Following the violent insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, investigators have looked into the role hate and extremist groups may have played in the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Several prominent members of the far-right group the Proud Boys have been charged with conspiracy after prosecutors said they planned and funded the storming of the Capitol. The organization is one of the newest hate groups in the country, as designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center. FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials raised concerns at a 2020 Senate hearing that extremists across the ideological spectrum, including white supremacists, pose a threat to public order and national security.
The number of hate groups in America peaked in 2018, at 1,020 such organizations. In 2020, that number declined to 838 — equivalent to 2.5 hate groups for every million people. In some states, the concentration of hate groups is far greater.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy organization with a focus on civil rights, to identify the states with the most hate groups per capita.
Though the number of hate groups has decreased in the last few years, these groups have become scattered and difficult to track as they communicate online through encrypted platforms. There are many other people who harbor white nationalist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, neo-Nazi, anti-LGBTQ, and other extremist views and who are not official members of any specific hate group.
States with outsized shares of hate groups tend to have several characteristics in common. Most states on this list are not very racially diverse and are home to higher shares of residents identifying as white alone and to lower shares of foreign-born residents than the comparable national averages. States with high concentrations of hate groups also tend to have low median household incomes and high poverty rates. These are America’s richest and poorest states.
Click here to see the states with the most hate groups
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17. Oklahoma
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.01 per million people (total: 12)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 64.9% (20th lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 6.1% (21st lowest)
> Median household income: $54,449 (8th lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: N/A
With 12 hate groups active in the state, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Oklahoma is one of 17 states in which there were more than 3 hate groups per million residents in 2020. Among the dozen active hate groups in the state are racist skinhead groups like VInlanders Social Club and Firm 22, neo-Confederate group League of the South, white nationalist groups like Patriot Front as well as hate groups that do not fit neatly into those categories as designated by the SPLC, like Nation of Islam and Proud Boys.
Like nearly every other state with an outsized share of hate groups, Oklahoma has a very low share of foreign-born residents, at just 6.1% of the population.
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16. Mississippi
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.03 per million people (total: 9)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 56.3% (12th lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 2.1% (2nd lowest)
> Median household income: $45,792 (the lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: American Family Association
The number of active hate groups in Mississippi has declined sharply over the past decade — from 41 in 2011 to nine in 2020. The state, which had the most hate groups per capita in 2011 at 13.8 per million Mississippians, now ranks 16th at 3.03 per million residents.
States with higher rates of hate groups tend to struggle with poverty, and Mississippi is no exception. In the Southern state, 19.6% of residents are living in poverty — the highest poverty rate of all states and well above the U.S. poverty rate of 12.3%.
15. Delaware
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.04 per million people (total: 3)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 61.3% (17th lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 10.0% (17th highest)
> Median household income: $70,176 (16th highest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: N/A
Delaware had three active hate groups in 2020 — anti-Muslim group Act For America, and general hate groups Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge and Nation of Islam. These two general hate groups are known for their black supremacist ideologies.
States with higher numbers of hate groups per capita tend to struggle economically, but this is not the case in Delaware. The state’s median annual household income of over $70,000 is well above the U.S. median household income of $65,712. Delaware’s poverty rate of 11.3% is also a full percentage point lower than the U.S. poverty rate.
14. Missouri
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.09 per million people (total: 19)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 79.1% (13th highest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 4.3% (10th lowest)
> Median household income: $57,409 (13th lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Council of Conservative Citizens
Missouri is one of just two Midwestern states with among the most hate groups per capita. The state has 19 total hate groups, promoting anti-Muslim, neo-Nazi, white nationalist, and other hateful ideologies.
Missouri is one of the least racially diverse states in the country, as 79.1% of state residents identify as white. Nationwide, 60% of American residents identify as white. Just 4.3% of Missouri residents were born in a different country, less than a third of the U.S. rate of foreign-born residents.
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13. Florida
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.13 per million people (total: 68)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 53.0% (8th lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 21.1% (4th highest)
> Median household income: $59,227 (17th lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Vinlanders Social Club
Florida ranks second in the country in the total number of hate groups active in 2020, with 68 — 13 more than in 2011. No other state added even 10 hate groups in that time period.
The largest hate group in Florida is the Vinlanders Social Club, which is a racist skinhead group that opposes racial integration. The state is also home to multiple chapters of other hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, the League of the South, Nation of Islam, Proud Boys, and several neo-Nazi groups.
