Just ahead of Independence Day, a new analysis ranked Alabama 34th among the 50 states for patriotism — and none of the Gulf Coast states fared especially well.
The personal finance website WalletHub compared all 50 states across 13 key indicators of patriotism, including military enlistees per capita, the number of veterans, AmeriCorps volunteers and the percentage of residents who voted in the 2020 presidential election.
Alabama came in at No. 34 overall, Mississippi ranked 40th, and Florida finished second to last at No. 49.
The state-by-state numbers revealed a split personality for Alabama. The state ranked fifth nationally for its share of military enlistees and 12th for overall military engagement, reflecting its deep ties to the armed forces. But Alabama fell to 41st in civic engagement, ranking 46th for the percentage of residents who voted in the 2020 election and 47th in Peace Corps volunteers per capita.
The study’s findings put the Gulf Coast region’s strong military tradition alongside weaker showings on the civic-participation measures that made up the other half of WalletHub’s formula.