Millions of Americans are preparing to travel across the nation to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday weekend with their families.
But only one set of patriots can claim to be the proudest.
According to a new ranking from WalletHub, Virginia – home of America’s capital city Washington D.C. – is the most patriotic of all 50 states.
Alaska and Montana rounded out the podium – while Florida, New York and Arkansas fell to the bottom of the nationalist pack.
The rankings took into consideration a series of star-spangled factors, including military engagement, jury participation, voting rates, number of volunteers and history education in schools.
Virginia (pictured in Old Town Alexandria) has emerged as America’s most patriotic state, thanks to its high military recruitment and voting rates
Montana rounded out the podium in third place, thanks to its sky-high volunteering rates
Speaking about the rankings to Fox News, analyst Cassandra Happe of WalletHub said: ‘The most patriotic states have a lot of residents who serve or have served in the armed forces, high voter turnouts during elections and a high share of the population volunteering with national and local organizations.’
‘Patriotism also isn’t concentrated in any one particular area. The top states are located in vastly different geographic regions,’ she added.
When it comes to military engagement, Virginia’s high number of active-duty soldiers and veterans helped it take first place.
The state ranks third for military engagement nationwide, as WalletHub found that for every 100,000 Virginians, almost 1,900 are active-duty military personnel.
Home of Congress, just over 71 percent of Virginia residents also voted in the 2020 presidential election, compared to a national average of 67 percent.
Virginia also has the seventh-highest number of Peace Corps volunteers per capita and requires US history or civics courses to qualify for high school graduation.
The highest number of military recruits in the nation belongs to Georgia, while the lowest is North Dakota.
Hawaii (pictured on Kailau Beach) has been revealed as the nation’s 10th most patriotic state – only being beaten by a handful of states including Maryland and Maine
Florida (pictured) ranked near the bottom of the pack among America’s most patriotic states
Alaska was ranked the second most patriotic state in America, while Montana came in third.
For Alaska, the large number of residents who show up for jury service participation helped seal its spot, while Montana has a high volunteer rate.
Alaska also has the highest average number of veterans per capita, while the lowest is in New Jersey – where residents voted in the 2020 election at a higher clip than anywhere else.
The rest of the ranking saw Maine in fourth, Oregon in fifth, and Colorado in sixth, with New Hampshire, Washington, Maryland and Hawaii rounding out the top 10.
But at the bottom of the list, Florida, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York and Arkansas own the unenviable titles of the least patriotic states in America.
