Comprehensive Historical Database of United States Church Statistics Released

The completion of a comprehensive historical database of state-by-state Church statistics for the United States is another significant milestone for The Cumorah Foundation. The database includes annual membership totals, congregations (including ward and branch breakdowns when available), stakes, districts, and missions for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Historical membership data are available from 1987–2025, with statistics for congregations, stakes, districts, and missions likewise spanning nearly four decades.

Data were compiled from the retired Deseret News Church Almanac series and the Church’s official Newsroom site where annual state-by-state statistics have been published. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive publicly available compilation of historical Church statistics for the United States ever assembled. The database also includes historical statistics for stakes, districts, and missions that are difficult to locate in a single source and, in many cases, are no longer readily available elsewhere.

State-by-state statistics were published by the Church every other year from 1987 through 1999 and annually thereafter through 2025, with the exception of 2020 when no state-by-state statistics were released due to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Empty cells in the database indicate data that were not published or are otherwise unavailable for specific years and statistical categories. Most missing data consist of ward and branch breakdowns for selected years when the Church reported only total congregations. To provide a more complete historical record, ward and branch totals for 2012–2017 were reconstructed by tracking unit creations, consolidations, and closures within individual stakes and districts during the period when the Church did not publish ward-branch breakdowns.

This resource provides valuable data for researchers, historians, journalists, members, and others interested in analyzing long-term trends in Church growth, geographic expansion, congregational development, temple expansion, and organizational change within the United States. Users can identify historical milestones, compare growth patterns among states, examine changes in Church administration over time, and better understand how the Church has developed across different regions of the country.

The database is available for viewing in Google Sheets and may also be downloaded here.

Comprehensive Historical Database of Church Growth Statistics and April 2026 Newsletter

Click here to access our April 2026 newsletter for cumorah.com. We will again begin issuing monthly newsletters going forward. Archived newsletters dating back to 2012 are also available on the site here.

The most significant announcement from The Cumorah Foundation this month is the completion of a comprehensive historical database of country-by-country Church statistics spanning more than a century. The database includes annual membership totals dating back to 1920 (when available) as well as annual statistics for congregations (including ward and branch breakdowns), stakes, districts, missions, and temples (announced and dedicated) for every country or territory for which data have been published by the Church. Historical data for wards, branches, stakes, districts, missions, and temples are available from 1987–2025.

Data were compiled from the retired Deseret News Church Almanac series and the Church’s official Newsroom site where annual country-by-country statistics have been published. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive publicly available compilation of historical Church statistics ever assembled.

This resource provides valuable data for researchers, historians, journalists, members, and others interested in analyzing long-term trends in Church growth, missionary expansion, organizational development, congregational consolidation, and geographic outreach throughout the world. Users can identify historical milestones, compare regional growth patterns, and examine changes in Church development over time at both global and national levels.

The database is available for viewing in Google Sheets and may also be downloaded here. 

Most Comprehensive LDS Statistical Database Released

As part of work I have completed for The Cumorah Foundation (cumorah.com), I have completed the most comprehensive country-by-country database to provide data on membership, congregations, stakes, districts, estimated member activity rates, and the percentage of the national population residing in locations with LDS congregations. Users can download the file as an Excel spreadsheet to explore the data. We hope that this resources will fuel additional research and interest in the study of missiology and LDS Church growth. Data in the database goes back to 1930. Enjoy!

Click here to view and download the database.

Stake and District Database

After four months of development, we have completed a comprehensive database listing all of the Church's stakes and districts known to have ever operated. Information in the database includes the name of each stake or district and its corresponding country, administration division, creation date, former names, parent stake or district, notes, discontinuation date (when applicable), and reasons for discontinuation (if known). We hope that this database will be utilized by researchers and the public to promote greater interest and scholarship in the study of the growth of the LDS Church. If you notice any errors in the database or have something to add, please contact me by commenting to this blog post.

The database can be accessed here and may be viewed in Google Sheets or downloaded into Microsoft Excel.