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    Home » Everything Amish » Plain Culture

    More On Amish Population Boom And My Predictions

    Published: Aug 1, 2012 · Updated: Aug 1, 2012 by Kevin Williams | 2 Comments

    Admittedly, part of me wants to sarcastically say: "gee, the Amish population is growing?  You don't say!"  Obviously when any population averages 6, 7, 8 or more children per family it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out their population is growing.  But cheeky comments aside, there is interesting information beneath the headlines.  I've been witnessing this Plain population growth first-hand over the years.  There are so many places that once were far away from Amish country that are now home to horse and buggies and they aren't all in far-flung places.  Some examples: large swaths of southern Ohio. southern Indiana, western Wisconsin, and eastern Kentucky.  Plus there are the offbeat places (offbeat as in you don't usually think of Amish) like Wyoming, New Mexico, Texas, and Mississippi. My prediction:  Amish in Alaska by 2020. I do think it'll happen and they'll probably figure out a way to make it work.   But here is an interesting article from the Columbus Dispatch that discusses the Amish population boom and its ramifications in more depth.

    Oh, and someone will inevitably ask: What about Hawaii?  Interesting question...I don't think that'll happen any time soon for many reasons. I think you'll see Old Order Amish settle south of the Rio Grande before trying Hawaii.  The Mennonites and Beachy Amish have successfully made a go south of the border, it is only a matter of time before the Old Order try again.  So also by 2020: an established Old Order settlement in Mexico or Central America.

    The one factor driving the population growth among the Amish isn't just the birth rate, it is that the church really does have a high retention rate. Most people born into the Amish (close to 90 percent) remain Amish.

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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

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    Comments

    1. Tom

      August 01, 2012 at 10:33 am

      Interesting post. My wife and I have vacationed in Hawaii for many years and I would expect Amish to settle on the moon before Hawaii. The driving force for the establishment of new Amish settlements is the search for cheap land...in Hawaii they sell land by the square inch. Alaska I think is a long shot.

      Reply
    2. Dawn Kirk

      August 03, 2012 at 2:49 am

      Good explanation,Tom.I was wondering myself-yes,you're right.
      Same reason we won't see them in Manhattan either.Another highest real estate per square foot area-Whew!

      Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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