Here Are the Most (and Least) Patriotic States in America

As the Fourth of July approaches and Americans gear up to celebrate their independence with backyard BBQs, booming fireworks, and maybe a regrettable injury or two, one study is taking a more analytical approach to patriotism—no sparklers required.

WalletHub just dropped its annual list of the most patriotic states in the U.S., based on 13 civic-minded factors, like: voter turnout, military enlistment rates, volunteer work, jury duty participation, and AmeriCorps service. So yes, it’s less about flag-waving and more about actually showing up for the country.

The 10 Most Patriotic States in 2025:

1. Virginia
2. Montana
3. Vermont
4. Colorado
5. Oregon
6. Washington
7. North Dakota
8. Maryland
9. Minnesota
10. New Hampshire

Virginia takes the crown this year, while states like Colorado and Oregon continue to earn high marks for civic engagement. Vermont and New Hampshire, small but mighty, also made strong showings.

At the other end of the spectrum, some states aren’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard.

The 10 Least Patriotic States:

1. Arkansas
2. New York
3. Louisiana
4. Alabama
5. Florida
6. Texas
7. Indiana
8. New Jersey
9. Rhode Island
10. West Virginia

California just barely missed the bottom 10, landing at 11th least patriotic. In general, larger and more populous states didn’t fare so well, possibly due to lower per capita participation in the metrics used.

One surprise from the report? When ranked based on how they voted in the last presidential election, so-called “blue states” edged out “red states” in patriotism—at least by this definition.

For those keeping score, South Carolina and Wisconsin landed right in the middle of the pack. Perfectly average, and maybe that’s something to be proud of?

If you want to see where your state landed, WalletHub has the full breakdown on their site. Just don’t blame us if your state’s patriotism didn’t make the fireworks-worthy list.