Patriotism is an inherently difficult thing to quantify. It means different things to different people, certainly.
Which makes measuring it an inherently flawed exercise. But a new study from WalletHub gives it the old college try, basing its data-heavy rankings on 12 measures from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Defense Department and voter-turnout data, among many others. Half of its score is based on military engagement, while half is based on civic engagement — voting, volunteering, etc.
The conclusion: Virginia is the most patriotic state in the country. In fact, it’s the only state that scores in the top 10 on both military and civic engagement.
The least patriotic? New Jersey with Massachusetts not far behind.
Here are the top 10:
- Virginia — 69.17
- Alaska — 67.94
- South Carolina — 62.62
- Colorado — 57.51
- Georgia — 57.41
- Hawaii — 55.08
- Montana — 54.87
- Alabama — 54.08
- Washington — 53.88
- New Hampshire — 53.31
As noted above, few states score high on both measures. Red states tend to score higher on military engagement, while blue states tend to score a little higher on civic engagement. Minnesota, for example, ranks first on voter turnout but 48th on military enlistments. Alaska ranks second on military enlistments but 49th on voter turnout.
The 10 least patriotic states, according to this study:
- 41. Louisiana — 35.75
- 42. Michigan — 34.83
- 43. California — 34.42
- 44. Pennsylvania — 33.2
- 45. Massachusetts — 31.89
- 46. Illinois — 31.02
- 47. Rhode Island — 30.91
- 48. New York — 26.4
- 49. Connecticut — 26.34
- 50. New Jersey — 19.47
