America’s most patriotic state is Virginia.
That’s according to the personal finance website WalletHub, which recently released its annual listing of the Most Patriotic States in America.
To determine where Americans have the most red, white and blue pride, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 13 key indicators of patriotism.
"Good patriots understand and celebrate our founding principles and understand their right to debate and criticize these principles" said Donald Critchlow, professor in the school of historical, philosophical and religious studies at Arizona State University.
The rankings were determined by two key factors, military engagement and civic engagement. In the military engagement category, states could receive up to 25 points based on the number of veterans per 1,000 civilian adults and active-duty military personnel per 100,000 civilian adults.
According to WalletHub, Alaska has the most veterans per 1,000 civilian adults, 134, which is 2.9 times more than in New Jersey, the state with the fewest at 47.
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Rounding out the top 5 most patriotic states were Montana, Alaska, North Dakota and Maine.
States could earn up to 75 points in the civic engagement category, which included the number of adults who voted in the 2020 Presidential Election and how many take part in groups or organizations. In this category, having a smaller number is better.
The survey also found Blue states are more patriotic than Red states and that New Jersey has the highest share of adults who voted in the 2020 presidential election, 78.30 percent, which is 1.5 times higher than in Arkansas, the state with the lowest at 54.00 percent.
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Utah has the highest volunteer rate, 40.70 percent, which is 2.6 times higher than in Florida, the state with the lowest at 15.90 percent.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.