Churches by Sunday attendance size
Percent of U.S. Protestant churches by number attending Sunday services, 2019 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: 50 to 99 attending (35%). Lowest: 250 or more attending (11%).
- 50 to 99 attending: 35%
- 100 to 249 attending: 32%
- Fewer than 50 attending: 21%
Source: Lifeway Research, Are American Churches Growing? · Lifeway Research survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors, sponsored by Exponential. Article published 2019-03-15.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: 50 to 99 attending (35%). Lowest: 250 or more attending (11%). 50 to 99 attending: 35%. 100 to 249 attending: 32%. Fewer than 50 attending: 21%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2019. Source: Lifeway Research, Are American Churches Growing? (https://research.lifeway.com/2019/03/15/are-american-churches-growing/).
Where can I get the full data and a citation?
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More Attendance statistics
- Change in congregations' worship attendance over two years Lifeway Research, 2026
- Churchgoers' views on the amount of liturgical style in their church Lifeway Research, 2026
- Regular religious service attendance by age group Lifeway Research, 2026
- Churchgoers who prefer sermons no longer than 40 minutes Lifeway Research, 2020
- Effect of the pandemic on attending a Christmas church service Lifeway Research, 2020
- How people feel after worship services at least most of the time Barna Group, 2020
About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.