US states ranked by patriotism: Virginia most patriotic state in America

Virginia has been named the most patriotic state in the union — and Massachusetts the least — in a new study.

WalletHub used 13 determining factors to rank all 50 states in the United States of America by their level of patriotism, measuring factors like the number of veterans per capita, the number of military enlistees, and the rate of volunteering.

The site determined that red states, on the whole, are more patriotic than blue states, Southern and Midwestern states filling out most of the top of the list and Northeastern states falling toward the bottom.

Red, white, and blue! WalletHub ranked all 50 US states by their patriotism 

VA is for patriots! Virginia came in first, while Massachusetts was ranked last

VA is for patriots! Virginia came in first, while Massachusetts was ranked last

‘Expressions of American patriotism come in many forms — from setting off fireworks during Fourth of July and buying American-made goods to paying taxes and serving in the armed forces,’ the site wrote. ‘But some states are better than others at showing their national pride.’   

According to their calculations, Virginia is the most patriotic state, earning a score of 70.48 based on all considered factors.  

Alaska — which has the highest military engagement rank of any state — came in second, followed by Wyoming, South Carolina, and Idaho.

Rounding out the top ten are Colorado, Hawaii, Washington, North Carolina, and Georgia.

Some states fell lower on the list than one might expect. Many Texans are outspoken about their patriotism, but the state ranked only 31st, since it didn’t have particularly civic engagement.

The state with the highest civic engagement was Vermont, which ranked 19 for overall patriotism.

Civic engagement accounted for half of the points for ranking, and was measured by things like the share of adults who voted in the 2016 presidential election and privacy election, the volunteer rate and number of hours volunteered, and the number of people in AmeriCorps.  

Served: Georgia has the most military enlistees, while Alaska has the most veterans per capita

Served: Georgia has the most military enlistees, while Alaska has the most veterans per capita

Doing their part: Maine had the highest percentage of voters, and Utah has the highest volunteer rate

Doing their part: Maine had the highest percentage of voters, and Utah has the highest volunteer rate

It also measured trial and grand jury participation and the frequency of Google searches for American flags. 

Utah has the highest volunteer rate at 39.29 per cent, which is 2.1 times higher than  Florida, the state with the lowest volunteer rate at 18.31 per cent.

The highest percentage of voters in 2016 were in Maine (72.68 per cent of the population cast ballots), compared to Hawaii which has the lowest (only 47.27 per cent of people voted there).  

And Vermont has the most Peace Corps volunteers per capita, while Mississippi has the fewest.

The other half of the points came from military engagement, with points awarded based on the average military enlistees, number of veterans, and active-duty military personnel. 

Georgia has the highest average number of military enlistees, followed by South Carolina, Alaska, Idaho, and Texas. North Dakota had the lowest, preceded by Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Jersey.

New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts, and Utah also have the fewest veteran per capita, while Alaska, Montana, Virginia, Maine, and South Carolina have the most. 

According to the site’s populations, the least patriotic states are Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Illinois, New York, Connecticut, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. 

REVEALED: The most patriotic states in America

 1. Virginia

2. Alaska

3. Wyoming

4. South Carolina

5. Idaho

6. Colorado  

7. Hawaii 

8. Washington

9. North Carolina 

10. Georgia

11. Maine 

12. South Dakota 

13. New Hampshire

14. Oklahoma

15. Kansas

16. Maryland

17. Nebraska 

18. Arizona

19. Vermont

20. Mississippi 

21. Utah

22. Nevada

23. Montana

24. New Mexico

25. Missouri

26. Alabama

27. North Dakota

28. Wisconsin

29. Iowa

30. Florida

31. Texas

32. Ohio

33. Minnesota

34. Arkansas

35. Louisiana

36. Tennessee

37. Kentucky

38. Oregon

39. Indiana

40. West Virginia

41. Delaware

42. Pennsylvania

43. Michigan

44. California

45. Connecticut

46. New York

47. Illinois

48. Rhode Island

49. New Jersey

50. Massachusetts



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