People Group Profiles

“All nations will come and worship before you."

- Revelations 15:4

Yucatec of United States


People Group Info

Total Population: 180,000

ROP3 Code: 111105
IMB Affinity Group: American Peoples
Affinity Bloc: Latin-Caribbean Americans
People Cluster: Maya
Language: Yucateco - (yua)
Religion: Ethnic Religions
Country of Origin: Mexico

Majority Located Where

  Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA - 50,000

  San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA - 25,000

  Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA - 594

  Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR - 549

  Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO - 320

Click here to recommend other locations where this People Group resides.

Learn More

Brief Profile

The Yucatec are a Mayan indigenous group who have migrated from the Yucatec peninsula and who maintain their pre-Columbian language and culture. They are an ancient people who survived disaster, drought, internal struggles, and ultimately, the Spanish colonization of their homelands in the Mexican states of Yucatán and Quintana Roo and the country of Belize.

The Yucatec are often not heavily integrated into the majority hispanicized Mestizo culture and continue a more traditional, culturally distinct life with a distinctive set of traditions and beliefs resulting from the merger of pre-Columbian and post-Conquest ideas and cultures.

The primary religion practiced by the Yucatec is ethnic Mayan religion rooted in the reverence of their gods and spirits in nature. Mayan religion is expressed through traditional rites, customs, and worldview, and conversion to Christianity essentially equates to cultural assimilation. Yucatec speak their native Yucateco language, and may also speak Spanish.

Yucatec have immigrated to the USA in significant numbers due to economic, social, and political challenges in their homelands. Numerous Mayan cultural associations exist in the USA with the goal of promoting and preserving Mayan culture, language, and religion, and Yucatec may be found participating in these associations.

Prayer Points

  • Pray for Yucatec believers to boldly proclaim the gospel to their people.
  • Pray that the barriers of traditional Yucatec Mayan religion would be broken down.
  • Pray for more workers for the harvest, both for the Yucatec in the United States, as well as those in their countries of origin.


Learning Resources

Learn more about "Learning Paths"
Online Courses for embracing, encountering and engaging diaspora people. Work at your own pace. Begin anytime and complete the course according to your schedule. Interactive, Hands-On Application.

Learn more about "Reaching the Nations"
This book delineates five disciplines Christians should develop in order to effectively reach the nations. More specifically, it will guide Christians to develop an engagement strategy in their locale.

World Religions - Beliefs Overview
An overview of major world religions and cults - their beliefs and practices.


Other Resources

Prayer Guide for Unreached Peoples
A 30 day guide to pray for unreached people groups.

Prayer Guide using the GOSPELS acronym
A prayer guide that utilizes the acronym GOSPELS to pray for workers among diaspora.

Displaying 1-6 of 6 results.
Country City Metro Area Name State / Prov. Baseline Population
United StatesLos AngelesLos Angeles-Long Beach-AnaheimCA50,000
United StatesSan FranciscoSan Francisco-Oakland-HaywardCA15,000
United StatesSan RafaelSan Francisco-Oakland-HaywardCA10,000
United StatesOxnardOxnard-Thousand Oaks-VenturaCA594
United StatesPortlandPortland-Vancouver-HillsboroOR549
United StatesDenverDenver-Aurora-LakewoodCO320