Metro-Area Religious Demographics

Phoenix Metro Area

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) • Arizona

👥 Population: 5,228,938 (2025 MSA estimate)📉 Unaffiliated: 33% (2023-24)

Metropolitan Religious Landscape

The Phoenix metropolitan area combines a large evangelical Protestant population, a substantial Catholic community, an unusually prominent Latter-day Saint presence and growing Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and other immigrant religious communities. The East Valley has longstanding Latter-day Saint institutions, while Phoenix and surrounding suburbs contain Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and other religious organizations. Arizona's Indigenous peoples also maintain distinct cultural and religious traditions, although the Pew metro survey does not provide a precise population estimate for individual Native American religions. Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that about 55% of adults in the Phoenix metro area identify as Christian, 11% identify with other religions, 33% are religiously unaffiliated, and 1% did not answer the religious-identification question.

Religious-Affiliation Breakdown

Pew RLS 2023-24

Percentages represent adult population survey estimates for the metropolitan area.

Religious Group	Share (%)	Subgroups & Community Context
Evangelical Protestant	18%	Baptist family (5%) Nondenominational evangelical family (6%) Lutheran evangelical family (1%) Pentecostal family (2%) Presbyterian family (1%) Reformed family (1%) Nonspecific evangelical Protestant family (2%)
Mainline Protestant	9%	United Methodist family (1%) ELCA Lutheran family (1%) Presbyterian family (1%) Nondenominational mainline family (2%) Nonspecific mainline Protestant family (3%) Other mainline Protestant traditions (generally less than 1% each)
Historically Black Protestant	1%	Historically Black Baptist and other traditions Pew estimates this tradition at 1% of Phoenix metro adults
Roman Catholic	21%	Catholic adults account for 21% of the Phoenix metro adult population in Pew's current estimate The metropolitan Catholic community includes Latino, Mexican American, Filipino and other populations
Latter-day Saint	5%	Mesa and the East Valley have a longstanding Latter-day Saint institutional presence Pew estimates 5% of Phoenix metro adults identify as Latter-day Saint
Orthodox Christian	1%	Includes Eastern Orthodox and other Orthodox Christian traditions
Jewish	2%	Jewish institutions are distributed across Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler and other metropolitan communities Pew estimates 2% of Phoenix metro adults identify as Jewish
Muslim	1%	Muslim communities include South Asian, Arab, African American, East African and other backgrounds Pew estimates 1% of Phoenix metro adults identify as Muslim
Buddhist	3%	Includes Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and other Buddhist traditions Pew estimates 3% of Phoenix metro adults identify as Buddhist
Hindu	2%	Hindu communities and temples are established in Chandler, Tempe, Phoenix, Scottsdale and nearby suburbs Pew estimates 2% of Phoenix metro adults identify as Hindu
Other World Religions	0.5%	Pew reports other world religions as less than 1% 0.5% is used only as a display convention and is not an exact survey estimate
Other Religious Identifications	3%	Unitarians and other liberal faiths (2%) New Age (1%) Pew also reports Native American religions as less than 1%
Religiously Unaffiliated	33%	Atheist (3%) Agnostic (6%) Nothing in particular (24%)
Did Not Answer	1%	Pew reports 1% did not answer the religious-identification question

📈 10-Year Demographic Trend (2014 vs. 2023-24)

Religiously unaffiliated adults increased from 28% of the Phoenix metro area in Pew's 2014 Religious Landscape Study to 33% in the 2023-24 study. The comparison should be interpreted cautiously because Pew changed its survey methodology between the two studies.

Regional & Geographic Distribution

Mesa and the East Valley

Mesa, Gilbert and nearby East Valley communities have a longstanding Latter-day Saint presence and extensive LDS institutional infrastructure. Mesa is home to the historic Mesa Arizona Temple, the first temple built in Arizona.

Chandler and Southeast Valley

Chandler, Tempe and surrounding communities have growing Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and other Asian American religious institutions alongside established Christian congregations.

Scottsdale and Paradise Valley

Scottsdale and Paradise Valley contain Jewish and Christian institutions as well as other religious and cultural organizations serving the broader metropolitan population.

Central Phoenix

Central Phoenix contains Catholic, evangelical Protestant, mainline Protestant, Buddhist, Muslim and other religious institutions. Religious organizations serve both long-established communities and newer residents.

Indigenous Arizona

Arizona is home to Navajo, Hopi, Akimel O'odham, Tohono O'odham and other Indigenous nations with distinct cultural and religious traditions. These traditions are not quantified separately in Pew's Phoenix metro religion table and should not be turned into a precise metro percentage.

