Cultural Conservatism by State (2024)

Cultural Conservatism

In a country as diverse as the United States, it's no secret that there are differences in cultural attitudes and beliefs from state to state. The Cultural Currents Institute, a leading marketing consulting firm, has taken on the task of identifying which states are the most culturally conservative in the nation by comparing them across 21 key indicators, divided into four categories: religiosity, family structure, patriotism, and social conservatism.

These indicators range from church attendance rates to support for same-sex marriage to the percentage of stay-at-home parents. With this data, we can gain insights into how different states value tradition, morality, and societal norms. Whether you're a native of one of the top-ranking states or just curious about the cultural landscape of the U.S., this study is sure to offer a fascinating perspective.

The most culturally conservative states in America are:

Mississippi
Alabama
South Dakota
South Carolina
Utah
North Dakota
West Virginia
Tennessee
Oklahoma
North Carolina

The least culturally conservative states in America are:

(Starting with the least culturally conservative)

Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island
California
New York
Oregon
Illinois
Vermont
Minnesota
Nevada

What is the most religious state in America?

Our research revealed that Alabama is the most religious state in America. This ranking is reached using a combination of the percentage of the population that believes in God (94% of Alabamans) and the percentage that attend religious services on a weekly basis (51%).
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The most religious states in America are:

Alabama
Tennessee
Mississippi
South Carolina
West Virginia
Louisiana
Arkansas
Utah
Oklahoma
Georgia

The least religious states in America are:

(Starting with the least religious)

Vermont
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Maine
Oregon
New York
Wisconsin
Washington
Connecticut
California

The states with the highest weekly church attendance are:

Utah (53%)
Alabama (51%)
Tennessee(51%)
Mississippi (49%)
South Carolina (47%)

The states with the lowest weekly church attendance are:

Vermont(21%)
New Hampshire (22%)
Maine (22%)
Massachusetts (23%)
Wisconsin(27%)

The states with the highest belief in God are:

Alabama (94%)
Arkansas (92%)
Tennessee (91%)
Mississippi (91%)
South Carolina (90%)

The states with the lowest belief in God are:

Massachusetts (66%)
Vermont (67%)
New Hampshire (69%)
Maine (75%)
Oregon (76%)

What state best exemplifies the traditional nuclear family?

Our research revealed that Hawaii best exemplifies the traditional nuclear family. This ranking is reached by considering marriage and divorce rates (to simulate how many people are getting and staying married), the fertility rate, and the percentage of the population who are stay-at-home parents.

The states best exemplifying traditional families are:

Hawaii
Alaska
Utah
Idaho
Alabama
Mississippi
South Dakota
North Carolina
New Jersey
Tennessee

The states least demonstrative of traditional family structures:

(Starting with the least demonstrative)

The states with the highest fertility rate are:

North Dakota (67.4)
South Dakota (66.7)
Alaska (65.7)
Nebraska (64.7)
Utah (64.1)

The states with the lowest fertility rate are:

Vermont (44.7)
Massachusetts (47.6)
New Hampshire (47.7)
Oregon (47.8)
Rhode Island (48.7)

The states with the highest percentage of stay-at-home parents:

Mississippi (6.50%)
Delaware (5.60%)
Texas (3.50%)
North Carolina (3.40%)
Alabama (3.20%)

The states with the lowest percentage of stay-at-home parents:

Iowa (0.90%)
Minnesota (1.00%)
Maine (1.20%)
South Dakota (1.30%)
Wyoming (1.40%)

What state is most patriotic?

Our research revealed that Montana is the most patriotic. This ranking is reached by considering military engagement as a combined percentage of veterans and active duty military personnel in the population, and civic engagement as measured across nine data points.

The most patriotic states are:

Montana
Alaska
North Dakota
Maine
Virginia
Washington
New Hampshire
South Dakota
Hawaii
Delaware

The least patriotic states are:

(Starting with the least patriotic)

Texas
New York
California
Rhode Island
Connecticut
Indiana
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Florida
Tennessee

The states with the highest percentage of active duty military and veterans are:

Alaska (12.32%)
Hawaii (10.64%)
Virginia (9.61%)
Wyoming (8.61%)
Montana (8.25%)

The states with the lowest percentage of active duty military and veterans are:

New Jersey (3.72%)
New York (3.90%)
Utah (4.07%)
Massachusetts (4.46%)
California (4.61%)

The states with the highest rates of civic engagement are:

Montana
Vermont
Oregon
Iowa
North Dakota

The states with the lowest rates of civic engagement are:

(Starting with the least engaged)

Arkansas
Florida
Alabama
South Carolina
Texas

What state is most socially conservative?

