You Think Mass. Is All About The Red, White And Blue? Think Again

Prepare yourselves for some pretty depressing news, Berkshire County. With Independence Day fast approaching, things look bleak for those of us who reside in the Bay State.

At a time of year when our nation's patriotic pride should be riding atop a gigantic wave, a new study says that Massachusetts is one of the least patriotic states. I don't know, maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but I find that quite depressing.

Once again, the good folks at WalletHub did all the hard work, looked at all the statistics from several key metrics, and determined that out of all 50 states, Massachusetts ranked in the bottom five.

According to a media statement from WalletHub that ranks 2022's Most Patriotic States In America, Massachusetts ranked at #46! Granted, during a year in which hate crimes almost increased by half and the rate for homicides made a huge jump as well, some may find it hard to feel patriotic pride for a country that allows these crimes to happen with such frequency. I get that.

But, the fact that we can actually get together to celebrate the Fourth of July(thanks to the COVID vaccine), is reason to be patriotic in itself. Coming out of a global pandemic and being able to gather with friends, neighbors, and people we love is huge.

WalletHub looked at key patriotism metrics across the 50 states to determine where Americans have the most patriotic pride including each state's number of veterans and military enlistees, the number of adults who voted in the last presidential election, percentage of Peace Corps and AmeriCorps volunteers per capita, etc.

According to the results, here are WalletHub's top 5 Most Patriotic States:

1. Alaska
2. Montana
3. Virginia
4. North Dakota
5. Oregon

And while we're at it, here are the bottom 5, or Least Patriotic States:

1. Arkansas(#50)
2. New York(#49)
3. Rhode Island(#48)
4. Florida(#47)
5. Massachusetts(#46)

Those are the numbers but as always with WalletHub, there are so many more interesting facets to the study. Take a look for yourself at WalletHub's website here. It makes for some fascinating reading.