10 States With the Most Hate Groups

10. Louisiana

> Hate groups per 1 million: 3.2

> Number of hate groups: 15 (21st most)

> Adults with at least bachelor’s degree: 22.5% (5th smallest)

> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 62.9% (6th lowest)

There are 15 active hate groups in Louisiana, or 3.2 per 1 million state residents, the 10th highest proportion nationwide. The Aryan Nations Knights and the Loyal White Knights — each chapters of the Ku Klux Klan — are among the 15 groups. Many of the groups are known for promoting racism towards blacks, with Aryan, neo-Nazi, and Skinhead groups making up a bulk of Louisiana’s hate organizations. New Orleans and Shreveport, however, are each also home to chapters of Nation of Islam, a group with its own racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-gay overtones. Segregation, which manifests along physical and economic lines, is often both the result and the cause of hatred. Like nearly every other state where hate groups are the most prevalent, white and black Louisiana residents tend to earn very different incomes. A typical white household earns $32,200 more than a typical black household annually, the largest such gap nationwide.

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9. Virginia

> Hate groups per 1 million: 3.3

> Number of hate groups: 27 (9th most)

> Adults with at least bachelor’s degree: 36.1% (6th largest)

> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 69.3% (15th lowest)

Roughly 20% of Virginia residents identify as black, well above the national proportion of 12.6%, as is the case in most states on this list. Unlike most states with the highest concentrations of active hate groups, Virginia residents are relatively well educated. More than 36% of state adults have at least a bachelor’s degree, the sixth highest attainment rate in the country. The state’s median household income of $62,666 is also unusually high compared with other top states for hate groups, although the gap between white and black household incomes is still among the largest nationwide. White supremacist groups such as Creativity Alliance, the American Nazi Party, and Aryan Nations, are among the most common organized hate groups in Virginia. Anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-LGBT groups are also among the state’s active hate organizations.

8. Kentucky

> Hate groups per 1 million: 3.6

> Number of hate groups: 16 (18th most)

> Adults with at least bachelor’s degree: 22.6% (6th smallest)

> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 87.7% (11th highest)

Racist white supremacist organizations, including neo-Nazi group Aryan Nations, several Ku Klux Klan chapters, and the neo-Confederate Southern National Congress, make up a bulk of the state’s hate groups. Black residents tend to make up larger shares of the populations in states where hate groups are most prevalent. However, 8% of Kentuckians identify as black, lower than the national proportion of nearly 13%. In most southern states with a high number of racist organizations, a legacy of slavery has contributed to a high concentration of black residents. In Kentucky, however, just 8% of the population identifies as black.