12. Louisiana
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.44 per million people (total: 16)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 58.2% (13th lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 4.2% (9th lowest)
> Median household income: $51,073 (4th lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Ruth Institute
With 16 total hate groups among its 4.6 million residents, Louisiana has the 12th most hate groups per capita among states, at 3.44 groups per million. In 2011, the SPLC tracked 27 hate groups in the state, and Louisiana ranked ninth in the country with 5.9 designated hate groups per million residents.
Louisiana is home to three anti-LGBTQ hate groups — two chapters of Faith Baptist Church and the Ruth Institute, the largest hate group headquartered in the state, according to SPLC. The Ruth Institute opposes gay marriage and says its aim is “helping young people avoid the poisonous personal consequences of the Sexual Revolution.”
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11. Arizona
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.50 per million people (total: 26)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 54.0% (9th lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 13.4% (14th highest)
> Median household income: $62,055 (23rd lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Folks Front/Folkish Resistance Movement
Arizona is one of just 11 states with at least 3.5 hate groups for every million state residents. For context, there are 2.54 hate groups per million in the U.S. overall. The vast majority of the hate groups in the state are located in Phoenix or cities nearby.
Arizona has numerous groups with ideologies that are anti immigration, white nationalists, and anti-LGBTQ. The largest hate group in the state is a neo-Nazi group known as Folks Front, which says its purpose is to “triumph over the darkness which threatens our European light”.
10. Nevada
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.82 per million people (total: 12)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 47.8% (5th lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 19.8% (5th highest)
> Median household income: $63,276 (24th highest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: N/A
Nevada has more hate groups per capita than all but nine other states, with 3.82 such groups per million residents or a dozen in total. The state had multiple neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups active as of 2020, according to the SPLC.
Nevada is the only state on this list in which less than half, 47.8%, of all residents identify as white alone, the fifth lowest share of all states. Most of the states with the most hate groups per capita have a higher than typical share of residents identifying as white compared to the U.S. share of 60%.
9. Idaho
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.83 per million people (total: 7)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 81.6% (10th highest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 5.8% (20th lowest)
> Median household income: $60,999 (20th lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Independent History & Research
Though Idaho has one of the highest concentrations of hate groups among states, these groups have become much less common in the state in recent years. In 2011, Idaho ranked second among states with 11.4 hate groups per million residents, with 18 such groups tracked by the SPLC.
Idaho, like many other states on this list, is not very racially diverse. The state has the 10th highest share of residents who identify as white alone, at 81.6%. Nationwide, just 60% of American residents identify as white.
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8. South Carolina
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.83 per million people (total: 20)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 63.5% (19th lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 5.6% (18th lowest)
> Median household income: $56,227 (10th lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Renaissance Horizon
South Carolina is home to 20 hate groups, including five white nationalist organizations, two neo-Confederate groups, and a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
Like many other states with an outsized share of hate groups, South Carolina residents are more likely to be struggling financially. The state has the 10th highest poverty rate in the nation, at 13.8%. It also has the 10th lowest median annual household income, at $56,227 — nearly $10,000 lower than the U.S. median.
7. Virginia
> Hate groups in 2020: 3.84 per million people (total: 33)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 61.1% (16th lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 12.7% (15th highest)
> Median household income: $76,456 (10th highest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Wolves of Vinland
Among the 33 hate groups active in Virginia in 2020, the most frequently represented ideology was white nationalism — those who believe “white identity should be the organizing principle” for Western countries, per the SPLC. White nationalists also frequently advocate for policies that would ensure white people make up the majority of an area.
The number of active hate groups nationwide declined from over 1,000 in 2011 to 838 in 2020. Yet in Virginia, the number of such groups declined by just one over that time — from 34 to 33. The state’s rank by number of hate groups per capita rose from 17th in 2011 to seventh in 2020.
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6. Alabama
> Hate groups in 2020: 4.06 per million people (total: 20)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 65.1% (21st lowest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 3.6% (5th lowest)
> Median household income: $51,734 (5th lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: League of the South
Alabama is one of just six states in which there are more than 4 hate groups per million residents. Of the 20 hate groups in the state, six are neo-Confederate, which are white nationalist groups that have a “strong belief in the validity of the failed doctrines of nullification and secession” from the antebellum South, according to SPLC.
