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The Largest United Methodist Communities
The United Methodist Church is the third largest religious body in the United States and the largest Methodist body in the world. After years of schisms and mergers throughout American history, it is now the home of the majority of affiliated American Methodists.
United Methodists as a percentage of state populations. Click here or on map to see a larger version.
Top 10 U.S. States with Highest Percentage of
United Methodists in the Population, 1990
| Rank | State | Percent |
| 1 | Oklahoma | 10.37% |
| 2 | West Virginia | 10.19 |
| 3 | Iowa | 9.83 |
| 4 | Kansas | 9.61 |
| 5 | Mississippi | 9.34 |
| 6 | Nebraska | 9.20 |
| 7 | Delaware | 9.17 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 9.13 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 8.86 |
| 10 | Alabama | 8.22 |
Top 10 U.S. States with Most
United Methodists, 1990
| Rank | State | Number | Percent |
| 1 | Texas | 1,004,318 | 5.91% |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 722,871 | 6.08 |
| 3 | Ohio | 656,107 | 6.05 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 605,362 | 9.13 |
| 5 | Georgia | 530,076 | 8.18 |
| 6 | Virginia | 490,789 | 7.93 |
| 7 | New York | 466,586 | 2.59 |
| 8 | Florida | 462,174 | 3.57 |
| 9 | Illinois | 440,681 | 3.86 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 396,862 | 8.14 |
States on both lists (Highest Number and Highest Percent): North Carolina.
Top 25 U.S. Counties with Highest Percentage of
United Methodists in the Population, 1990
| County | Percent | Number |
| Highland, VA | 39.28% | 1,035 |
| Kiowa, KS | 36.61 | 1,340 |
| Deuel, NE | 36.25 | 811 |
| Ness, KS | 36.18 | 1,459 |
| Grant, OK | 33.96 | 1,932 |
| Jewell, KS | 33.24 | 1,413 |
| Faulk, SD | 32.62 | 895 |
| Hooker, NE | 32.53 | 258 |
| Hitchcock, NE | 32.43 | 1,216 |
| Cimarron, OK | 31.23 | 1,031 |
| Clark, KS | 31.02 | 750 |
| Chase, KS | 30.59 | 924 |
| Perkins, NE | 30.50 | 1,027 |
| Greene, IA | 30.00 | 3,014 |
| Cheyenne, KS | 29.32 | 951 |
| Lane, KS | 29.26 | 695 |
| Webster, NE | 28.77 | 1,231 |
| Furnas, NE | 28.56 | 1,586 |
| Harper, OK | 28.50 | 1,158 |
| Stanton, KS | 28.03 | 654 |
| Lipscomb, TX | 27.94 | 878 |
| Keya Paha, NE | 27.70 | 285 |
| Coffey, KS | 27.48 | 2,309 |
| Rice, KS | 27.20 | 2,886 |
| Comanche, KS | 27.06 | 626 |
States in this list: Kansas (11), Nebraska (7), Oklahoma (3), South Dakota, Iowa, Texas and Virginia.
Top 25 U.S. Counties with
Largest Number of United Methodists, 1990
| County | Number | Percent |
| Harris, TX | 165,055 | 5.86% |
| Dallas, TX | 112,771 | 6.09 |
| Tarrant, TX | 83,135 | 7.10 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 70,590 | 0.80 |
| Fulton, GA | 62,725 | 9.67 |
| Jefferson, AL | 61,020 | 9.37 |
| Oklahoma, OK | 60,882 | 10.15 |
| Tulsa, OK | 60,172 | 11.95 |
| Cook, IL | 57,560 | 1.13 |
| Allegheny, PA | 54,527 | 4.08 |
| Franklin, OH | 51,135 | 5.32 |
| Fairfax, VA | 46,813 | 5.52 |
| Shelby, TN | 46,357 | 5.61 |
| Pinellas, FL | 44,193 | 5.19 |
| Guilford, NC | 42,083 | 12.11 |
| Baltimore, MD | 41,345 | 5.97 |
| Mecklenburg, NC | 40,876 | 7.99 |
| De Kalb, GA | 40,380 | 7.40 |
| Bexar, TX | 37,801 | 3.19 |
| Maricopa, AZ | 37,538 | 1.77 |
| Pulaski, AR | 37,107 | 10.61 |
| Marion, IN | 37,027 | 4.64 |
| Davidson, TN | 36,991 | 7.24 |
| Hamilton, OH | 36,358 | 4.20 |
| Wake, NC | 36,288 | 8.57 |
Source: Churches and Church Membership in the United States, 1990, published by the Glenmary Research Center, P.O. Box 507, Mars Hill, NC 28754. Principle investigator: Church Growth Research Center, Church of the Nazarene, Kansas City, MO. This data source was obtained from the American Religion Data Archive.
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Created April 23, 1999. Last updated 16 May 2000.
