What was the estimated Muslim population in Idaho in the 2020 and 2023 American Community Survey?
Executive summary
The American Community Survey (ACS) does not collect a direct question about religious affiliation, and for Idaho the Census Bureau’s QuickFacts warns that either no or too few sample observations are available to compute certain estimates—meaning there is no ACS-produced statewide estimate of Idaho’s Muslim population for 2020 or 2023 [1]. Other data sources that do measure religion at the state or county level (the U.S. Religion Census, Pew’s Religious Landscape Study, county-level religion snapshots) suggest Muslims are a very small share of Idaho’s population, but those are not ACS figures and carry sampling or methodological limits [2] [3] [4].
1. What the question is really asking — and why ACS matters
The query requests the Muslim population “in the 2020 and 2023 American Community Survey,” which implies two constraints: the measure must come from the ACS (not other religion surveys) and it must be the specific years named; however, the ACS does not ask respondents about religion, so it does not produce a direct Muslim-population estimate, and the Census QuickFacts for Idaho explicitly flags that some data cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small [1].
2. What the ACS actually collects (and what it does not)
The ACS gathers detailed demographic, social, economic and housing information but does not include a question on religious affiliation; religion estimates commonly used by researchers come from separate efforts (like the U.S. Religion Census, Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study, or large private surveys), not the ACS itself — which is why QuickFacts warns of missing small-sample estimates for certain topics in Idaho [1] [3].
3. The closest 2020 benchmark: religion censuses and county snapshots
For 2020 there are religion-specific products that provide some geographic detail: the U.S. Religion Census (and county-level religion studies referenced in local reporting) shows Muslim populations exist in Idaho but at small percentages; for example, reporting on the 2020 “Census on American Religion” found Ada County was the only Idaho county reporting a 1% Muslim share, underlining that Muslim residents are concentrated and numerically small in the state [2] [4]. These are useful context but they are not ACS estimates.
4. The 2023 picture from religion surveys (not ACS)
More recent religion surveys such as Pew’s Religious Landscape Study (2023–24) produce state-level religious profiles, but they are survey-based and come with wide margins of error for small populations like Idaho’s Muslim community; Pew’s materials note substantial sampling uncertainty for Idaho’s adult estimates (margin of error ±7.1 percentage points cited for 2023-24 Idaho adult religious shares), meaning any small Muslim percentage estimate for 2023 from these surveys should be treated cautiously and is not an ACS number [3] [5].
5. Bottom line, with limitations and alternative sources
There is no ACS-produced estimate of Idaho’s Muslim population for either 2020 or 2023 because the ACS does not collect religion and, where small-sample issues arise, the Census warns data cannot be displayed or are unreliable [1]. Independent religion-specific efforts (U.S. Religion Census, Pew, county reports) consistently show Muslims are a very small share of Idaho’s population—county-level reporting identified 1% in Ada County in 2020—but these are separate data products with different methodologies and sampling limitations and therefore cannot be presented as “ACS” estimates [2] [4] [3]. Reporting here is limited to the provided sources; no ACS numeric Muslim population figures for Idaho in 2020 or 2023 appear in the reviewed material.