US States by Population of Catholics

Where do Catholics form the deepest share of a state’s population? The map may surprise you.

Tiny Rhode Island leads at 40.6%, with its New England neighbors, Massachusetts and Connecticut, close behind, reflecting echoes of Irish, Italian, and French-Canadian migration and mill-town parishes. The corridor from New Jersey to New York stays strong.

At the same time, far from the Northeast, New Mexico’s Spanish colonial roots and Louisiana’s Creole and Cajun heritage keep Catholicism central to public life.

California, home to the nation’s largest number of Catholics, registers a quarter by share, and fast-growing Nevada cracks the top ten through Hispanic and Asian migration tied to service-sector jobs.

These percentages reflect centuries of movement and mixing: 19th-century ship manifests, mission bells along El Camino Real, today’s multilingual urban dioceses. As you explore the rankings, consider what these concentrations reveal about identity, schools and charities, and even politics, plus the counterintuitive places where Catholic life is quietly expanding right now.

10 US States With The Highest Percentage Of Catholics

_{Jump to the list of all US states ranked by the percentage of Catholics}

1. Rhode Island

Rhode Island consistently tops U.S. states by share of Catholics. Catholic presence stems from 19th-20th c. immigration: Irish, Italian, French-Canadian; later Portuguese, Cape Verdean, and growing Hispanic (esp. Dominican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan) communities reinforce it. Catholics are evenly spread statewide; no single county is among the national top ten. The Diocese of Providence is a major employer and anchor for parishes, schools, and charities. Urban centers, Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, grew around mills that attracted Catholic workers; newer arrivals keep parishes multilingual. Despite diversification and rising religious “nones,” Christianity remains dominant. Overall, Rhode Island pairs small size with the nation’s most Catholic identity. Catholics are present in suburbs and coastal towns alike.

2. Massachusetts

Massachusetts ranks among the most Catholic U.S. states. Over a third of residents today (36%) identify as Catholic, and the Catholic Church is the state’s largest denomination. Catholic strength grew with 19th-20th-century immigration from Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Poland and Quebec, and continues with notably Latin American and Brazilian communities. Boston and its suburbs anchor the population, with notable Irish-Catholic concentrations along the South Shore, and institutions such as the College of the Holy Cross and the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge. Though New England is highly secular and affiliation has slipped in recent decades, Massachusetts still pairs deep Catholic roots with a sizable, diverse Catholic population within its 7.1-million-person, urbanized state.

3. New Jersey

New Jersey, the nation’s most densely populated state (9.5 million in 2024), has one of the largest Catholic populations in the U.S. Catholics account for 32% of residents. Catholic life is anchored by Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the fifth-largest cathedral in North America and seat of the city’s archdiocese. New Jersey’s urbanized, immigrant-rich profile, historic Italian, Irish and Polish communities alongside large and growing Hispanic populations, sustains vibrant parishes across Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Trenton, and Camden. With every county classified as urban, proximity to New York City and Philadelphia concentrates Catholic institutions, culture, and services statewide, from the Hudson waterfront to the Delaware Valley.

4. New York

New York has one of the largest Catholic populations in the United States. Roughly one-third of residents, about 30%, identify as Catholic, reflecting the state’s immigrant history and diversity. Catholic roots run deep in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and upstate hubs like Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. Historic Irish, Italian, German, and Polish communities built parishes, schools, and charities that still anchor neighborhoods. Today, Puerto Rican and Dominican New Yorkers, along with Mexican, Ecuadorian, Salvadoran, Haitian, Filipino, and other immigrants, continue to grow and diversify the pews. The Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens serve multilingual congregations, while urban and suburban parishes statewide remain central to civic and cultural life.

