With the Fourth of July approaching, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on 2024’s Most Patriotic States in America, as well as expert commentary, to determine where Americans have the most red, white and blue pride.
WalletHub compared the 50 states across 13 key indicators of patriotism. The 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. Following are some additional highlights from the report.
Top 20 Most Patriotic States
Virginia was ranked number one in the study, the most patriotic state based on the indicators utilized in the study. At number two was Alaska, followed by Montana, Maine, Oregon, Colorado, New Hampshire, Washington, Maryland, and at number 10, Hawaii. Ranked number 11 through 20 were Wyoming, North Dakota, Vermont, Kansas, Arizona, Delaware, Iowa, Minnesota, Utah and Idaho.
California ranked at number 35 on the list while the lowest ranked state was Arkansas.
Key Stats
Blue states are more patriotic, with an average ranking of 23.44, compared with 27.56 for red states.
Alaska has the most veterans per 1,000 civilian adults, which is 2.9 times more than in New Jersey, the state with the fewest.
New Jersey has the highest share of adults who voted in the 2020 presidential election, which is 1.5 times higher than in Arkansas, the state with the lowest.
Utah has the highest volunteer rate, which is 2.6 times higher than in Florida, the state with the lowest.
“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,” said Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst. “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. For every 1,000 civilians, Virginia has around 107 veterans, the second-most in the country. In addition, Old Dominion has a high voter turnout rate, with 71.5 percent of residents having voted in the 2020 presidential election, compared to the national average of 67 percent.”
To view the full report and your state’s rank, visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/most-patriotic-states/13680
Expert Commentary
What are the characteristics of a good patriot?
“Patriotism, in its positive form, is simply a love of one’s country. It can lead to all kinds of positive outcomes like civic participation, efficacy (the feeling that one matters and can make a difference in one’s government), obedience to laws, and even social capital (connection to friends and neighbors that holds groups together and leads people to help and trust each other). However, with a slight twist or when used by cynical politicians, patriotism can slide into a rather dangerous nationalism, where one’s own nation or people are believed to outrank all others. Good patriots, therefore, must both love and protect their country, sometimes from outside threats and sometimes from those that come from within.”
Shauna L. Shames, PhD – Associate Professor, Rutgers University-Camden, New Jersey
“I would say a patriot is one who supports and defends the best values of their country while working to correct any faults the country might have. Patriotism is not merely ‘blind loyalty.’ Like a good parent, friend, or mentor, a patriotic citizen will always be willing to offer correction to their government when it has strayed from its core values. In the U.S., these values include individual liberty, equality before the law, and respect for the inherent dignity of all people. A good patriot will act in ways that are consistent with, and which reinforce these values.”
James P. Davenport – Associate Dean for Social Sciences; Professor, Rose State College
What are the best ways for an individual to show patriotism?
“An individual can ‘live’ patriotism by treating others with respect; staying informed about public affairs; reading essays and listening to podcasts by people across the ideological spectrum; weighing his or her personal interests against the interests of all Americans; speaking up and speaking out; voting; and respecting the outcome of elections and our system of justice.”
Glenn Altschuler – Professor Emeritus, Cornell University
“Many think the best ways to show patriotism are flying the American Flag, singing patriotic songs, saying the pledge of allegiance, recitations of writings from the Founders (Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, etc.), or participating in various Independence Day celebrations. But these, quite frankly, are very superficial versions of patriotism. The best ways of showing patriotism involve the daily activities that we can take which further those core American values of liberty, equality before the law, and respect for the dignity of others. This can happen when we express and defend the rights of those with different political, social, and religious views from ourselves. It happens when we vote for candidates that will work to promote those values. Equally important, it happens when we interact with others in the institutions of civil society which build the social trust that ameliorates political and religious differences and thereby enables individuals to participate in the building of stronger and more resilient communities.”
James P. Davenport – Associate Dean for Social Sciences; Professor, Rose State College
What measures should schools and local authorities undertake in order to promote patriotism among citizens?
“Civic education should be taught at the K-12 level – not just basic knowledge about institutions, rights, and freedoms, but also concern for others’ rights and welfare, fairness, and a sense of public duty. Moreover, we need to learn how to engage in dialogue across differences.”
E. Fletcher McClellan, Ph.D. – Distinguished Professor and Professor Emeritus, Elizabethtown College
“Patriotism must be authentic, coming from within individuals and not forced from without. As such, the best things that schools and local authorities can do is educate children and adults for good citizenship, inspire them to participate, and give them good reasons to believe in and feel good about their town, city, county, state, and country. Governments should work for the good of the people, not the rulers, and everyone should be subject to the same laws. Schools should teach the oppressions, injustices, and dark points of our history, in age-appropriate ways, but also acknowledge the remarkable experiment in democracy and the attempt at some kind of equality among citizens. We need to find ways to acknowledge both the injustices of history and their continuing weight while also being aware of and inspired by the things we do well and what still holds us together as a country.”
Shauna L. Shames, PhD – Associate Professor, Rutgers University-Camden, New Jersey