Like many other states on this list, there are relatively few foreign-born residents of Alabama. Just 3.6% of people living in the state were born outside the U.S. Nationwide, the share of foreign-born residents is 13.7%.
5. New Hampshire
> Hate groups in 2020: 4.39 per million people (total: 6)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 89.7% (4th highest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 6.4% (22nd lowest)
> Median household income: $77,933 (8th highest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
New Hampshire is the only New England state to appear on this list, with 4.4 hate groups per million residents. In fact, this is more than double the number of hate groups per capita of any other New England state.
New Hampshire is home to six hate groups — two neo-Nazi groups, two anti-Muslim groups, white nationalist group Patriot Front, and anti-Semitic group Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This organization, the largest hate group in the state, practices radical traditional catholicism — an ideology rejected by the Vatican which holds that Jews are “the perpetual enemy of Christ” and claims that some recent popes have been illegitimate.
4. Arkansas
> Hate groups in 2020: 4.62 per million people (total: 14)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 72.0% (24th highest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 5.1% (14th lowest)
> Median household income: $48,952 (3rd lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Shieldwall Network
With 14 active hate groups in the state as of 2020, Arkansas ranks fourth in the nation in the concentration of hate groups, with 4.62 such groups per million residents. A decade earlier, nearly twice as many hate groups were active in the state.
The largest hate group headquartered in the state is the Shieldwall Network, a white nationalist group that “promotes racist and anti-Semitic” ideology and aims to “build a white ethno-state,” according to the Anti-Defamation League. Arkansas also has a KKK chapter, a neo-Nazi group, a neo-Confederate group, and a racist skinhead group.
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3. Nebraska
> Hate groups in 2020: 4.65 per million people (total: 9)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 78.4% (15th highest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 7.4% (25th highest)
> Median household income: $63,229 (25th highest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Third Reich Books
Nebraska has the third highest number of hate groups per capita among U.S. states, as the Midwestern state of less than 2 million people had nine active hate groups as of 2020, according to the SPLC.
Nebraska is one of just three states in which the most commonly represented hate ideology is neo-Nazi. The state is home to Third Reich Books, which reprints writings from Adolf Hitler and other Nazi figures, as well as the neo-Nazi group National Socialist German Workers Party.
2. Tennessee
> Hate groups in 2020: 4.94 per million people (total: 34)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 73.3% (23rd highest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 5.5% (17th lowest)
> Median household income: $56,071 (9th lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Identity Dixie
The Ku Klux Klan was founded in Tennessee in 1865, and the state still had four active chapters of the hate group as of 2020, according to the SPLC. Among the state’s 30 other hate groups are five white nationalists, three neo-Confederate organizations, four neo-Nazi groups, two anti-LGBTQ groups, and two anti-Muslim groups.
People who live in states with large shares of hate groups per capita are more likely to struggle financially. In Tennessee, the median annual household income of $56,071 is nearly $10,000 lower than the U.S. median, and the state’s poverty rate of 13.9% is the ninth highest in the country.
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1. Montana
> Hate groups in 2020: 5.55 per million people (total: 6)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 85.8% (5th highest)
> Pct. pop. foreign born: 2.3% (3rd lowest)
> Median household income: $57,153 (11th lowest)
> Largest hate group headquartered in state: Last Chance Patriots
Montana has by far the most hate groups per capita of any state, with 5.55 such groups per million residents. This is more than double the U.S. rate of 2.5 hate groups per million. No other state has even 5.0 groups per million. Montana has six hate groups — two anti-Muslim groups, two white nationalist groups, a racist skinhead organization, and a chapter of the Proud Boys.
Montana is one of the least diverse states in the country, with 85.8% of residents identifying as white alone, the fifth highest share in the country. It also has the third lowest share of foreign-born residents among states, at 2.3%. Nationwide, 13.7% of U.S. residents were born outside the country.
Methodology:
To determine the states with the most hate groups, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the nonprofit advocacy group Southern Poverty Law Center. We ranked states based on the number of active hate groups in 2020 per million state residents. The SPLC defines a hate group as an organization or collection of individuals that promotes beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, usually on the basis of immutable characteristics of the maligned class.
Hate group tallies were adjusted for population using population estimates for July 1, 2020 from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population and Housing Unit Estimates program. Supplemental data on the percentage of the population that identifies as white, the percentage of the population that is foreign-born, and median household income came from the Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.
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