Elks Lodges by State: Membership Numbers and Distribution

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks operates through roughly 1,900 local lodges spread across all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and some international locations. Where those lodges cluster — and where they thin out — tells a surprisingly clear story about the organization's roots, its demographic base, and the uneven pressures shaping membership decline and trends over the past four decades. This page maps the distribution of lodges and members by state, explains how the geographic spread is organized, and draws the key contrasts between high-density and low-density states.

Definition and scope

The BPOE tracks lodge counts and membership figures through its Grand Lodge, the national governing body headquartered in Chicago. Each chartered lodge carries an assigned number — Lodge No. 1, founded in New York City in 1868, sits at the start of a sequence that now exceeds 2,500 in numeric terms, though active lodge count is considerably lower after closures and consolidations over the decades.

"Lodges by state" refers to the count of active, chartered lodges within each state's geographic boundaries, not the total number ever chartered. A state like Pennsylvania, with deep industrial and union-hall traditions, supports over 130 active lodges — one of the highest concentrations in the country. California follows with a comparable density given its population, while smaller population states like Wyoming or Alaska typically support fewer than 10 lodges each.

Membership numbers compound this picture: the BPOE reported approximately 750,000 members nationally in the early 2020s, down from a peak exceeding 1.6 million in the mid-1970s (Elks National Foundation). That contraction did not fall evenly. States that anchored Elks identity in manufacturing and mid-century civic culture — Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York — shed lodges in absolute numbers but often retained stronger per-lodge membership than sunbelt states where the organization arrived later and shallower.

How it works

Lodge distribution is not assigned by the Grand Lodge on a population formula. Lodges form organically: a group of at least 15 qualified applicants petitions the Grand Lodge for a charter, and charters are granted when membership requirements and dues obligations can be met (Elks membership requirements). This means lodge density reflects historical patterns of organizing activity more than current population density.

The organizational hierarchy that governs geographic distribution runs in three tiers:

  1. The Grand Lodge — sets national standards, charters new lodges, and can revoke charters for lodges that fall below viability thresholds (typically tied to membership minimums and financial standing).
  2. State Associations — each state has a voluntary coordinating body that facilitates communication between lodges and Grand Lodge but holds no chartering authority.
  3. Individual Lodges — hold the actual charter, own or lease their facility, and operate independently within Grand Lodge rules.

When a lodge's membership drops below the minimum required to sustain a charter — a threshold the Grand Lodge does not publish as a single fixed number, as it is subject to revision — the lodge may merge with a neighboring lodge, surrender its charter voluntarily, or be dissolved by Grand Lodge action. The elks lodge count by state reflects the surviving end of that process.

Common scenarios

Three patterns dominate the geographic distribution picture.

High-density legacy states — Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois — each supported industrial economies where fraternal lodges served genuine social infrastructure roles: meeting halls, death benefits, mutual aid networks. These states still account for a disproportionate share of total lodge count relative to population.

Moderate-density growth states — Florida, California, and Texas each have lodge counts that grew substantially during the postwar migration boom, peaking between the 1960s and early 1980s. Florida in particular saw rapid lodge formation as Northern retirees relocated, a demographic that both boosted membership and later accelerated average age concerns.

Low-density frontier and western states — Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and similar states have lodge counts in the single digits to low teens, despite long historical presence. In some small towns, the local Elks Lodge remains the primary civic gathering space, making per-lodge community significance high even when statewide totals are modest.

The contrast between Pennsylvania (130+ lodges) and Wyoming (fewer than 10) is not simply a population ratio story. Pennsylvania's lodge density exceeds what raw population math would predict because of that state's specific working-class fraternal traditions, explored further in the history of the Elks.

Decision boundaries

The practical question lodges and members face is which lodge to join when geographic options exist — and how to understand what a lodge number reveals about its community.

Lower lodge numbers generally indicate earlier chartering dates and tend to correlate with urban, eastern locations. Lodge No. 1 (New York), Lodge No. 2 (San Francisco), and Lodge No. 3 (Chicago) were all chartered in the organization's first decade. A lodge number in the 2,000s almost certainly reflects a charter granted in the twentieth century, often in a smaller or more geographically isolated community.

When a lodge closes or merges, its number typically retires — it is not reassigned. This means the numeric gap between active lodge numbers and total charter count (which exceeds 2,500) represents the accumulated history of closures since 1868, a number that carries its own weight when reviewing the Elks national growth timeline.

For someone exploring the broader context of what the Elks organization does and how it is structured, the main Elks authority index provides an orientation across all dimensions of the order, from charitable programs to lodge governance.

References

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