It is not easy to arrive at an accurate idea of the number of Buddhists in the United States. The simplest reason is that it is not at all clear how to define who is and who is not a Buddhist.

The easiest and most intuitive definition is one based on self-description, but this has its pitfalls. Because Buddhism exists as a cultural concept in American society, there may be individuals who self-describe as Buddhists but have essentially no knowledge of or commitment to Buddhism as a religion or practice on the other hand, others may be deeply involved in meditation and committed to the Buddhadharma, but may refuse the label “Buddhist”.

Despite these difficulties, several scholars have investigated this question. Most studies have indicated a Buddhist population in the United States of between 1 and 4 million.

The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 2004 indicates that 2% of the U.S. population is Buddhist, which would mean a total of 5,973,446 Buddhists.

Other estimates, perhaps relying on a greater degree of intuition, are larger: in the 1990s, Robert A. F.

Thurman stated his opinion that there were 5 to 6 million Buddhists in America, and others might speculate there are more.

Whatever the total number, it appears that roughly 75 to 80 percent of Buddhists in the U.S. are of Asian descent and inherited Buddhism as a family tradition the remaining 20 to 25 percent are non-Asians.