Nevada ranked one of least patriotic states

With the Fourth of July comes flags, barbecues and fireworks (some more legal than others). Americans stock their refrigerators with beer, grill a few dogs and gather with family and friends.

In Nevada, that’s no different, with parades and celebrations littering the state. In Las Vegas, fireworks fly from the Strip rooftops and a decades-old parade takes over a small town to the southeast.

Find the Best used three major categories to determine which state was the most patriotic — number of residents who enlisted in the military in 2013, percentage of the population who volunteered in 2013 and voter participation in the last presidential election.

Nevada … didn’t do so well.

As far as enlisting in the military, Nevada fell somewhere in the middle with 0.52 percent enlisting in 2013. The lowest was California with 0.05 percent, according to Find the Best. Volunteering, again, wasn’t so great, with 20.3 percent in Nevada helping out that year. The highest was in Utah, with 44.6 percent.

As for voter participation, Nevada was one of the lowest in the nation, with 56.1 percent. In Nevada’s 2014 general election, voter turnout was the lowest reported for the state since 1978 at 45.51 percent.

Although, it’s important to consider these criteria aren’t a definitive source for what makes a state patriotic.

Last Fourth of July, Las Vegas was ranked the sixth most patriotic city by MyLife, using a criteria of veteran care, popularity of fireworks and total population in the armed forces.

For 2015, WalletHub ranked Nevada as the 39th most patriotic state, using a similar criteria as Find the Best.

Contact Kristen DeSilva at 702-477-3895 or kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva