American Jewish Population Project
US Jewish Population estimates
Since 2005 researchers at the Steinhardt Social Research Institute (SSRI) at Brandeis University have been collecting data from hundreds of nationally representative surveys in order to provide one of the most comprehensive, independent sources of data on the Jewish community in the United States. The latest release rom the American Jewish Population Project provides estimates for the continental United States, its states, metropolitan areas, and counties.
Key Findings
- 1.8% of US adults identify their religion as Jewish. This corresponds to an estimated 4.2 million adults.
The percentage has remained consistent from the initial work on the project, which similarly estimated 1.8% for the year 2000, corresponding to 3.7 million adults, as well as 1.8% observed in 1990 (NJPS as well as our own preliminary look at 1990 surveys).
- The estimated total Jewish population is 7.16 million when one includes estimates of children (1.5 million) and adults who identify ethnically or culturally as Jewish and were raised Jewish but who do not currently identify as Jewish by religion (1.4 million).
Estimates of the number of children and other Jewish adults are based on findings from the Pew Portrait of American Jews (2014) and, for local areas, based on local Jewish community studies where available.
- Jewish Adults are more than twice as likely to be college-educated than US adults overall. 57% of Jewish adults, nationally, have attained a college-degree compared to 26% of all US adults.
- 70% of the population reside in just 7 states (based to total pop est.):
- 22% in New York
- 14% in California
- 12% in Florida
- 7% in New Jersey
- 5% in each of Pennsylvania, Illinois and Massachusetts
If based on the distribution of JBR
- 23% in New York
- 13% in California
- 13% in Florida
- 7% in New Jersey
- 5% in each of Pennsylvania, Illinois and Massachusetts
- The top metropolitan areas (est. > 100,000 total pop)
- 975,000 in New York 5 boroughs
- 432,000 Brooklyn
- 290,000 Manhattan
- 167,000 Queens
- 86,000 Bronx & Staten Island
- 1.4 million in New York 9 county area (5 boroughs + Suffolk, Nassau & Westchester), 1.4 million
- 524,000 in Miami, Palm Beach, Broward county area
- 209,000 Palm Beach county
- 173,000 Broward county
- 142,000 Miami-Dade
- 475,000 in Los Angeles county
- 332,000 in Chicago Area (Cook & Lake counties)
- 247,000 in Boston Area
- 117,000 Middlesex county
- 73,000 Boston & North Shore (Essex & Suffolk counties)
- 57,000 Norfolk & Plymouth counties (south of Boston)
- 228,000 in Northern New Jersey (of NY Metro area -- Bergen, Essex, Morris & Passaic counties)
an additional 101,000 in Hudson, Middlesex & Union counties in NJ
- 239,000 in San Francisco area
- 138,000 in San Francisco (San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo & Sonoma counties)
- 51,000 Easy Bay (Alameda county)
- 51,000 Northern Bay Area (Contra Costa, Solano & Napa counties)
- 214,000 in Philadelphia area
- 78,000 in Philadelphia county
- 109,000 Northern suburbs (Bucks & Montgomery counties)
- 27,000 (Chester & Delaware counties)
- 149,000 in DC & Montgomery county MD
- 118,000 NY Hudson Valley (Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan & Ulster counties)