Study Ranks Illinois Near the Bottom of Patriotic States

In 2011, only 38% of Americans said they believed America to be the greatest country in the world. In 2014, that number had fallen to 28%.

A new study from WalletHub took a look at all 50 states, and ranked them based upon their patriotism. Since patriotism can be defined in numerous ways, WalletHub used some of the following criteria to establish their rankings:

• Military Engagement: percentage of residents who enlisted in the military in 2014, number of veterans per 1000 residents, number of active-duty military personnel per 100,000 residents, percentage of people in military reserves

• Civic Engagement: percentage of residents who voted in the last presidential election, percentage of people who voted in the 2016 primaries, volunteer rate, volunteer hours per resident, number of AmeriCorps volunteers per 100,000 residents, number of Peace Corp volunteers per 100,000 residents, frequency of Google searches for American flags, and civic education requirement.

Wondering where our state lands after all the numbers are crunched? We've gotta be in the top 20, right?

Actually...no. According to WalletHub's study, Illinois is the 46th most patriotic state. The only states who ranked worse than we did are Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

Some of their other findings:

• Red states are more patriotic, with an average ranking of 22.5, compared with 28.3 for blue states (1 = Best).
• Alaska has the highest number of veterans per 1,000 residents, 100.8, which is two times higher than in New York, the state with the lowest, 45.5.
• Georgia has the highest percentage of residents who enlisted in the military (non-prior service), 0.063%, which is three times higher than in North Dakota, the state with the lowest, 0.022%.
• Minnesota has the highest percentage of residents who voted in the 2012 presidential election, 74.37%, which is two times higher than in Arizona, the state with the lowest, 37.98%.
• Utah has the highest volunteer rate, 45.2%, which is three times higher than in Louisiana, the state with the lowest, 18.2%.
• Vermont has the highest number of Americorps volunteers per 100,000 residents, 58.91, which is eight times higher than in Virginia, the state with the lowest, 7.42.

As I mentioned before, patriotism can be defined in so many different ways, so I really don't see the need for us to hang our heads. However, being that far out-ranked by Alaska and Hawaii has got to be somewhat embarrassing.

New York, I'm looking at you.

Check out the full study here.