Study Finds Virginia is Nation's Most Patriotic State

ARLINGTON, VA — Virginians have another reason to celebrate this Independence Day after popular financial website WalletHub found the commonwealth of Virginia to be the United States’ most patriotic state.

The study gathered variables such as “military engagement” and “civic engagement” to determine which states are more patriotic than others. Virginia ranked fifth in military engagement and tenth in civic engagement.

According to the study, these are the top ten most patriotic states:

1. Virginia, 2. Alaska, 3. Wyoming, 4. South Carolina, 5. Colorado, 6. Washington, 7. Hawaii, 8. Idaho, 9. Georgia and 10. North Carolina.

In order to calculate a state’s military engagement, WalletHub factored the average number of military enlistees per 1,000 civilian adults from 2010-2015. They also studied how many veterans there are per 1,000 civilian adult population, as well as how many active-duty military personnel there are per 100,000 civilian adult population.

To calculate a state’s civic engagement, WalletHub took into account the percentage of residents who voted in the 2016 presidential election and the primary elections, as well as the number of peace corps volunteers per capita, the state’s total volunteer rate, the number of Google searches for American flags and the state’s civic education requirements.

The WalletHub study found that Virginia has the third most veterans per capita. Alaska took the first spot, and Montana snagged the second.

The study found the least patriotic state is New Jersey, followed by Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York.

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