Minnesota Seen as Best State for Social Activism, Connecticut Ranks in Top 10

A newly released ranking of the Best States for Social Activism showed Minnesota leading the way, and Connecticut rounding out the top 10.  In between were Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, Vermont, Washington, Illinois, Oregon, and Massachusetts.  New Hampshire and New York ranked just behind Connecticut.

In order to identify the best states for social activism, the website SmileHub compared the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Community Support & Engagement, 2) Legal Protection & Education and 3) Labor & Household.  They evaluated those dimensions using 15 relevant metrics. The data set ranged from the number of rights/activism charities per capita to the number of civic/social organizations per capita to the share of eligible voters who voted in the 2024 Presidential Election.

In announcing the results of the ranking, the website pointed out that “The U.S. has a long history of social movements, from its founding to more modern efforts for racial equality and climate activism. While social activism happens across the country, some states provide better environments for citizens to advocate and make a difference.”

Data sources used by SmileHub, a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization, to create this ranking included the U.S. Census Bureau, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Agriculture, Federal Bureau of Investigation, AmeriCorps, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, iCivics, and Ballotpedia.