Religion Demographics by U.S. Metro Area
Explore the religious composition of 15 major U.S. metropolitan areas using religious-affiliation survey estimates. The primary national and metro-area source is the Pew Research Center 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
Unlike India, the U.S. Census Bureau does not collect religious affiliation in the decennial census. In October 1976, Congress prohibited mandatory census questions about religious beliefs or membership in a religious body. These statistics come primarily from the Pew Research Center 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, which surveyed 36,908 U.S. adults. Pew provides estimates for 34 large metropolitan areas. Metro-area margins of error vary by geography and should be taken from the applicable Pew metro-area estimate rather than using one universal margin.
Most Religious Metro Areas (Lowest Unaffiliated %)
Most Secular Metro Areas (Highest Unaffiliated %)
New York City Metro Area Metro Area
New York / New Jersey / Pennsylvania • 20,112,448 (2025 MSA estimate)Los Angeles Metro Area Metro Area
California • 12,844,441 (2025 MSA estimate)Chicago Metro Area Metro Area
Illinois / Indiana • 9,434,123 (2025 MSA estimate)Houston Metro Area Metro Area
Texas • 7,904,627 (2025 MSA estimate)Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Metro Area
Texas • 8,477,157 (2025 MSA estimate)Seattle Metro Area Metro Area
Washington • 4,161,883 (2025 MSA estimate)San Francisco Metro Area Metro Area
California • 4,630,041 (2025 MSA estimate)Washington, D.C. Metro Area Metro Area
District of Columbia / Maryland / Virginia / West Virginia • 6,465,724 (2025 MSA estimate)Boston Metro Area Metro Area
Massachusetts / New Hampshire • 5,034,221 (2025 MSA estimate)Atlanta Metro Area Metro Area
Georgia • 6,482,182 (2025 MSA estimate)Miami Metro Area Metro Area
Florida • 6,391,072 (2025 MSA estimate)Phoenix Metro Area Metro Area
Arizona • 5,228,938 (2025 MSA estimate)Denver Metro Area Metro Area
Colorado • 3,092,037 (2025 MSA estimate)Minneapolis–Saint Paul Metro Area Metro Area
Minnesota / Wisconsin • 3,790,295 (2025 MSA estimate)Philadelphia Metro Area Metro Area
Pennsylvania / New Jersey / Delaware / Maryland • 6,329,118 (2025 MSA estimate)Understanding US Religiosity: National Context
📉 The Secularization Trend
The percentage of Americans who identify as Christian has declined from 78% in 2007 to 62% in 2023-24, a drop of 16 percentage points. The religiously unaffiliated grew from 16% to 29% over the same period — a major long-term shift in American religious identity. Among adults ages 18 to 24, 43% identify as religiously unaffiliated in the 2023-24 RLS.
🌍 Geographic Divide
The "Bible Belt" (Southeast US) remains the most religiously observant region, with states like Alabama and Mississippi having 75%+ Christian populations. The Pacific Northwest (Seattle) and New England are the most secular US regions. Texas metros like Houston (20% unaffiliated) and Dallas (22%) are dramatically more religious than Seattle (52% unaffiliated).
🕌 Immigrant Faith Communities
South Asian immigrants have built some of the largest Hindu temples and mosques in the Western world in US suburbs — the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, NJ is the largest Hindu temple in the US. The Sikh Gurdwara in Stockton, CA (built 1912) is the oldest in the nation. Over 3.5 million Muslims now live in the US, primarily in metro areas like New York, Chicago, and Northern Virginia.
⛪ Immigration: R-1 Religious Worker Visa (Updated 2026)
The R-1 nonimmigrant classification permits qualifying religious workers to perform temporary religious work in the United States. The sponsoring U.S. employer generally files Form I-129 under INA § 101(a)(15)(R) and 8 CFR § 214.2(r).
- The worker generally must have been a member of the same type of religious denomination as the petitioner for the immediately preceding 2 years
- The petitioner must generally be a bona fide nonprofit religious organization or qualifying affiliated organization
- R-1 employment may be part-time, with qualifying employment generally requiring at least 20 hours/week
- Maximum stay: 5 years (up to 30 months initially plus one extension of up to 30 months)
- Effective Jan. 16, 2026: DHS removed the prior one-year foreign-residence requirement after an R-1 worker reaches the five-year maximum. The worker must still depart after the maximum period and satisfy the applicable petition, visa and admission requirements for readmission.