This Is the State With the Most Hate Groups

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.

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%.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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”.

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%.

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.

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.

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.

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%.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.