There are many different ways to express patriotism, from hanging up a flag or attending a parade to voting, joining the military or actively working to improve conditions for your fellow Americans. Being a patriot means loving your country and its people while also recognizing its flaws and striving to make it the best it can be. And there’s no better time to get into the spirit of patriotism than July 4th, the most patriotic day of the year.
In order to determine where Americans have the most red, white and blue pride on Independence Day and during the rest of the year, WalletHub compared the states across 13 key indicators of patriotism. Our data set ranges from the state’s military enlistees and veterans to the share of adults who voted in the 2020 presidential election to AmeriCorps volunteers per capita.
Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst
Most Patriotic States in the U.S.
| Overall Rank | State | Total Score | Military Engagement Rank | Civic Engagement Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia | 64.34 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Alaska | 63.40 | 1 | 20 |
| 3 | Montana | 61.73 | 23 | 3 |
| 4 | Maine | 58.42 | 37 | 1 |
| 5 | Oregon | 57.65 | 38 | 2 |
| 6 | Colorado | 57.64 | 11 | 10 |
| 7 | New Hampshire | 57.16 | 33 | 4 |
| 8 | Washington | 57.11 | 12 | 11 |
| 9 | Maryland | 57.04 | 24 | 8 |
| 10 | Hawaii | 56.53 | 2 | 28 |
| 11 | Wyoming | 54.30 | 7 | 17 |
| 12 | North Dakota | 53.27 | 10 | 16 |
| 13 | Vermont | 52.43 | 42 | 5 |
| 14 | Kansas | 51.45 | 13 | 19 |
| 15 | Arizona | 51.16 | 20 | 15 |
| 16 | Delaware | 51.02 | 25 | 14 |
| 17 | Iowa | 50.95 | 41 | 7 |
| 18 | Minnesota | 50.37 | 47 | 6 |
| 19 | Utah | 49.22 | 36 | 12 |
| 20 | Idaho | 48.32 | 21 | 22 |
| 21 | North Carolina | 48.19 | 5 | 31 |
| 22 | Missouri | 47.10 | 28 | 21 |
| 23 | Georgia | 46.61 | 6 | 35 |
| 24 | South Dakota | 46.23 | 19 | 26 |
| 25 | Mississippi | 45.79 | 18 | 27 |
| 26 | South Carolina | 44.63 | 4 | 43 |
| 27 | New Mexico | 43.83 | 9 | 37 |
| 28 | Illinois | 43.82 | 40 | 18 |
| 29 | Ohio | 43.71 | 34 | 23 |
| 30 | New Jersey | 43.22 | 48 | 13 |
| 31 | Nebraska | 40.35 | 27 | 34 |
| 32 | Wisconsin | 40.30 | 44 | 25 |
| 33 | Kentucky | 40.13 | 17 | 41 |
| 34 | Michigan | 39.88 | 46 | 24 |
| 35 | California | 39.04 | 30 | 32 |
| 36 | Texas | 38.66 | 14 | 44 |
| 37 | Tennessee | 38.25 | 31 | 36 |
| 38 | Oklahoma | 38.20 | 8 | 47 |
| 39 | Nevada | 37.28 | 15 | 46 |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | 37.20 | 45 | 29 |
| 41 | West Virginia | 36.92 | 32 | 39 |
| 42 | Connecticut | 36.26 | 43 | 30 |
| 43 | Alabama | 35.54 | 16 | 48 |
| 44 | Louisiana | 34.85 | 26 | 45 |
| 45 | Indiana | 34.76 | 35 | 40 |
| 46 | Florida | 33.64 | 22 | 49 |
| 47 | Rhode Island | 32.65 | 39 | 42 |
| 48 | Massachusetts | 32.20 | 50 | 33 |
| 49 | New York | 32.09 | 49 | 38 |
| 50 | Arkansas | 26.19 | 29 | 50 |
Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
- Highest
- 1. Georgia
- 2. Alaska
- 3. Texas
- 4. South Carolina
- 5. Hawaii
- Lowest
- 46. Minnesota
- 47. Massachusetts
- 48. Rhode Island
- 49. Vermont
- 50. North Dakota
- Most
- 1. Alaska
- 2. Virginia
- 3. Wyoming
- 4. Montana
- 5. Hawaii
- Fewest
- 46. Utah
- 47. Massachusetts
- 48. California
- 49. New York
- 50. New Jersey
- Most
- T-1. Montana
- T-1. Vermont
- 3. New Hampshire
- 4. Colorado
- 5. Maryland
- Fewest
- 46. South Dakota
- 47. Louisiana
- 48. Utah
- T-49. North Dakota
- T-49. West Virginia
- Highest %
- 1. New Jersey
- 2. Minnesota
- 3. Oregon
- 4. New Hampshire
- T-5. Maryland
- T-5. Wisconsin
- Lowest %
- 46. Alabama
- 47. South Dakota
- 48. Oklahoma
- 49. West Virginia
- 50. Arkansas
- Highest
- 1. Utah
- 2. Wyoming
- 3. Minnesota
- 4. Maine
- 5. South Dakota
- Lowest
- T-45. Hawaii
- T-45. New Mexico
- 47. Alabama
- 48. California
- 49. Nevada
- 50. Florida
In-Depth Look at the Most Patriotic States
Virginia
Virginia is 2024’s most patriotic state. For every 100,000 civilians in Virginia, there are nearly 1,900 active-duty military personnel, the third-most in the country. And for every 1,000 civilians, there are around 107 veterans, the second-most in the country.
