Texas Muslim statistics: sources, definitions and reproducible notes

A useful statistical reference tells a reader where a number came from and what can be done with it. This ledger organizes the principal sources used in the Texas Muslim Almanac, identifies the questions each source is suited to answer, and supplies a consistent way to record calculations and institutional facts. It is designed for writers, students, community organizations and readers who want to check a claim without reconstructing the entire research process.

The most important distinction is the unit being observed. Residents, self-identified adults, estimated adherents, congregations, buildings, school campuses and directory records are all legitimate subjects of research. They cannot be substituted for one another. A table can contain precise integers and still answer a different question from the one in a headline.

Choose the source that matches the question

A minimal statistical record

Every reusable observation should carry a metric name, value, unit, geography, reference period, source title, source URL, retrieval date and methodological note. Add the date the publication itself appeared when it differs from the period measured. A 2022 report about 2021 fieldwork is not a 2022 population count; a page checked today is not evidence that all of its data were collected today.

For bounds or rounded estimates, store the qualification separately. “More than 330” is not the integer 330, and “approximately 500,000” is not a six-significant-figure measurement. A blank value means the information was not established in this record. It should not become zero when exported, charted or summarized.

This structure is intentionally modest. It can be used in a spreadsheet, a newsroom note or a machine-readable record without committing to a complicated database. The point is to make the meaning travel with the value when someone copies it into another context.

Which dates matter?

A historical event has an event date. A survey has fieldwork dates. A statistical series has a reference period and often a revision vintage. A directory has a retrieval date and may or may not disclose when individual listings were last checked. Publication date is another field, not a replacement for any of these.

HCR 80 and HCR 18, for example, are identifiable introduced documents from 2023 and 2025. Their population statements are evidence of what those texts cite. Their document dates do not independently establish a new survey in either year. Link the document when discussing the statement, and look for a separate underlying study before attributing a statistical method to it. [10][11]

For institutional history, specify whether the date refers to a group forming, incorporation, acquisition of land, a building opening or a change of name. This distinction is especially important for claims about a “first mosque.” Our Texas Muslim History and regional Atlas keep community formation and buildings separate rather than assigning one date to an entire history.

Geographic boundaries are part of the finding

The Atlas covers four named regions for practical orientation; those editorial regions are not automatically federal metropolitan statistical areas. A researcher calculating a regional total must specify the counties included and the boundary vintage used. A student describing a municipality should not silently use the larger region’s figure simply because both are commonly called Houston or Dallas.

For an institution, keep the municipality and the service area separate. A cemetery in Waller can serve Houston families; a mosque in Helotes can be relevant to a San Antonio guide. The record should state both facts without relocating the facility on the map. The Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio guides use named places rather than unverified population shading.

Comparing surveys without turning samples into populations

Survey findings need the denominator that actually produced them. If 86 percent of a study’s respondents report a college degree, the responsible sentence describes those respondents unless the sampling design supports a broader estimate. Do not compare that percentage directly with an all-adult statewide statistic that uses a different age threshold or sampling frame.

The Houston Muslim Study is useful precisely because its summary supplies fieldwork dates, sample size and characteristics of its respondents. It is a source for local experience and self-reported characteristics, not an enumeration of every Muslim Houstonian. Read the methods before using its findings for citywide forecasts, service-demand calculations or statewide comparisons. [8]

For repeated surveys, determine whether the question wording, recruitment, weighting and eligible population remained comparable. A changed result can reflect a changed measurement. Equally, a stable result can conceal differences among age groups or localities. Those are research questions to investigate, not reasons to abandon the data or to choose whichever percentage best fits an argument.

Arithmetic a reader can reproduce

A rate per 1,000 is converted to a percentage by dividing by ten. A percentage change is calculated from a comparable earlier value, not from a percentage-point difference. A share of state residents requires the relevant state population denominator; a share of a survey sample requires the number of respondents eligible for that question.

For a hypothetical example, an organization serving 100 households this year and 120 next year reports a 20 percent increase in households served. That does not establish 20 percent population growth: the service might have expanded, changed eligibility or reached more existing residents. Similarly, counting 12 school records in a directory establishes the size of that directory, not the number of Islamic schools throughout Texas.

Preserve the intermediate values and rounding rule whenever publishing a derived figure. The population explainer includes a labeled denominator example; the mosque explainer explains why differently scoped counts should not be joined into a growth chart.

What this ledger does not establish

The reviewed material does not establish a precise 2026 Muslim population for each Texas city, a complete current count of Islamic schools, or statewide income, education or crime rates by Muslim religious identity. National-origin statistics cannot be relabeled as religious statistics. A public directory cannot establish the religion of every employee or visitor at an institution. These are specific data gaps, not blanks to fill by extrapolation.

The Atlas can still document institutional diversity and practical services. Official sources tell us where a school operates, how a congregation describes its history, where a university publishes Muslim student resources, and which provider handles a burial inquiry. Those records answer different—and often more immediately useful—questions than a speculative population total.

Citation and correction protocol

When reusing a figure, name the original source and period, then identify Texas Muslim as the guide through which you found it when appropriate. Keep the source link beside the fact rather than collecting unexplained links at the bottom. A correction should identify the affected field, the previous value, the replacement, its supporting source and whether the change affects any calculation or conclusion.

This edition was assembled from the linked public material checked on September 22, 2026. It does not claim interviews, site visits, a new household survey or a completed statewide census. The corrections page is the route for documented updates; the existing editor profile explains the publication’s responsibility for maintaining the resource.