Last month marked 55 years since the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. As an activist, King stood up to not just the U.S. government-enforced institutional racism in the mid-20th century, but directly to the nation’s many hate groups and their racist and often violent ideologies.
Hate groups, including those with white supremacist ideologies, are organizations built around the vilification of others based on immutable characteristics such as race, religion, and gender identity. Historically, hate groups in the U.S. have often been reactionary movements. The Ku Klux Klan, for example, formed during the Reconstruction Era, emerging to prominence again in the Civil Rights Era a century later.
This century, the same logic holds, as ongoing demographic changes and the racial justice movement that began in 2020 has been met with increased hate and fear among white supremacist groups. In recent years, the ideologies espoused by many of these groups have gained traction, spreading through social media and increasingly reaching mainstream media – even repeated by elected officials.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights advocacy group, there were 733 active hate groups in the U.S. in 2021, spanning all 50 states.
Some of the active hate groups the SPLC identifies include, but are by no means limited to, the Proud Boys, the New Black Panther Party, the KKK, the Nation of Islam, Patriot Front, the House of Israel, Christ or Chaos, and the United Skinhead Nation. The ideologies promoted by these and other groups are varied, and often at odds. But each of them discriminates on the basis of race, religion, nationality, sexual preferences, or gender. (Here is a look at the largest hate groups in America.)
Using data from the SPLC, 24/7 Wall St. identified the states with the most hate groups. In each state on this list, there were at least four active hate groups in 2021, and at least 2.5 active hate groups for every 1 million state residents. Demographic and population data came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey.
Adjusting for population, the number of hate groups in the states on this list ranges from 2.6 for every 1 million people, to 4.6 per million. The largest share of states on this list are in the South, though the three highest ranking states are in the Midwest and Northeast.
Click here to see the states with the most active hate groups per person.
20. Alabama
> Hate groups in 2021: 2.6 per million people (13 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery
> Hate group ideologies include: Antisemitism, neo-Confederate, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 64.2% white; 25.8% Black, 3.5% foreign born
> Total population: 5,039,877
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19. North Carolina
> Hate groups in 2021: 2.7 per million people (28 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilmington, Winston-Salem
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-immigrant, antisemitism, neo-Confederate, racist skinhead, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 60.9% white; 19.9% Black, 8.2% foreign born
> Total population: 10,551,162
18. Mississippi
> Hate groups in 2021: 2.7 per million people (8 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Jackson, Tupelo
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-LGBTQ, neo-Confederate, neo-Nazi
> State demographic makeup: 55.4% white; 36.0% Black, 2.1% foreign born
> Total population: 2,949,965
17. Missouri
> Hate groups in 2021: 2.8 per million people (17 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Kansas City, Marble Hill, Shell City, St. Louis
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-Muslim, antisemitism, Christian identity, neo-Nazi, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 76.6% white; 10.7% Black, 4.1% foreign born
> Total population: 6,168,187
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16. Hawaii
> Hate groups in 2021: 2.8 per million people (4 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Honolulu, Kaneohe
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-LGBTQ, general hate
> State demographic makeup: 20.8% white; 1.8% Black, 18.8% foreign born
> Total population: 1,441,553
15. Nevada
> Hate groups in 2021: 2.9 per million people (9 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Carson City, Las Vegas, Reno, Sparks
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-LQBTQ, neo-Nazi, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 45.2% white; 8.7% Black, 18.4% foreign born
> Total population: 3,143,991
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14. Maine
> Hate groups in 2021: 2.9 per million people (4 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Machias
> Hate group ideologies include: Neo-Nazi, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 90.0% white; 1.5% Black, 4.1% foreign born
> Total population: 1,372,247
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13. Arkansas
> Hate groups in 2021: 3.0 per million people (9 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Harrison, Little Rock, Mountain View, North Little Rock
> Hate group ideologies include: Antisemitism, Christian-identity, neo-Confederate, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 68.2% white; 14.7% Black, 4.7% foreign born
> Total population: 3,025,891
12. Arizona
> Hate groups in 2021: 3.0 per million people (22 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Gilbert, Maricopa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Tucson
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Muslim, antisemitism, neo-Nazi, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 52.0% white; 4.3% Black, 12.6% foreign born
> Total population: 7,276,316
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11. Colorado
> Hate groups in 2021: 3.1 per million people (18 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Centennial, Colorado Springs, Denver, Pueblo
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, antisemitism, Christian identity, neo-Nazi, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 65.2% white; 3.7% Black, 9.8% foreign born
> Total population: 5,812,069
10. Idaho
> Hate groups in 2021: 3.2 per million people (6 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Bonners Ferry, Coeur D’Alene, Meridian
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-Muslim, antisemitism, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 78.7% white; 0.7% Black, 6.1% foreign born
> Total population: 1,900,923
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9. Louisiana
> Hate groups in 2021: 3.2 per million people (15 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Metairie, Monroe, New Orleans, Shreveport
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-LGBTQ, anti-Muslim, antisemitism, neo-Confederate, white nationlist
> State demographic makeup: 56.9% white; 31.0% Black, 4.3% foreign born
> Total population: 4,624,047
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8. South Carolina
> Hate groups in 2021: 3.3 per million people (17 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg, Summerville
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-LGBTQ, antisemitism, neo-Confederate, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 62.6% white; 24.9% Black, 5.2% foreign born
> Total population: 5,190,705
7. West Virginia
> Hate groups in 2021: 3.4 per million people (6 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Berkeley Springs, Purgitsville
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-LGBTQ, neo-Confederate, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 90.4% white; 2.8% Black, 1.6% foreign born
> Total population: 1,782,959
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6. Montana
> Hate groups in 2021: 3.6 per million people (4 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Dayton, Whitefish
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-Muslim, racist skinhead, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 83.8% white; 0.5% Black, 2.2% foreign born
> Total population: 1,104,271
5. Delaware
> Hate groups in 2021: 4.0 per million people (4 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Bear, Wilmington
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-Muslim, antisemitism, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 59.3% white; 20.5% Black, 10.1% foreign born
> Total population: 1,003,384
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4. Tennessee
> Hate groups in 2021: 4.0 per million people (28 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Bartlett, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-LGBTQ, anti-Muslim, antisemitism, neo-Confederate, neo-Nazi, racist skinhead, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 72.1% white; 15.4% Black, 5.3% foreign born
> Total population: 6,975,218
3. New Hampshire
> Hate groups in 2021: 4.3 per million people (6 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Hollis, Manchester, Richmond
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-Muslim, neo-Nazi, radical traditional Catholocism
> State demographic makeup: 87.3% white; 1.3% Black, 5.9% foreign born
> Total population: 1,388,992
2. South Dakota
> Hate groups in 2021: 4.5 per million people (4 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Rapid City
> Hate group ideologies include: Neo-Nazi, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 80.0% white; 1.9% Black, 3.5% foreign born
> Total population: 895,376
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1. Nebraska
> Hate groups in 2021: 4.6 per million people (9 total)
> Place(s) with active hate group(s) include: Lincoln, Omaha, Scottsbluff
> Hate group ideologies include: Anti-Muslim, Christian identity, neo-Nazi, white nationalist
> State demographic makeup: 76.4% white; 4.6% Black, 7.4% foreign born
> Total population: 1,963,692
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