What are the top five US states by Muslim population size?

1. Why three separate summaries keep returning the same five states — and what they actually claim

Three independent analytic summaries included in the material repeatedly identify the same top five states by absolute Muslim population, not by percentage of each state’s residents. The 24/7 Wall St. summary (Nov 6, 2025) provides a ranked list with exact counts, placing New York first at 724,475 Muslims and Texas fifth at 313,209 ^[1]. Two additional syntheses of demographic compilations and datasets replicate these figures and order, noting New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas as the leading states by number of Muslim residents and reiterating the same numeric spread ^{[2] [3]}. The repetition across sources suggests a common underlying dataset—most likely the 2020 U.S. Religion Census or aggregated state estimates—driving these consistent totals ^[1].

2. Where the packet’s other claims diverge — percentages versus totals

Not every analytic fragment in the packet addresses raw numbers; some focus on percentage shares of state populations that are Muslim, producing different top lists and interpretive angles. One summary highlights New Jersey at 3% and lists Arkansas, the District of Columbia, and New York at 2% (dated April 4, 2019), which changes the ordering if you privilege proportion rather than count ^[4]. Another source in the packet lists top states by percent—Illinois (3.7%), New York (3.6%), New Jersey (3.5%), Maryland (3.1%), and Michigan (2.4%)—demonstrating that percentage-based rankings produce a different narrative about concentration versus mass ^[5]. These differences are methodological not contradictory: absolute counts identify where the largest populations live; percentages identify where Muslims form the largest share of locals.

3. How recent dates and publication details affect confidence in the numbers

The most recent dated item in the packet is the 24/7 Wall St. piece from November 6, 2025, explicitly tying its ranked list to the 2020 U.S. Religion Census and presenting concrete counts ^[1]. Several other items carry 2025 timestamps or May 2025 dates, while one source is older (April 4, 2019) and centers on percentage figures ^{[4] [3]}. The convergence on the same five-state list across 2025 summaries increases confidence that these counts reflect the most recently compiled public estimates; the November 2025 piece provides a clear link to a known underlying survey (the 2020 Religion Census), which explains consistency across later summaries ^[1].

4. What the packet omits and why that matters for interpretation

The materials do not present source-level methodological details such as sampling frames, margin-of-error estimates, or how immigrant populations and mosque counts were translated into state totals. Several summaries acknowledge that survey-based estimates may have inaccuracies and that counts may be influenced by how data were aggregated from the 2020 Religion Census or subsequent estimates ^[1]. The packet also lacks year-by-year trend data and regional migration patterns that could show whether states are gaining or losing Muslim residents since 2020. Without those elements, the presented numbers are useful as current best estimates by absolute count but are insufficient to infer short-term trends or local concentration nuances.

5. Reconciling city-level clues with state totals — why big cities matter

Multiple fragments note the presence of major urban centers—New York City, Chicago, Houston, Queens, Los Angeles, Detroit—as magnets that explain state-level totals ^{[6] [7]}. When aggregated, dense city populations translate into higher state counts: New York’s large Muslim population aligns with New York City and Queens figures, and Illinois’s count reflects Chicago’s concentration. The packet’s repeated mention of urban hubs supports the interpretation that state totals are driven by metropolitan clusters, which is consistent with both absolute-count lists and percent-based concentration differences across states ^{[6] [7]}.

6. Final synthesis and the succinct answer readers want

Bringing the packet’s consistent data points together, the clear factual conclusion is that the top five U.S. states by total number of Muslim residents are New York (~724,475), California (~504,056), Illinois (~473,792), New Jersey (~321,652), and Texas (~313,209). These totals are repeatedly cited across the supplied analyses and are anchored by a November 6, 2025 ranking tied to the 2020 U.S. Religion Census, while alternate lists in the packet that prioritize percentage share reflect different measurement choices rather than an outright contradiction ^{[1] [2] [3]}.