The Fourth of July generates plenty of enthusiasm and patriotic pride across the United States.
But not in Florida.
While two Florida cities ranked in the top 20 when it comes to the best cities to celebrate the holiday, Florida ranked toward the bottom of personal finance company WalletHub’s list of the most patriotic states.
Make that very close to the bottom.
As you make your plans on where and how to celebrate the Fourth and America’s 250th birthday, here’s a look at the most patriotic states in the U.S. and why Florida came in where it did.
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What are the most patriotic states in the US?
WalletHub used several criteria to come up with its list of the most patriotic states in the U.S., including military and civic engagement. Here are the top 10:
- Virignia
- Montana
- Vermont
- Colorado
- Oregon
- North Dakota
- Washington
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- New Hampshire
Florida comes near bottom of most patriotic state listing
Florida came in at No. 46 out of the 50 states in WalletHub’s ranking of the most patriotic states in the U.S.
What were the 10 least patriotic states in US?
The 10 least patriotic states in the U.S. joining Florida, according to WalletHub’s ranking, were:
- No. 50: Arkansas
- No. 49: New York
- No. 48: Louisiana
- No. 47: Alabama
- No. 46: Florida
- No. 45: Texas
- No. 44: Indiana
- No. 43: New Jersey
- No. 42: Rhode Island
- No. 41: West Virginia
Why did Florida rank so low in WalletHub’s patriotic listing?
“Florida’s ranking reflects the fact that patriotism is about more than military ties alone,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo via email.
“While the state performs relatively well in military engagement, ranking 21st in that category and placing seventh for military enlistees per capita, its overall ranking falls to 46th because the study places more weight on civic engagement.
“Florida ranks near the bottom in several civic measures, including volunteer rate (46th), volunteer hours (45th), civic life participation (43rd), and voter turnout in the 2024 presidential election (41st).
“Although Florida earns top marks (coming in at No. 1) for requiring a standalone civics course for high school graduation, the results suggest that improving civic participation — particularly volunteering, community involvement, and voting — would have the biggest impact on the state’s overall patriotism ranking.”
Compare Florida’s ranking with No. 1, Virginia
“Virginia is 2026’s most patriotic state.
“For every 100,000 civilians in Virginia, there are nearly 1,761 active-duty military personnel, the third-most in the country. And for every 1,000 civilians, there are nearly 103 veterans, the second-most in the country,” according to WalletHub.
“Old Dominion is also patriotic on the civic side. It has a high voter turnout rate, with 72.9% of residents having voted in the 2024 presidential election, compared to the national average of 66%.
“To top things off, Virginia has the fifth-highest number of peace corps volunteers per capita, and it is one of the many states that require standalone course in civics for high school graduation.”
Best places in Florida to celebrate Fourth of July
Two Florida cities ranked in the Top 20 in WalletHub’s analysis of the best places in the U.S. to celebrate the Fourth of July:
- No. 3: Orlando
- No. 19: Miami
Other Florida cities ranked by WalletHub were:
- No. 50: Jacksonville
- No. 61: St. Petersburg
- No. 65: Tampa
- No. 97: Hialeah
Methodology used by WalletHub to rank most patriot states
In order to determine the most patriotic states, WalletHub compared all 50 states using two key dimensions, Military Engagement and Civic Engagement. Those were broken down into the following:
- Military engagement
- Average military enlistees per 1,000 civilian adults between 2017 and 2022
- Veterans per 1,000 civilian adults
- Active-duty military personnel per 100,000 civilian adults
- Share of civilian adults population in military reserves
- Civic engagement
- Share of adults who voted in 2024 presidential election
- Share of adults who voted in 2020 primary elections
- Volunteer rate
- Volunteer hours per resident
- AmeriCorps volunteers per capita
- Peace Corps volunteers per capita
- Trial- and grand-jury participation per civilian adults population
- Share of residents who participate in any groups, organizations or associations in the past year
- Civics education requirement
Cheryl McCloud is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
