Which US metropolitan areas have the largest Muslim populations by total number in 2025?
Executive summary
Estimates from multiple secondary sources point to the New York metropolitan area as by far the largest Muslim population center in the United States in 2025, followed by several other major metros including the Detroit area, the Chicago area, and large California and Texas metros — but precise ranks and counts vary widely across studies because the U.S. census does not record religion [1] [2] [3]. Available reporting places New York roughly in the several‑hundreds‑of‑thousands to around 1.5 million range, Detroit around 200,000–250,000, and other metros (Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, Houston/Dallas) in lower but still significant five‑figure to low‑six‑figure ranges [1] [2] [3].
1. New York metro: America’s largest Muslim population center
Multiple aggregators and specialist projections identify the New York metropolitan area as hosting the nation’s largest Muslim population in 2025, with estimates clustering from roughly 600,000 up to about 1.5 million depending on methodology and the geographic boundaries used (New York City proper vs. the broader tri‑state metro) [1] [2] [3]. The Global Muslim Life project explicitly lists New York as the Western Hemisphere’s largest Muslim metro in its 2025 snapshot [1], while state‑level tallies compiled by data aggregators put New York State at roughly 724,475 Muslims in 2025 — a figure that implies a very large metro concentration around the city [3].
2. Metro Detroit: highest concentration and a large absolute population
Reporting consistently flags the Detroit metropolitan area (including Dearborn, Hamtramck and surrounding suburbs) as having both the highest concentration of Muslims among major U.S. metros and one of the largest absolute Muslim populations, typically estimated between about 200,000 and 250,000 in 2025 [1] [2]. Dearborn’s visible Arab‑Muslim institutions, businesses, mosques and schools make metro Detroit a national reference point for American Arab‑Muslim life [2].
3. Other large metros: Chicago, California metros, Boston, Washington, Texas metros
Chicago and Illinois feature among the top metros by Muslim numbers, with Illinois repeatedly listed in the same tier as New York and California for total Muslim population [4] [3]. California’s combined metropolitan areas (Los Angeles, the Bay Area, etc.) and New Jersey’s portions of the greater New York region (including Paterson and Jersey City) are also cited as national leaders [4] [5]. Greater Boston is singled out for a well‑educated Muslim community with an estimated 80,000–100,000 Muslims in 2025 [1]. Texas metros such as Houston and Dallas–Fort Worth appear in multiple listings among the next largest concentrations, although aggregated state figures and metro breakdowns vary [4] [3].
4. Why estimates diverge: methods, geography and data gaps
All available sources emphasize that U.S. estimates of Muslim populations are imprecise because the federal census does not ask about religion; researchers rely on surveys, community records, mosque counts, immigration data and modelled projections, which yield different totals and confidence intervals — a point noted explicitly by analysts and media aggregators [6] [1]. Some outlets present state totals (e.g., New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas) rather than metro‑level breakdowns, and others project forward to 2025 or 2100 using different growth assumptions, which complicates direct comparison [3] [1].
5. Reading the rankings: cautious conclusions and competing narratives
Taken together, the consistent picture across independent aggregators and specialist projects is that New York metro is the largest Muslim population center in 2025, with metro Detroit, Chicago, major California metros, Greater Boston, the Washington area and Texas metros following in rough order depending on source and definition [1] [2] [3]. Any precise ranking or numeric claim should be presented with caveats about source, metropolitan definition and modelling choices because available public data are indirect and sometimes contradictory [6] [1].