Due to high birth rates and the need for affordable farmland, Swartzentruber Amish communities have expanded significantly beyond their original heartland in Holmes and Wayne counties, Ohio.
Migration to Upstate New York and the Midwest
In recent decades, Swartzentruber families have established prominent new settlements in rural Upstate New York (such as St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties), Michigan, Wisconsin, and Missouri, where inexpensive land allows young families to maintain small, self-sufficient farmsteads.
Preserving Isolation Through Migration
Moving to remote, rural regions helps Swartzentruber settlements maintain physical distance from suburban sprawl, heavy road traffic, and tourist commercialization, protecting their traditional way of life for future generations.