By Sarah Roebuck
Editorial Staff
Patriotism can be shown in many ways, from displaying a flag or attending a parade to voting, joining the military or working to improve conditions for fellow Americans. Being a patriot means loving your country, and there鈥檚 no better time to embrace this spirit than on the Fourth of July, the most patriotic day of the year.
In celebration of the holiday,. WalletHub said it evaluated the 50 states based on 13 key indicators of patriotism. The data set includes metrics such as military enlistment rates, the percentage of veterans, voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election and AmeriCorps volunteers per capita.
Here are the top 20 most patriotic states:
- Virginia
- Alaska
- Montana
- Maine
- Oregon
- Colorado
- New Hampshire
- Washington
- Maryland
- Hawaii
- Wyoming
- North Dakota
- Vermont
- Kansas
- Arizona
- Delaware
- Iowa
- Minnesota
- Utah
- Idaho
Key takeaways
- Virginia has earned the title of the most patriotic state in 2024, according to WalletHub鈥檚 data. With nearly 1,900 active-duty military personnel for every 100,000 civilians, it ranks third in the nation. Additionally, there are about 107 veterans for every 1,000 civilians, placing Virginia second in the country for its veteran population.
- Alaska ranks as the second-most patriotic state, boasting an exceptionally high number of veterans and active-duty service members per capita. The state has nearly 3,500 active-duty military personnel for every 100,000 civilians and approximately 134 veterans for every 1,000 civilians, according to WalletHub.
- Montana ranks as the third-most patriotic state, partly due to its high voter turnout. In the 2020 presidential election, 73.5% of the state鈥檚 voting population participated, and nearly 46% voted in the primary, the highest primary turnout in the country, WalletHub states.
- New Jersey boasts the highest percentage of adults who voted in the 2020 presidential election, which is 1.5 times higher than the turnout in Arkansas, the state with the lowest participation, WalletHub said.
- Utah has the highest volunteer rate in the country, which is 2.6 times higher than that of Florida, the state with the lowest rate, according to WalletHub.
Survey methodology
To identify the most patriotic states, WalletHub compared all 50 states across two key dimensions: 鈥淢ilitary Engagement鈥� and 鈥淐ivic Engagement.鈥�
The dimensions were assessed using 13 relevant metrics, each assigned a specific weight. Every metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the highest level of patriotism.
Finally, WalletHub calculated each state鈥檚 weighted average across all metrics to determine its overall score, using these scores to rank the states accordingly.
WalletHub collected data 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 in May 2024.