A public record, with the sources attached

This hub collects counts, estimates, and official findings we have actually retrieved. Where two reputable sources differ — as they do on mosque totals and population size — we show both and explain the difference. We do not invent statistics.

Mosque growth

Decadal counts from the US Mosque Survey (1994–2020), purpose-built construction, attendance, and the 2020 U.S. Religion Census figures.

Demographics

Pew estimates from 2007 through 2026, the 2050 projection, and later findings from the 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study.

Key polls

Findings from Pew’s 2017 survey of U.S. Muslims, including views of American identity, extremism, and violence against civilians.

Extremism and public safety

Official GAO and FBI/DOJ sources only, with a clear distinction among the religion of Islam, extremist movements, and individual Muslims.

History

A separate narrative history of Islam in America, from the colonial and antebellum periods through post-1965 immigration.

Issues & Doctrines

A sourced review of controversial teachings and laws — child marriage, violence against women, apostasy and blasphemy, and sharia and liberal democracy — directed at ideas and statutes, not at people.

Mosque growth at a glance

U.S. mosque counts from decadal studies

Mosques counted

U.S. mosque counts from decadal studies
Year	Figure	Type
1994	962	Published estimate or count
2000	1,209	Published estimate or count
2010	2,106	Published estimate or count
2020	2,769	Published estimate or count

Counts come from the US Mosque Survey series led by Ihsan Bagby, conducted with Faith Communities Today / the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership. The 1994, 2000, and 2010 counts are reported in The American Mosque 2011. The 2020 count of 2,769 is from ISPU Report 1 of the US Mosque Survey 2020. The 2020 U.S. Religion Census, using the same research cycle, reports 2,771 mosques (Appendix K and the main census volume)—a difference of two. This site charts the ISPU 2020 figure of 2,769 and notes the census figure beside it. These studies define a mosque as a Muslim organization that organizes Jum'ah prayer, conducts other Islamic activities, and controls the space in which activities are held. They do not include airport or hospital prayer spaces used only for Jum'ah, and they exclude some groups the authors placed outside the Sunni and Shi'ite mainstream. This site does not publish addresses or maps of individual mosques.

Source: Hartford Institute for Religion Research / Ihsan Bagby, “The American Mosque 2011: Report Number 1 from the US Mosque Study 2011” (2011–2012)

Source: Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (Ihsan Bagby), “The American Mosque 2020: Growing and Evolving — Report 1 of the US Mosque Survey 2020” (2020 (page published June 2, 2020; survey completed 2020))

Population estimates and a long-range projection

Pew Research Center estimates and projections of the U.S. Muslim population

Muslims of all ages, in millions (the 2050 column is a projection)

Pew Research Center estimates and projections of the U.S. Muslim population
Year	Figure	Type
2007	2.35	Published estimate or count
2011	2.75	Published estimate or count
2017	3.45	Published estimate or count
2026	5.5	Published estimate or count
2050	8.1	Projection

Pew notes that the U.S. Census Bureau does not ask about religion, so there is no official government headcount. Estimates combine Pew surveys with Census population data. The 2007, 2011, and 2017 points are Pew's published estimates of Muslims of all ages (2.35 million, 2.75 million, and 3.45 million). The 2026 point is Pew's later estimate of about 5.5 million, published September 3, 2026; Pew's accompanying chart rounds the 2007 figure to 2.4 million. The 2050 point (8.1 million, or 2.1% of the U.S. population) is a projection, not a count: Pew published it in January 2018, consistent with its April 2015 forecast that Muslims would be 2.1% of the U.S. population in 2050 if then-current demographic trends held. Projections depend on assumptions about fertility, age structure, and migration, and can be revised.

Source: Pew Research Center, “New estimates show U.S. Muslim population continues to grow” (January 3, 2018)

Source: Pew Research Center, “25 years after 9/11, a portrait of Muslim Americans” (September 3, 2026)

How to read these numbers

The U.S. Census Bureau does not ask about religion, so there is no official government headcount of Muslims — a point Pew itself emphasizes.
Source: Pew Research Center, “New estimates show U.S. Muslim population continues to grow” (January 3, 2018)
Mosque surveys count institutions that meet a defined test (Jum’ah and related activities in a space the organization controls). They are not a census of every Muslim in the country.
The 2020 U.S. Religion Census reports 4,453,908 Muslim adherents and 2,771 mosques. “Adherents” is a congregational measure and should not be treated as identical to Pew’s survey-based population estimates.
Source: Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, “2020 U.S. Religion Census: An Enumeration by Nation, State, Metro, and County” (2023 publication of 2020 census)
The 8.1 million figure for 2050 is a projection published by Pew in 2018, not a current count. Projections depend on assumptions about fertility, age structure, and migration.
Source: Pew Research Center, “New estimates show U.S. Muslim population continues to grow” (January 3, 2018)

For cultural and security questions, we use primary official sources (for example, GAO and FBI/DOJ testimony) and we distinguish Islam as a religion, extremist movements, and individual Muslims. See Extremism and public safety.