This article is part of a series examining and considering statistical data regarding the Presbyterian Church in America.
The coalition that founded the Presbyterian Church in America primarily consisted of churches located throughout the southeastern United States. As a result, the PCA has always enjoyed a greater concentration of congregations in this region compared to other parts of the country. But a half-century later, the PCA has planted and multiplied outside its original footprint.
Today, which states can be statistically characterized as the”most PCA” states in America? It depends on how you examine the numbers. We looked at which states have the most churches and which states have the most church members. The clear winner is Florida, who leads in both categories by a significant margin.
Here’s a look at the rankings.
States With The Largest Number Of PCA Churches:
- Florida: 170
- Georgia: 134
- Pennsylvania: 118
- South Carolina: 117
- Alabama: 113
- Mississippi: 113
- California: 111
- North Carolina: 111
- Virginia: 106
- Texas: 103
- Tennessee: 82
- Maryland: 63
States with the Most PCA Church Members:
- Florida: 30,113
- Georgia: 24,961
- Virginia: 22,144
- Tennessee: 21,944
- Alabama: 21,915
- South Carolina: 20,612
- Pennsylvania 19,069
- Texas: 18,029
- North Carolina: 17,064
- Mississippi: 14,718
However, another way to think about these numbers is how they relate to the population of each state. Though you’ll find more churches and members in Florida than any other state, Mississippi is the top state when you analyze the numbers on a per capita basis.
Here’s a look at the per capita rankings.
States with the Largest Number of Churches Per Capita:
- Mississippi: 0.00003844
- Alabama: 0.00002212
- South Carolina: 0.00002177
- Virginia: 0.00001216
- Georgia: 0.00001215
- Tennessee: 0.00001151
- Delaware: 0.00001066
- North Carolina: 00001024
- Maryland: 0.00001019
- Pennsylvania: 0.0000091
States with the Largest Number of Communing Members Per Capita:
- Mississippi: 0.50%
- Alabama: 0.43%
- South Carolina: 0.38%
- Tennessee: 0.31%
- Virginia: 0.25%
- Georgia: 0.23%
- Delaware: 0.19%
- North Carolina: 0.16%
- Maryland: 0.15%
- Pennsylvania: 0.15%
When you look at the membership of the PCA across the entire country, 0.09% of the America’s population is part of a PCA church. Numbers never tell the PCA’s entire story, but these statistics testify to the faithful churches reaching their communities and expanding into new cities, states, and regions with the gospel.