Notable Houses of Worship & Faith Centers

Major active community institutions, historic landmarks, and diaspora centers across the metropolitan area:

🛕 Hindu Temples

Hindu Temple of Arizona – Phoenix/Scottsdale area
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir – Phoenix area
Sri Venkata Krishna Kshetra – Tempe, Arizona

🕌 Mosques

Islamic Community Center of Tempe – Tempe, Arizona
Islamic Community Center of Phoenix – Phoenix, Arizona
Valley-area Islamic centers serving Chandler, Mesa and surrounding communities

🏛️ Latter-day Saint Temples

Mesa Arizona Temple – Mesa, Arizona
Gilbert Arizona Temple – Gilbert, Arizona
Phoenix Arizona Temple – Phoenix, Arizona

☸️ Buddhist Temples

Arizona Buddhist Temple – Phoenix area
Wat Promkunaram – Phoenix, Arizona
Vietnamese Buddhist institutions in the Phoenix metropolitan area

⛪ Christian Churches

Dream City Church – Phoenix
Christ's Church of the Valley – Peoria and other Valley locations
St. Mary's Basilica – Downtown Phoenix

✡️ Synagogues

Congregation Beth Israel – Scottsdale
Temple Chai – Phoenix
Congregation Or Tzion – Scottsdale

Verified Address & Facility Notes

• The Mesa Arizona Temple was dedicated on October 23, 1927. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints identifies it as the first temple built in Arizona. It was rededicated in December 2021 after a major renovation.

• The Phoenix Arizona Temple is located at 5220 W Pinnacle Peak Road in Phoenix. It was dedicated on November 16, 2014 and is currently an operating Latter-day Saint temple, although the official temple page lists a major 2026 closure for renovation or other work.

• The Church's current Arizona statistics page reports 442,094 total members statewide, 120 stakes, 892 congregations, 74 FamilySearch centers, six temples and six missions.

Key Demographic & Cultural Facts

Pew's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that 33% of Phoenix metro adults are religiously unaffiliated: 3% atheist, 6% agnostic and 24% with no religion in particular.
Evangelical Protestants account for 18% of adults, Catholics 21%, mainline Protestants 9% and Latter-day Saints 5% in Pew's current Phoenix metro profile.
Pew estimates that Buddhist adults represent 3%, Hindu adults 2%, Jewish adults 2% and Muslim adults 1% of the Phoenix metropolitan adult population.
The 2025 Census-derived population estimate for the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler MSA is 5,228,938.
Pew's 2014 national metro comparison identified Phoenix as having one of the highest Mormon concentrations among the major U.S. metropolitan areas at 6%.
The Mesa Arizona Temple was dedicated in 1927 and is the first temple built in Arizona. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints records its dedication on October 23, 1927.
The Phoenix Arizona Temple was dedicated on November 16, 2014. The Church currently lists it at 5220 West Pinnacle Peak Road in Phoenix.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' current Arizona statistics report 442,094 members statewide, 120 stakes, 892 congregations and six temples.
Arizona's Indigenous nations maintain distinct traditional cultural and religious practices, but those traditions should not be represented as a specific 1% share of Phoenix metro adults because Pew reports Native American religions as less than 1%.

Frequently Asked Questions

Catholicism is the largest single named religious affiliation in Pew's 2023-24 Phoenix metro profile at 21% of adults. Evangelical Protestants account for 18%, mainline Protestants 9% and Latter-day Saints 5%.

Pew estimates that 33% of adults in the Phoenix metro area are religiously unaffiliated: 3% atheist, 6% agnostic and 24% with no religion in particular.

Pew estimates that 5% of Phoenix metro adults identify as Latter-day Saint. The East Valley, especially Mesa and nearby communities, has a longstanding LDS institutional presence. The Mesa Arizona Temple was dedicated in 1927.

They are significant in the current Pew profile relative to many U.S. metros. Pew estimates that 2% of Phoenix metro adults are Hindu and 3% are Buddhist. Temples and community organizations can be found across Phoenix, Tempe, Chandler, Scottsdale and surrounding suburbs.

Pew estimates that 1% of adults in the Phoenix metro area identify as Muslim. The metropolitan community includes South Asian, Arab, African American, East African and other Muslim populations, with Islamic centers in Phoenix, Tempe and surrounding suburbs.

Pew's data shows religiously unaffiliated adults increasing from 28% in 2014 to 33% in 2023-24. The newer survey used a different methodology, so the increase should be interpreted as a broad comparison rather than a perfectly continuous trend.

Academic & Survey Sources

• Primary Religion Survey: Pew Research Center, 2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, Phoenix metro area

• Population Benchmark: U.S. Census Bureau annual metropolitan population estimates for the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler MSA

Methodology & Survey Notes:

Pew's 2023-24 Phoenix metro estimates have a margin of error of approximately ±6.9 percentage points.
The figures describe adults rather than the complete metropolitan population including children.
Pew reports Native American religions as less than 1% in Phoenix; the metro survey does not provide reliable separate percentages for Navajo, Hopi or other Indigenous traditions.
Any 0.5% value in this display is a visualization convention for a Pew category reported as less than 1%, not an exact survey estimate.
Pew notes that percentages may not sum exactly to 100% because of rounding.
The 2023-24 study used a different survey methodology from the 2014 study, so historical changes should be interpreted cautiously.
The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect religious affiliation in the decennial census.

Verified Reference Links:

www.pewresearch.org www.pewresearch.org fred.stlouisfed.org newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org www.churchofjesuschrist.org newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org www.churchofjesuschrist.org newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org

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