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Largest Denominations in Southern California

Last updated 25 April 1999.

These tables only present data for selected counties, from the Glenmary Institute's 1990 study. Other religion statistics for California and some metropolitan areas are available online in the main Adherents.com Location index, or from the complete Glenmary county data collection. (Also see FAQ regarding county data.)

Top 10 Denominations in Los Angeles County

Denomination	Churches	Adherents	Percent
Catholic Church	272	3,077,114	34.72%
Jewish Estimate	145	501,700	5.66
Black Baptists Estimate	--	268,605	3.03
Southern Baptist Convention	226	128,895	1.45
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints	271	103,286	1.17
American Baptist Churches in The U.S.A.	202	76,010	0.86
United Methodist Church	186	70,590	0.80
International Church of The Foursquare Gospel	231	65,280	0.74
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)	170	64,168	0.72
Assemblies of God	231	55,107	0.62

Top 10 Denominations in Orange County

Denomination	Churches	Adherents	Percent
Catholic Church	60	503,628	20.89%
Jewish Estimate	22	95,000	3.94
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints	115	49,608	2.06
Independent Charismatic Churches	15	33,950	1.41
Southern Baptist Convention	46	26,956	1.12
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)	36	26,573	1.10
Independent Non-Charismatic Churches	20	26,555	1.10
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America	38	23,091	0.96
United Methodist Church	45	22,240	0.92
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod	30	19,374	0.80

Top 10 Denominations in San Diego County

Denomination	Churches	Adherents	Percent
Catholic Church	105	413,025	16.53%
Jewish Estimate	17	70,000	2.80
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints	112	46,863	1.88
Black Baptists Estimate	--	42,478	1.70
Southern Baptist Convention	73	30,304	1.21
Independent Non-Charismatic Churches	17	26,630	1.07
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)	31	25,199	1.01
United Methodist Church	46	24,197	0.97
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America	37	18,687	0.75
Episcopal Church	39	17,742	0.71

Links

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.