Old Dominion is also patriotic on the civic side. It has a high voter turnout rate, with 71.5% of residents having voted in the 2020 presidential election, compared to the national average of 67%. To top things off, Virginia has the seventh-highest number of peace corps volunteers per capita, and it is one of the many states that require courses in U.S. history or civics for high school graduation.
Alaska
Alaska is the second-most patriotic state, with an extremely high number of veterans and active-duty service members per capita. There are nearly 3,500 active-duty military personnel for every 100,000 civilians in the state, and around 134 veterans for every 1,000 civilians.
Many Alaskans have also fulfilled their patriotic duty of jury service, with the state having the fifth-highest number of people per capita who served as jurors over the past year. In addition, Alaska has a lot of Americorps volunteers per capita, so plenty of residents show their patriotism by serving others in need.
Montana
Montana is the third-most patriotic state, in part because it has a large voter turnout. 73.5% of the state’s voting population turned out for the 2020 presidential election, and nearly 46% voted in the primary that year (the highest primary turnout in the country).
Montana also has a lot of residents who volunteer for the Peace Corps and Americorps, and over 31% of residents volunteer for some sort of organization in general. For comparison, in more than half of the states, the volunteer rate is below 25%.
In addition, Montana has 104 veterans for every 1,000 civilians, the fourth-highest number in the country.
Blue States vs. Red States
Ask the Experts
Patriotism can be a complex subject, depending on who’s involved in the discussion. For insight, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:
- What are the characteristics of a good patriot?
- What are the best ways for an individual to show patriotism?
- What is the relative influence of economic incentives versus patriotic intentions when deciding whether or not to join the military? Has this changed over time?
- Should we be raising our children as global citizens first or as Americans first?
- What measures should schools and local authorities undertake in order to promote patriotism among citizens?
Ask the Experts
Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies Emeritus – Cornell University
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Ph.D. – Distinguished Professor and Professor of Political Science Emeritus, School of Public Service – Elizabethtown College
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Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science – Penn Arts & Sciences
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Associate Professor of Sociology; Affiliated Faculty, Community Research and Action and American Studies – Vanderbilt University
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Ph.D. – Community Strategist, Former Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Emerita Associate Professor of American Studies, Former Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and Founding Director of Center for Synergy – University of Maryland
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Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Department of Political Science – Rutgers University-Camden, New Jersey
Read More
Methodology
In order to determine the most patriotic states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, “Military Engagement” and “Civic Engagement.”
We evaluated those dimensions using 13 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of patriotism.
Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.
Military Engagement – Total Points: 25
- Average Military Enlistees per 1,000 Civilian Adults Between 2015 & 2020 (No Prior Service): Double Weight (~8.33 Points)
- Veterans per 1,000 Civilian Adults: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Active-Duty Military Personnel per 100,000 Civilian Adults: Double Weight (~8.33 Points)
- Share of Civilian Adult Population in Military Reserves: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
Civic Engagement – Total Points: 75
- Share of Adults Who Voted in 2020 Presidential Election: Triple Weight (~25.00 Points)
- Share of Adults Who Voted in 2020 Primary Elections: Full Weight (~8.33 Points)
- Volunteer Rate: Half Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Volunteer Hours per Resident: Half Weight (~4.17 Points)
- AmeriCorps Volunteers per Capita: Half Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Peace Corps Volunteers per Capita: Half Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Trial- & Grand-Jury Participation per Civilian Adult Population: Full Weight (~8.33 Points)
- Share of Residents Who Participate in Any Groups, Organizations or Associations in the Past Year (Civic Life): Full Weight (~8.33 Points)
- U.S. History/Civics Education Requirement: Full Weight (~8.33 Points)
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of May 20, 2024 from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Defense Manpower Data Center, Peace Corps, Military OneSource, United States Elections Project, Administrative Office of the United States Courts, AmeriCorps and The Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
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