In March 2015, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) conducted a general survey on American religious affiliation, irrespective of geographic setting. According to that survey, the three largest religious groups in the United States are Catholics (22 percent), the religiously unaffiliated (22 percent), and white evangelical Protestants (18 percent).
But what religious groups dominate in urban centers? And in which cities do certain religious groups dominate?
According to data from a PRRI survey studying religion in urban centers, Catholicism is the top or tied for the top religious group in 15 out of 32 major metro areas in the United States. Among the cities with the highest percentage of Catholics are Boston, New York, and Pittsburgh (all 36 percent). Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami all also boast high percentages of Catholic residents.
The second most common religious group is the religiously unaffiliated, who are the top or tied for the top group in 10 out of 32 major metro areas. Portland (42 percent), San Francisco (33 percent), Seattle (33 percent), and Denver (32 percent) all stand out as cities with major percentages of religious unaffiliated. Additionally, the religious unaffiliated occupy the number two spot in every metro area where Catholicism takes number one.
Third most common were white evangelical Protestants, clustering in cities such as Nashville (38 percent), Charlotte (29 percent), and Cincinnati (24 percent).
The only major metro area where one of these three groups did not hold the top spot was Atlanta, where black Protestants make up 24 percent of the population.
See graphic representations of this data with an interactive map tool from the PRRI.
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