• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Lifeway Research

Lifeway Research

Enlightening today’s church with relevant research and insights

  • Research
  • Insights
  • Resource Library
  • Fast Facts
  • Search

What Are the Most Churched (and Unchurched) Cities in America?

Insights| Faith & Culture | Aug 23, 2017

city churched unchurched

By Aaron Earls

The most Bible-minded city in America also happens to be the city that shows up most to church.

According to Barna Research, Chattanooga, Tennessee, has the highest percentage of its population who are very active in church. Almost 6 in 10 residents (59 percent) are regular churchgoers.

For six of the last seven years, the American Bible Society has named Chattanooga the nation’s most Bible-minded city. This year, it was the only American city where at least half the population was classified as Bible-minded.

Overall, almost 4 in 10 Americans (38 percent) are active churchgoers who have attended a service in the past seven days. Another 19 percent attend less frequently.

A slight plurality (43 percent) are considered unchurched: They haven’t attended a church service in the past six months, except for a special event such as a wedding or funeral.

Part of the unchurched are classified by Barna as dechurched. These make up 34 percent of the American population.

Like the rest of the unchurched, they haven’t attended a church service in the past six months, but previously they were at least minimally active in a local congregation.

Here are the 10 most churched cities, mostly in the South and Midwest, with the percentage of residents who are active churchgoers in parentheses.

  1. Chattanooga, Tennessee (59 percent)
  2. Salt Lake City, Utah (59 percent)
  3. Augusta, Georgia / Aiken, South Carolina (57 percent)
  4. Baton Rouge, Louisiana (57 percent)
  5. Birmingham / Anniston / Tuscaloosa, Alabama (56 percent)
  6. Jackson, Mississippi (55 percent)
  7. Paducah, Kentucky / Cape Girardeau, Missouri / Harrisburg / Mt. Vernon, Illinois (54 percent)
  8. Montgomery / Selma, Alabama (53 percent)
  9. Greenville / New Bern / Washington, North Carolina (52 percent)
  10. South Bend / Elkhart, Indiana (52 percent)
See also  12 Ways to Help a Pastor Stay in Ministry

The research also detailed the most unchurched and dechurched cities, most of which are in the West and Northeast.

The most unchurched city is the San Francisco metro area. It was also one of the least Bible-minded cities, ranking 94 out of 100.

Here are the 10 most unchurched cities, with the percentage of unchurched residents in parentheses.

  1. San Francisco / Oakland / San Jose, California (60 percent)
  2. Reno, Nevada (59 percent)
  3. Springfield / Holyoke, Massachusetts (57 percent)
  4. Boston / Manchester, Massachusetts (56 percent)
  5. Las Vegas, Nevada (55 percent)
  6. Portland / Auburn, Maine (54 percent)
  7. Chico / Redding, California (54 percent)
  8. Seattle / Tacoma, Washington (52 percent)
  9. Orlando / Daytona Beach / Melbourne, Florida (51 percent)
  10. Albany / Schenectady / Troy, New York (51 percent)

San Francisco also tops the list of the most dechurched American cities. Here’s that top 10, with the percentage of residents who are dechurched in parentheses.

  1. San Francisco / Oakland / San Jose, California (47 percent)
  2. Boston / Manchester, Massachusetts (46 percent)
  3. Seattle / Tacoma, Washington (45 percent)
  4. Portland / Auburn, Maine (45 percent)
  5. Springfield / Holyoke, Massachusetts (43 percent)
  6. Orlando / Daytona Beach / Melbourne, Florida (43 percent)
  7. Albany / Schenectady / Troy, New York (43 percent)
  8. Reno, Nevada (43 percent)
  9. Las Vegas, Nevada (42 percent)
  10. Medford / Klamath Falls, Oregon (42 percent)

Aaron Earls

@Wardrobedoor

Aaron is the senior writer/editor at LifewayResearch.com.

    Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com

    Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them

    Ed Stetzer, Richie Stanley, & Jason Hayes

    FIND OUT MORE

    Related posts:

    Christians Don’t Share Faith With Unchurched Friends 3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community Recapturing the One Factor That Made the Early Church Unstoppable

    Primary Sidebar

    Follow Us On…

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Popular

    • 7 in 10 Women Who Have Had an Abortion Identify as a Christian
    • Most Popular Sermon Passages, Topics in 2021
    • 7 Reasons to Praise the Lord
      praise
    • 4 Ways Pastors Can Reclaim Their Time

    Join the Lifeway Research Newsletter

    Lifeway Research: Enlightening Today’s Church with Relevant Insights.

    Signup for email updates on our church and culture research.

    Sign Up

    Leader Resources

    Bible
    Clip Art
    Classics
    Clip Art
    Current Events
    Clip Art
    Discipleship
    Clip Art
    Pastoral Ministy
    Clip Art
    Theology
    Clip Art
    VIEW ALL RESOURCES
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Custom Research
    • Resource Library
    • Search

    Copyright © 2022 · Lifeway Research, a ministry of Lifeway Christian Resources