5. New Mexico

New Mexico stands out for Catholic depth and density. Roughly 30% of residents identify as Catholic, anchored by three dioceses, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Dioceses of Gallup and Las Cruces. Catholicism arrived with 17th-century Spanish settlement; Santa Fe’s San Miguel Chapel (1610) is the oldest church in the continental U.S. A majority-Hispanic population and significant Native communities shape a syncretic folk Catholicism visible in Pueblo feast days, matachines dances, santos carving, acequia rituals, and the pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó. Historic missions, mission-style architecture, and active parishes dot the Rio Grande corridor. The church remains central to culture, education, social services, and festivals, giving New Mexico one of the nation’s most visibly Catholic identities today.

6. Connecticut

Connecticut has one of the nation’s larger Catholic populations for its size. The Catholic Church is the state’s largest denomination, with 1,024,000 adherents in 2020, and Catholics made up 28.4% of residents in 2020. Catholic presence reflects historic Irish, Italian, and Polish communities and more recent Hispanic immigration. The state is organized under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford, which oversees the Dioceses of Bridgeport and Norwich. Catholics are prominent in the coastal metros around Bridgeport, Stamford, and New Haven and in Greater Hartford. Despite growth in unaffiliated residents, Catholic affiliation remains high, keeping Connecticut among New England’s most Catholic states by share and count.

7. Louisiana

Louisiana has one of the South’s largest Catholic populations by share and count. Catholics comprise about 27% of adults, concentrated in southern Louisiana, Greater New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Acadiana, where French-Spanish colonial roots, Creole and Cajun identities, and later Irish, Italian, Portuguese, German, and Isleño immigration made Catholicism normative. The state’s distinctive civil “parishes” reflect that heritage. Louisiana’s Catholic footprint is anchored by the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Dioceses of Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Notably, Black Catholic communities in the south blend Catholic practice with Gospel-rich worship. While Protestantism predominates upstate, Catholic affiliation remains a defining feature of Louisiana’s culture and politics, keeping the state among the nation’s Catholic strongholds.

8. California

California has the largest Catholic population of any U.S. state. About a quarter of residents, roughly 26% reflecting the state’s vast size and remarkable diversity. Most Catholics are of Mexican and Central American origin, with large communities of Irish, German, Italian, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Korean descent. Immigration from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East continues to replenish parishes. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, one of the world’s largest, celebrates Sunday Mass in 42 languages; Orange, Los Angeles, and San Jose host the biggest Vietnamese Catholic diaspora outside Vietnam (about 250,000-300,000). Despite California’s sizable unaffiliated population, Catholic institutions, parishes, schools, charities, and missions, remain central pillars of civic life from San Diego to the Bay Area.

9. Nevada

Nevada has one of the West’s largest Catholic populations by share and absolute size. Catholics make up about 24.6% of adults, and the church reported 766,000 adherents in 2020. Catholic life concentrates in the booming Las Vegas-Clark County corridor and Reno-Sparks, shaped by migration and service-sector jobs. Historic Spanish/Mexican roots, rapid Hispanic growth (around 29-30% of residents), and one of the nation’s biggest Filipino communities (Tagalog is a top language) sustain parishes and schools. Despite Nevada’s low weekly church attendance overall, Catholic institutions remain highly visible, from social services to education. Ecclesially, the statewide footprint centers on the Las Vegas and Reno dioceses, serving a diverse, majority-minority population.

10. Illinois

Illinois ranks among U.S. states with the largest Catholic populations. Roman Catholicism is the state’s single largest denomination, about 24%. Catholics cluster in Chicagoland, reflecting large Hispanic, Polish, Irish, and Italian communities. Totals fell from 3,648,907 in 2010 to 3,099,544 in 2020, yet the church remains influential statewide. Chicago’s scale, immigration waves, parish networks, and schools long anchored Catholic life. New growth among Latino residents continues to sustain congregations, even as overall numbers soften. Outside Chicago, sizable Catholic communities persist across older industrial cities and farm counties. Illinois’s size, urbanization, and immigration patterns explain its historically high Catholic share. Despite a modest decline, Catholicism remains the state’s most prevalent faith tradition and a major cultural presence in public life.

US States Ranked by Percentage of Catholics

_{Data based on 2020 USRC and US Census Bureau data}