15	Indiana	35%
16	Virginia	35%
17	Delaware	35%
18	Missouri	35%
19	Idaho	34%
20	West Virginia	34%
21	Arizona	33%
22	Kansas	33%
23	Michigan	32%
24	Ohio	32%
25	Illinois	32%
26	North Dakota	32%
27	Pennsylvania	32%
28	Iowa	32%
29	Florida	32%
30	Maryland	31%
31	South Dakota	31%
32	Minnesota	31%
33	New Jersey	30%
34	Wisconsin	29%
35	Rhode Island	28%
36	Wyoming	28%
37	California	28%
38	New York	27%
39	Nevada	27%
40	Montana	27%
41	Alaska	26%
42	Connecticut	25%
43	Colorado	25%
44	Hawaii	25%
45	Oregon	24%
46	Washington	24%
47	District of Columbia	23%
48	Massachusetts	22%
49	Maine	20%
50	New Hampshire	20%
51	Vermont	17%

The table below displays the results of a 2014 survey by Pew Research:^[61]

State or District	Overall Religiosity Rank	Believe in God with Certainty	Consider Religion Important	Pray Daily	Attend Weekly Worship Services
California	35	54%	47%	51%	31%
Texas	11	69%	63%	63%	42%
Florida	22	64%	53%	56%	35%
New York	43	56%	45%	48%	29%
Illinois	33	61%	50%	51%	34%
Pennsylvania	27	61%	51%	54%	34%
Ohio	17	67%	56%	57%	38%
Georgia	8	74%	64%	64%	42%
Michigan	27	63%	50%	53%	33%
North Carolina	10	73%	62%	66%	39%
New Jersey	19	60%	50%	53%	35%
Virginia	14	67%	60%	60%	44%
Washington	44	55%	44%	46%	30%
Massachusetts	50	40%	33%	37%	23%
Arizona	27	62%	51%	55%	34%
Indiana	22	63%	53%	52%	37%
Tennessee	3	78%	71%	70%	51%
Missouri	15	70%	56%	59%	37%
Maryland	22	64%	50%	51%	31%
Wisconsin	44	56%	44%	46%	27%
Minnesota	35	56%	46%	47%	34%
Colorado	41	55%	47%	50%	30%
South Carolina	5	74%	69%	66%	47%
Alabama	1	82%	77%	73%	51%
Louisiana	4	75%	71%	68%	46%
Kentucky	13	75%	63%	63%	39%
Oregon	39	57%	45%	45%	29%
Oklahoma	8	71%	64%	65%	43%
Connecticut	47	54%	42%	47%	28%
Iowa	19	66%	53%	50%	36%
Mississippi	1	82%	74%	75%	49%
Arkansas	5	77%	70%	65%	41%
Utah	11	61%	58%	61%	53%
Kansas	19	66%	50%	53%	37%
Nevada	35	59%	44%	48%	31%
New Mexico	18	63%	59%	55%	36%
Nebraska	22	66%	54%	52%	39%
West Virginia	7	77%	64%	68%	46%
Idaho	33	62%	51%	50%	35%
Hawaii	41	62%	44%	52%	28%
Maine	48	48%	34%	35%	22%
New Hampshire	50	43%	33%	36%	22%
Rhode Island	35	60%	48%	48%	36%
Montana	39	64%	44%	51%	31%
Delaware	32	61%	46%	49%	34%
South Dakota	16	69%	57%	56%	36%
Alaska	44	55%	41%	49%	30%
North Dakota	27	64%	53%	51%	33%
District of Columbia	27	55%	50%	51%	28%
Vermont	48	41%	32%	33%	21%
Wyoming	22	66%	49%	53%	38%

U.S. territories

The following is the percentage of Christians and all religions in the U.S. territories as of 2015 (according to the ARDA):^[62]

Note that CIA World Factbook data differs from the data below. For example, the CIA World Factbook says that 99.3% of the population in American Samoa is religious.^[63]

Territory	Percent religious (all religions)	Percent Christian	Percent religious (non-Christian)	Percent non-religious	Unknown / Unspecified
American Samoa	98.5%	97.37%	1.13%	0.88%	0.62%
Guam	95.4%	91.1%	4.3%	1.8%	2.8%
Northern Mariana Islands	98.85%	81.13%	17.72%	1.11%	0.04%
Puerto Rico	91.53%	91.2%	0.33%	3.16%	5.31%
US Virgin Islands	83.3%	81.83%	1.47%	4.04%	12.66%

See also

•  United States portal
•  Religion portal

• Bible belt
• Religion in Minnesota
• Demographics of the United States § Religion
• Freedom of religion in the United States
• Historical religious demographics of the United States
• Religion in the United States

References

1. Truss, Catherine; Alfes, Kerstin; Delbridge, Rick; Shantz, Amanda; Routledge, Emma Soane (October 2013), "Employee engagement across cultures", Employee Engagement in Theory and Practice, Business & Economics, p. 336
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3. Willett, Megan (December 17, 2013). "A Fascinating New Poll Shows That Americans Are Losing Faith In God". Business Insider Inc. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
4. "Adults in Alabama". Pew Research Center.
5. "Adults in Mississippi". Pew Research Center.
6. "Adults in Tennessee". Pew Research Center.
7. "Adults in Arkansas". Pew Research Center.
8. "Adults in West Virginia". Pew Research Center.
9. "Adults in Oklahoma". Pew Research Center.
10. "Adults in Georgia". Pew Research Center.
11. "Adults in North Carolina". Pew Research Center.
12. "Adults in South Carolina". Pew Research Center.
13. "Adults in Kentucky". Pew Research Center.
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25. "Adults in North Dakota". Pew Research Center.
26. "Adults in Texas". Pew Research Center.
27. "Adults in Pennsylvania". Pew Research Center.
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30. "Adults in Florida". Pew Research Center.
31. "Adults in Wisconsin". Pew Research Center.
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49. "Adults in New Hampshire". Pew Research Center.
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55. Major U.S. metropolitan areas differ in their religious profiles, Pew Research Center
56. . Harrisinteractive.com. 2006-12-20. Archived from the original on 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
57. Newport, Frank (27 March 2012). "Mississippi Is Most Religious U.S. State Vermont and New Hampshire are the least religious states". gallup.com/poll. Gallup. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
58. Importance of religion by state Pew forum
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60. "Frequent Church Attendance Highest in Utah, Lowest in Vermont". Gallup.com. February 17, 2015.
61. "Most and least religious U.S. States".
62. http://thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_5_2.asp
    http://thearda.com/internationalData/compare2.asp?c=97
    http://thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_169_2.asp
    http://thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_182_2.asp
    http://thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_240_2.asp
    thearda.com. The ARDA (Association of Religion Data Archives). American Samoa / Guam / Northern Mariana Islands / Puerto Rico / Virgin Islands (U.S.) Retrieved September 13, 2021.
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