New Hampshire has highest share of adults who identify as atheists

New Hampshire has the highest share of adults who identify as atheists in the U.S., at about 11%, according to a Pew Research Center study.

Nearly half of adults in the Granite State (48%) identify as religiously unaffiliated, a group that includes atheists, agnostics, and people who describe their religion as “nothing in particular.”

In the U.S. overall, 5% of adults identify as atheists, meaning New Hampshire’s share is more than twice the national average. About 29% of U.S. adults identify as religiously unaffiliated.

However, regionally, the West has the highest share of adults who identify as atheists among the four major U.S. regions – Northeast, Midwest, South, and West – according to the data.

The Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study (RLS) regarding Americans’ beliefs was conducted in English and Spanish from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 36,908 U.S. adults.

What is atheism? 10 US states with the highest percentage of atheists

Atheism is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods.” However, people may interpret and describe the term in different ways.

Here are the 10 U.S. states with the highest shares of adults who identify as atheists, according to data from the Pew Research Center:

1. New Hampshire – 11% of residents
2. Washington – 9% of residents
3. Colorado – 8% of residents
4. Massachusetts – 8% of residents
5. Montana – 8% of residents
6. Oregon – 8% of residents
7. Vermont – 8% of residents
8. California – 6% of residents
9. Idaho – 6% of residents
10. Maryland – 6% of residents

New Hampshire religious composition

About 45% of adults in New Hampshire identify as Christian, 5% identify with other religions, and 48% as religiously unaffiliated, according to the Pew Research Center.

Breaking it down even further, 20% identify as Catholic, 13% as Mainline Protestant, 10% as Evangelical Protestant, 1% as Historically Black Protestant, 1% as Latter-day Saint (Mormon), 1% as Orthodox Christian, and less than 1% as Jehovah’s Witnesses or other Christian groups.

Roughly 1% identify as Jewish, less than 1% as Muslim, less than 1% as Buddhist, less than 1% as Hindu, less than 1% as Native American religions, and less than 1% as other world religions. About 1% identify with Unitarian and other liberal faiths, and 1% with New Age beliefs.

Among all adults in New Hampshire, 11% of all adults in New Hampshire identify as atheists, 1% as agnostics, and 29% with “nothing in particular.”

About 3% of respondents did not answer the question, the survey said. Additionally, the margin of error for the 2023-24 figures among adults in New Hampshire is plus or minus 8.0 percentage points.