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These 10 States Have The Most Hate Groups

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According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are currently 838 hate groups in America, indicating a decline from the 1,020 active hate groups present in 2018. A hate group is defined as an organization that attacks or maligns an entire class of people.  The SPLC tracks the number of active hate groups in the country each year and according to their data, these 10 states have the most hate groups per capita. 

If we were to go by purely the number of hate groups, then California would be the winner with 74 hate groups followed by Florida, Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania. 

 Adjusted for population, here are the 10 states with the most hate groups in 2020, starting with #10 and going down to the number one state with the most hate groups. 

These 10 States Have The Most Hate ...
These 10 States Have The Most Hate Groups

10. Nevada

Nevada ranks among the top 10 states with the highest number of hate groups per capita, with 3.82 such groups per million residents or a total of 12 groups. As of 2020, the state had several active neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups, according to the SPLC.

What’s very unique about Nevada from most other states on this list is that the state has a relatively low percentage of white residents, with only 47.8% identifying as white alone, which is the fifth-lowest share among all states. Most of the states with the highest number of hate groups per capita have a higher-than-average share of residents identifying as white, compared to the U.S. share of 60%.

9. Idaho  

Idaho had a total of 7 hate groups in 2020, which is 3.83 per million people. This is actually a huge decline from 2011 when Idaho ranked second among states with 11.4 hate groups per million residents, with 18 hate groups. Idaho is not very racially diverse, a common fact among many of the states on this list. 

RELATED: 10 Worst States To Move To In 2023

8. South Carolina 

There are 20 hate groups based in South Carolina, which include five white nationalist organizations, two neo-Confederate groups, and a Ku Klux Klan chapter. 

An interesting note pointed out about 24/7 Wall St is that South Carolina, like many of the states on this list, has a population more likely to face financial hardships. The state has the 10th highest poverty rate in America. Additionally, its median annual household income is the 10th lowest in the country, with a figure of $56,227, almost $10,000 lower than the U.S. median income. 

7. Virginia 

In Virginia, out of the 33 active hate groups in 2020, white nationalism, again, was the most commonly represented ideology. These groups advocate that white identity should be the main organizing principle for Western countries and often push for policies that would ensure white people are the majority in a given area.

Although the number of active hate groups nationwide decreased from over 1,000 in 2011 to 838 in 2020, Virginia only experienced a one-group decrease during the same period, from 34 to 33. As a result, the state’s ranking by the number of hate groups per capita rose from 17th in 2011 to 7th in 2020.

6. Alabama 

Alabama is among the six states that have over 4 hate groups per million residents. The state currently has 20 hate groups, with six of them being neo-Confederate groups. These are white nationalist organizations that strongly believe in the nullification and secession doctrines from the antebellum South, as per SPLC.

Similar to other states on the list, Alabama has a low percentage of foreign-born residents. Only 3.6% of the population in the state were born outside of the U.S., compared to the nationwide figure of 13.7%.

5. New Hampshire 

New Hampshire is the solo state from New England to appear on this list, with 4.4 hate groups per million residents. This figure is more than twice the number of hate groups per capita in any other New England state.

In New Hampshire, there are currently six hate groups, including two neo-Nazi groups, two anti-Muslim groups, the white nationalist group Patriot Front, and the anti-Semitic group Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The largest hate group in the state, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, adheres to radical traditional Catholicism, a doctrine that the Vatican has rejected. This ideology considers Jews to be “the perpetual enemy of Christ.”

4. Arkansas 

Arkansas had 14 active hate groups, which ranks it fourth in the nation for the concentration of hate groups, with 4.62 groups per million residents as of 2020. This represents a significant decrease from a decade earlier when there were almost twice as many hate groups active in the state.

Among the hate groups in Arkansas, the largest is the Shieldwall Network. According to the Anti-Defamation League, this hate group is a white nationalist organization that promotes racist and anti-Semitic ideology and seeks to establish a white ethno-state. Arkansas is also home to a KKK chapter, a neo-Nazi group, a neo-Confederate group, and a racist skinhead group among others.

3. Nebraska 

There were 9 hate groups tracked in Nebraska with a population of almost 2 million people. Third Reich Books, which reprints writings from Adolf Hitler and other Nazi figures, is the largest hate group headquartered in this Midwestern state. This is no surprise as neo-Nazi ideology is the most commonly represented hate ideology in Nebraska.  

2. Tennessee 

There were 28 active hate groups in Tennessee, more per capita than its neighboring states. Some of these hate groups include National Alliance, the KKK, Patriot Front, and Tennessee League of the South. In 2010, there were 35 hate groups, so on the surface, it appears hate groups are on the decline in Tennessee. 

In 2019, the cities with the highest number of hate crimes were Nashville and Memphis.

1. Montana

Montana has a population of a little over 1 million people and is 85% white. The state has 6 hate groups per million civilians, more than any other state. The 6 hate groups breakdown as 2 anti-Muslim groups, 2 White nationalist groups, a racist skinhead organization, and a chapter of the Proud Boys. 

In 2018, there were 7 incidents of hate crime. In 2020, it shot up to 29 incidents. Montana also has the third fewest number of foreign-born residents, with only 2.3% of the population not being born in the US. 

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