Virginia, Montana top list of most patriotic states in new survey before America’s 250th

Which states are the most patriotic in the United States? The least? Personal finance company WalletHub released a survey in mid-June ranking all 50 states, using a methodology incorporating more than a dozen indicators.

Virginia was ranked as the most patriotic state overall, ranking third in terms of military engagement, and seventh in civic engagement.

"For every 100,000 civilians in Virginia, there are nearly 1,761 active-duty military personnel, the third-most in the country. And for every 1,000 civilians, there are nearly 103 veterans, the second-most in the country," WalletHub reported.

WalletHub Financial Writer Adam McCann explained the findings in a June 15 report headlined, "Most Patriotic States in America," where he wrote, "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."

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"Our data set ranges from the state’s military enlistees and veterans to the share of adults who voted in the 2024 presidential election to AmeriCorps volunteers per capita."

The report added that on the civic side of the equation, Virginia has "a high voter turnout rate, with 72.9% of residents having voted in the 2024 presidential election, compared to the national average of 66%. To top things off, Virginia has the fifth-highest number of peace corps volunteers per capita, and it is one of the many states that require a standalone course in civics for high school graduation."

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo told readers, "The most patriotic states have a lot of residents who serve or have served in the armed forces, high voter turnouts during elections, and a high share of the population volunteering with national or local organizations. Patriotism also isn’t concentrated in any one particular area – the top states are located in vastly different geographic regions."

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Montana was rated the second-most patriotic state, "in part because it has a relatively large voter turnout. 69.2% of the state’s voting population turned out for the 2024 presidential election, and nearly 46% voted in the 2020 primary election (the highest primary turnout in the country)."

It also ranked second in jury service, the second-highest number of Americorps volunteers and a relatively high 37% of residents volunteering for an organization in general.

Rounding out the top five overall were Vermont, Colorado and Oregon.

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The least patriotic states, according to the study, were Arkansas in 50th overall, followed by New York, Louisiana, and Alabama. 

The survey claimed, according to its methodology, that the 19 "blue" states that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 were on average more patriotic than the 31 that went for election victor President Donald Trump.

The country's three largest blue states in 2024 — Illinois (37th), California (40th) and New York (49th) — all were relatively low in the survey.