Nationally, the Amish population grew by about 10% over the past two years.  But New York’s growth rate was three times that of any other state.  “Pennsylvania for example… had a growth rate of 7%, in Wisconsin it was 10%, but New York was 31%,” says Don Kraybill, senior fellow in the Young Center for Anabaptist Studies at Elizabethtown College.  “Over the last two years, there have been ten new geographical settlements of Amish that were founded in New York state,” Kraybill adds. 

Why is the Empire State home to such rapid growth in Amish population?  For one, it’s close to the Amish hubs of PA and OH.  Kraybill also tells us that central New York is home to plenty of isolated, rural land.  “In some of those areas, non-Amish farmers are interested in selling their farms or leaving the farms, so it’s possible to purchase farmland at fairly low cost.”   

There are about 261,000 Amish living in 28 states.  “In general the Amish population is on track to double about every 16-years or so,” Kraybill says.  He assures us that Pennsylvania is still the biggest Amish state with about 61,000 adults and children.  Meanwhile, New York has ascended to 5^th on that list, due to its recent growth. 

About half of Pennsylvania’s Amish are in the Lancaster settlement.  The other half are scattered across 54-different geographical communities throughout the state.