According to a study by WalletHub, published on June 24, New Jersey is the least patriotic state in America.
Neighboring New York State came in second to last, attaining a final score of 21.63, while New Jersey scored 21.55. California came in third from last with 23.92.
good morning only to new jersey pic.twitter.com/SnbrG58pAU
— Kate Aronoff (@KateAronoff) June 25, 2019
The personal finance website based each state’s scores on 13 indicators within the categories of military engagement and civic engagement.
The military engagement category included numbers of military enlistees, active-duty military personnel, veterans, and residents in military reserves. Civic engagement was measured by factors such as AmeriCorps and Peace Corps volunteers and the number of adults who voted in recent elections.
The study used figures from a range of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the United States Elections Project.
New York ranked near the bottom on civic engagement at 44th, with its military engagement ranking 49th. New Jersey ended 48th for military engagement and 45th for civic engagement. California ranked relatively higher on military engagement at 37th, but ranked 48th for civic engagement.
The survey also found a corroboration between red and blue states, which may not come as a surprise: Red (more Republican) states tend to be more patriotic than blue (more Democratic) states.
Here are the top 10 most patriotic states, according to WalletHub:
New Hampshire
Wyoming
Vermont
Utah
Idaho
Wisconsin
Alaska
South Carolina
Missouri
Minnesota
At the bottom of the list are:
Texas
West Virginia
California
New York
and New Jersey
Best and Worst State Economies
In 2018 WalletHub conducted another survey on states with the best and worst economies.
The website compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on their economic health, performance, and innovation. The states were evaluated using 28 metrics, including GDP growth, startup activity, exports per capita, quality of the legal system, and employment data.
According to the study, Washington topped the list as the best state, Utah ranked second, and Massachusetts rounded out the top three.
The performance of the top three states is driven by many factors such as an abundance of fast-growing firms, high exports, and a large number of inventor patents, WalletHub said.
“What surprised us and stood out in this year’s report was the fact that California came in fourth despite the fact that it was the fifth-largest economy in the world,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst at WalletHub.
California is now the fifth-largest economy in the world, surpassing countries like the UK, France, and India. A thriving technology sector and Hollywood contributes the most to California’s growth.
Despite its massive economy, however, California could not crack the top three because of its high underemployment rate (11.3 percent, ranked 48th) and low median annual household income ($45,236, ranked 47th), according to Gonzalez.
Another big surprise in the rankings was the District of Columbia, which ranked sixth, surpassing big economies like Texas and New York.
Epoch Times reporter Emel Akan contributed to this report.
