Red, white and blue pride: So where does Utah land in a national 'patriotism' poll?

WASHINGTON — Patriotism is an oft-spoken word around Independence Day — and whenever there are historic moments grabbing Americans' attention, such as U.S. military conflicts or a presidential election.

With the Fourth of July holiday and the developing military crisis in Iran, Utahns can expect to hear plenty of talk about patriotism — and what it means to be a patriot.

It's a complex subject that, while widely admired, is not always agreeably defined.

So where does the Beehive State rank on the "Red-White-&-Blue Pride Scale" compared to other states?

Pretty high — but not quite in the Top-10, according to a recently released WalletHub report.

Utah is ranked 12th in the "2025's Most Patriotic States in America" report that measures 13 key indicators ranging from military enlistment numbers and veteran populations to volunteerism and voting in presidential elections.

"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 or local organizations," noted WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

"Patriotism also isn't concentrated in any one particular area — the top states are located in vastly different geographic regions."

Utah's celebrated volunteer rates are the primary reason for its top-12 report ranking in the patriotism study.

The state claimed the nation's top spot in the "volunteer rate" and in the "volunteer hours per resident" metrics. Utah has an overall "civic engagement" ranking of No. 9.

But Utah's overall patriotism ranking takes a bit of a hit because it's on the back-half of the report's "Military Engagement" ranking — coming in at No. 35.

Report: How to measure patriotism

In determining the most patriotic states, WalletHub compared all 50 states across two key dimensions: "civic engagement" and "military engagement."

The civic dimension counted for 75% of the scoring and included metrics such as a state's share of adults who voted in the 2024 presidential election, along with several weighted volunteerism metrics such as "volunteer hours per resident" and service in volunteer organizations such as the Peace Corps.

Civic engagement points were also awarded for jury participation and whether a state requires civics education in school.

Utah: A volunteerism and civic education hub

Research recently gathered by the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute on the benefits of higher education revealed that Utah possesses greater income equality than any other state — while "ranking first for both formal volunteerism and informal helping among all 50 states."

Informal helping is defined as the estimated share of residents who exchange favors with neighbors and do things like house sitting, watching each other's children and lending tools to each other.

Institutionally, volunteerism and humanitarian service are also rewarded in Utah.

The University of Utah, for example, recently announced it would offer academic credit to students for "prior learning and service" that includes voluntary religious missions and participation in the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps.

Meanwhile, a recently passed law now requires graduating Utah high school students to pass 3.5 units of social studies — including a yearlong course on American constitutional government and citizenship.

Lower military engagement scores

Utah finished No. 35 in WalletHub's "military engagement" dimension, which accounted for a quarter of the total points awarded in the patriotism report.

The report's military-related metrics included the average military enlistees per 1,000 civilian adults between 2016 and 2021, veterans per 1,000 civilian adults, active-duty military personnel per 100,000 civilian adults, and the share of civilian adult population in military reserves.

A separate WalletHub study recently ranked Utah No. 29 in the state's ability to provide veterans with a comfortable military retirement. In that study, the Beehive State scored high marks in economic factors but much lower scores in quality of life and health care rankings.

'Old Dominion' tops patriotism report

So, which state claimed WalletHub's top spot in its 2025 patriotism report? Virginia.

For every 100,000 civilians in Virginia, there are over 1,850 active-duty military personnel, the third-most in the country, according to the report. And for every 1,000 civilians, there are over 103 veterans, the second-most in the country.

Virginia also ranks high on the report's civic side.

The commonwealth 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%.

Virginia also has the fifth-highest number of Peace Corps volunteers per capita, and it is one of the many states that require a standalone course in civics for high school graduation, according to the report.

The other four states numbered among the patriotism report's top-5 list include Montana, Vermont, Colorado and Oregon.

Arkansas, meanwhile, is at the bottom of WalletHub's "Most Patriotic States" list. It's ranked No. 29 in "military engagement" and No. 50 in civic engagement.

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