Only 4 States Are Less Patriotic Than Texas, Report Says

AUSTIN, TX — There's a difference between nationalism and patriotism, and some Texans might not be aware of the distinction.

According to the personal finance website WalletHub, Texas is the 46th most patriotic state in the Union. That's dang near the bottom of the list, just below Connecticut, and ahead of West Virginia, California, New York and New Jersey. The study was timed for release just before the nation's Independence Day to give us special pause ahead of the patriotic holiday.

Just as ironic it is seeing New York — that's where the Statue of Liberty is located, for gosh sake — among the least patriotic states, so it is with Texas, given its sizable population of military enlistees. According to the findings, Texas is among the five states with the most members of this demographic, behind Georgia, Alaska and South Carolina, respectively, but ahead of Alabama.

But then things start to get a little dicey on the patriotism front. While the ideal of patriotism is intensely personal and largely subjective, WalletHub used the tactics of civic participation as its guide in determining its presence. Given that reckoning, Texas ranked near the bottom — in that pesky 46th position again — among the states with the least voter participation. New Mexico, Tennessee, West Virginia and Hawaii rounded out the top 5, in descending order.

In landing near the bottom of the list, Texas defied the trend of red states tending to be slightly more "patriotic" than blue states, as the findings indicated. The red-blue divide in the patriotic quotient is separated by a mere 5 points, or so, overall. But still.

Graphic courtesy of WalletHub.

To determine the most patriotic states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, “Military Engagement” and “Civic Engagement.” Analysts evaluated those dimensions using 13 relevant metrics, which were each given corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of patriotism.
Finally, WalletHub researchers determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

To read the full report, click here. Do with its findings what you will, y'all. But don't let the tyranny of statistics and emotionless recitation of factoids get you down. Instead: Have a happy 4th of July, y'all!

Not to rub it in, fellow Texans, but journalistic practice requires a listing of the most patriotic states, as determined by WalletHub. Avert your eyes if you must. We left this until the end to assist in that eye averting. So the 20 most patriotic states, in descending order, are.....

• New Hampshire.
• Wyoming.
• Vermont.
• Utah.
• Idaho.
• Wisconsin.
• Alaska.
• South Carolina.
• Missouri.
• Minnesota.
• North Dakota.
• Montana.
• Maine.
• Virginia.
• Colorado.
• Arizona.
• Washington.
• Oregon.
• Alabama.
• Florida.