Although an increasing number of Tongans have moved into the only urban and commercial center, Nukuʻalofa, where European and Indigenous cultural and living patterns have blended, village life and kinship ties continue to be important throughout the country.

Everyday life is heavily influenced by Polynesian traditions and especially by the Christian faith; for example, all commerce and entertainment activities cease from midnight Saturday until midnight Sunday, and the constitution declares the Sabbath to be sacred, forever.

Other important Christian denominations include Methodists (Free Wesleyan) and Roman Catholics, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

There are over 150,000 people of Tongan descent living outside of Tonga, mostly in New Zealand, the United States, and Australia.

The Glendale neighborhood of Salt Lake City has one of the highest concentrations of Tongans in the area.

Euless, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has a significant Tongan community, with more than 1,000 residents.