Amish Culture

The Amish generally avoid some common practices in society, such as political voting and military service. Additionally, in an effort to not be subservient to connections to the outside world, the Amish generally are not connected to the electrical grid.

Approximately 3-5% of Amish earn their living in agriculture, while the majority work in the available factory jobs or have businesses of their own. Amish-owned businesses have a failure rate of only around 5%, whereas non-Amish businesses fail at a rate of closer to 50% across the United States.

One common misconception is that Amish do not pay taxes – in fact, they pay the same as everyone else with the exception of Social Security, as many opt out and therefore do not receive any Social Security or Medicare benefits. While the Amish generally speak English, most also speak a version of German called “Pennsylvania Dutch,” which has origins in Southern Germany.