Our research revealed that Mississippi is the most culturally conservative. This ranking is reached by considering public opinion across three issues of social policy:cannabis legalization, same sex marriage, and a woman's right to access an abortion.

The most socially conservative states are:

Mississippi
Alabama
Arkansas
West Virginia
Tennessee
Kentucky
North Dakota
Louisiana
South Carolina
Wyoming

The least socially conservative states are:

(Starting with the least socially conservative)

Massachusetts
Vermont
Connecticut
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Maine
Washington
Oregon
Maryland
Hawaii

The states with the highest net support for cannabis legalization are:

Washington (67%)
Massachusetts (64%)
Oregon (62%)
Vermont (60%)
Illinois (59%)

The states with the lowest net support for cannabis legalization are:

North Dakota (9%)
Wyoming (21%)
Idaho (26%)
Nebraska (27%)
South Dakota (28%)

The states with the highest net support for same sex marriage are:

Vermont (57%)
Massachusetts (52%)
Connecticut (45%)
New Hampshire (41%)
Rhode Island (38%)

The states with the lowest net support for same sex marriage are:

Mississippi (-30%)
Alabama (-24%)
Tennessee (-23%)
Arkansas (-18%)
South Carolina (-14%)

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The states with the highest net support for abortion access are:

Massachusetts (52%)
Vermont (44%)
Connecticut (39%)
Hawaii (37%)
New Hampshire (37%)

The states with the lowest net support for abortion access are:

Mississippi (-23%)
West Virginia (-23%)
Arkansas (-22%)
Alabama (-21%)
Kentucky (-21%)

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Methodology Overview

We examined cultural conservatism through four equally weighted categories: religiosity, family structure, patriotism, and social conservatism. These categories represent 21 different data points, varying in weight according to their proportion of the score for their parent category.

The categories are:

Religiosity

Religiosity was determined using an average of two scores:belief in God, and the percentage of the population who attends church at least once per week.

Total Weight - 0.25

0.125 - % of population who believe in God
0.125 - % of population who attend religious services weekly

Sources:

Pew Religious Landscape Study

Family Structure

Family structure scores were determined through an equal weighting of four scores:marriage rate, divorce rate, fertility rate, and the percentage of stay-at-home parents in the population.

Total Weight - 0.25

0.0625 - Marriage rate
0.0625 - Divorce rate
0.0625 - Fertility rate
0.0625 - % of population who are stay-at-home parents

Sources:

CDC Marriage Rates by State
U.S. Sensus Divorce Rates
CDCFertility rates
MagnifyMoney analysis of U.S. Censusdata

Patriotism

Patriotism was determined through an equal weighting of military and civic engagement. Military engagement was determined by the percentage of active duty military personneland veterans in a state's population. Civic engagement was determined using Wallethub's civic engagement rankings, which considers voting participation, volunteer rates and hours, AmeriCorps and Peace Corps volunteers, jury participation, civic life, and U.S. History and Civics education requirements.

Total Weight - 0.25

0.125 - Combined % of population who are active duty military or veterans
~0.0278 - Share of Adults Who Voted in 2020 Presidential Election: Double Weight
~0.0139 - Share of Adults Who Voted in 2020 Primary Elections: Full Weight
~0.0069 - Volunteer Rate: Half Weight
~0.0069 - Volunteer Hours per Resident: Half Weight
~0.0069 - AmeriCorps Volunteers per Capita: Half Weight
~0.0069 - Peace Corps Volunteers per Capita: Half Weight
~0.0278 - Trial- & Grand-Jury Participation per Civilian Adult Population: Double Weight
~0.0139 - Share of Residents Who Participate in Groups or Organizations (Civic Life): Full Weight
~0.0139 - U.S. History/Civics Education Requirement: Full Weight

Sources:

Social Conservatism

Social conservatism was measured using equally weighted public polling data on three issues: abortion access, cannabis legalization, and support for same sex marriage rights. Percentages are expressed as "net support"- meaning the percentage of population in opposition is subtracted from the percentage in support. Undecided respondents are not counted in scores.

Total Weight - 0.25

~0.042 - Net support for legalized same-sex marriage
~0.042 - Net support for women having legal access to abortions
~0.042 - Net support for cannabis legalization

Sources:

About CCI

The Cultural CurrentsInstitute is a full-service marketing, research, and public relations firm that services some of the world's largest and most innovative companies. CCI offers services ranging from branding to SEO in industries as diverse as education and fintech. The agency prides itself on a data-driven approach that stresses the importance of understanding an audience and adapting rapidly to evolving market conditions.