15 Most Racist States in America Ranked By Hate Crimes in 2017

Over the years, it has become apparent that America has a problem with hate crime across all states, whether due to racism, bigotry, homophobia or something else, so we wanted to see just which are the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017.

With white nationalists thinking they somehow have more of a right to be in the United States than other ethnic groups, a country that was built by immigrants in the first place, tensions have risen. Over the past few months, there have been numerous incidents, including violent clashes between white supremacists and supporters of the Antifa movement, such as it happened in Charlottesville. In fact, ever since Donald Trump has come into the office, racist-fuelled incidents have grown exponentially, as if his election as president has somehow given these people the green light to spew hate as never before. The fact that Trump has failed to denounce racism and extremism in his speeches, calling neo-nazis “nice people” may have also contributed. In fact, data from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino shows that hate crimes have jumped by nearly 20% in major US cities since the beginning of 2017. Hate crimes in 13 cities with over 250,000 residents rose to 827 this year, compared to 690 during the same period last year

It’s not just black people that are targeted, but also any other people of color, in some cases the hate crimes being a mix of racism and bigotry. Of course, that’s not to say white people are not targeted by racism; it just happens a lot less than for people of color. For instance, out of 5,850 hate crimes in 2015, 3,310 were caused by racism. According to FBI data, only 613 of them were anti-white, affecting 789 people. The number of cases against black people reached 1,745, affecting 2,201 people, while American Indian, Asian, Arab, Hispanics and others have also been targeted. Data also shows that the most common incidents were those where people tried to intimidate those of other races, followed by simple assault and aggravated assault. Unfortunately, there were also 11 cases of manslaughter caused by racist beliefs, with a single case being against a white person. You can also check out to see which are the least racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017 or the most racist states ranked by hate crimes.

In order to create our list of most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017 today, we checked out the only viable source for this type of data – the FBI. Sadly, the information the FBI has available online is only for 2015, with no fresher data having been posted. The situation now is direr, but with no hard numbers for back up, we’ll stick to the 2015 data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. You’ll be sad to find how many incidents have been reported of situation where hate crimes took place due to people’s racist beliefs. You should keep in mind, however, that the number of hate crimes is far larger, expanding to include incidents that took place due to a person’s sexual orientation, their religion, disability, gender or gender identity. We would all live in a more peaceful world if we learned to appreciate everyone equally and not to fear people who are different than us.

Now let’s see the list of most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017. We are starting with a state with least hate incidents reported.

15. Colorado

Incidents: 65

Colorado is a state with over 5.5 million citizens. Data shows that nearly 83% of the population here is white, with only 3.8% being black or African American. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy organization specialized in civil rights, says that Colorado is home to 16 active hate groups, including neo-Nazi groups, anti-Muslim groups, anti-immigrant groups and white nationalists.

14. Missouri

Incidents: 70

Next up on our list of the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes, we have Missouri, a state with some 6.1 million citizens. Here, the white population is even higher, making up some 84.9% of the total, with black and African American citizens making up 11.2%.

Most recently, the state’s police came under fire for not qualifying the horrific murder of a transgender teen as a hate crime.

13. North Carolina

Incidents: 106

North Carolina is next up on our list of the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017 and it’s home to over 10 million people. According to statistics, white people make up 71% of the population, with people of black or African American origins accounted for just over 22%.

Earlier this year, a man from North Carolina set fire to an Indian grocery store in east Charlotte and left a note at the scene signed with “White America.”

12. Texas

Incidents: 107

Up next on the list of the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017, we have Texas, a state with close to 28 million citizens. Data shows that nearly 80% of the population here is white, while only 12.6% is of black or African American descent.

The number of hate crimes here has spiked incredibly after the November election, with the Texas Observer noting there were more than 1,000 incidents of hateful intimidation and harassment reported since, from anti-Muslim fliers to anti-semitic graffiti and swastikas.

11. Virginia

Incidents: 108

Virginia ranks next on our list of the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017, with over 8.4 million citizens. The Census Bureau notes that the state’s population is 70% white, with only 19.8% of the residents being of black or African American descent and 9.1% Hispanic or Latino.

Virginia is, of course, famous for the most brutal hate-based incident this year – the clash from Charlottesville. The August far-right rally ended up with a State of Emergency being called.

10. Kentucky

Incidents: 113

Going higher up the ladder of the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes, we find Kentucky, a state that only has some 4.4 million residents. According to the US Census, white people make up 88% of the state’s population.

Kentucky is also a state that has saw a hike in the number of hate groups following the 2016 elections, so the number of incidents in this category might also see a jump.

9. New York

Incidents: 136

A state that is closing in on 20 million citizens, New York follows up next on the list of the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017. With New York City being one of the most diverse cities in the country, the state itself sees multiple ethnicities living here. Unlike other states, here white people only make up just under 70% of the population.

The sad part is that in 2015 the state saw a total of about 500 hate crimes, out of which 136 incidents were race-related. Estimates indicate, however, that 2016 brought a 20% hike in hate crimes.

8. Tennessee

Incidents: 157

Down in the South racism is sometimes like a second skin for many citizens, so it’s no surprise that Tennessee ranks so high on our list. Out of the 6.6 million citizens living here, close to 79% are white people, with people of black or African American origin making up 17%.

The state is also frequently in the news with hate crimes, including a recent church shooting.

7. Washington

Incidents: 160

Up next on our list of most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017 we have Washington, which is home to some 7.3 million citizens. White people make up 80% of the population here.

More and more frequently we see Washington in the news over hate crimes, including incidents with racist implications.

6. Arizona

Incidents: 162

Moving to the southeast, we have Arizona, home to close to 7 million people. Most people here, it seems, are white, as the Census report shows that 83.3% are caucasian. Out of all the hate crimes taking place in Arizona, it seems that those with a racist motive are most prevalent.

5. New Jersey

Incidents: 169

New Jersey may be a tiny state as far as territory goes, but it has close to 9 million residents. Some 72.4% of the citizens here are white, data shows.

Here too we notice that racism is a motive for most of the hate crimes reported here too, although incidents targeting the LGBT+ community come next.

4. Michigan

Incidents: 198

Back to the Midwest, we have Michigan, with a population of close to 10 million citizens. Close to 80% of these are white, Census data show, followed by 14% people of black of African American origin.

The state seems to have some deep problem with racism, as hate crimes having this at the center far outweighs the rest. Just recently they found racist language on name tags in the dorms of the University of Michigan, therefore, we shouldn’t be too surprised.

3. Massachusetts

Incidents: 198

Next up on our list of the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017, we have Massachusetts, home to 6.8 million citizens. Close to 82% of the population here is white, Census data shows. Here too, FBI data shows that hate crimes motivated by race were predominant – 198 out of 424.

2. Ohio

Incidents: 309

Down in the midwest, we find Ohio, the occupant of the second place of our list of the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017, a state with 11.6 million residents. Some 82.5% of the population here is white, government information indicates. There have been numerous issues regarding hate crimes in Ohio, with many incidents taking place on college campuses.

1. California

Incidents: 427

Finally, at the top of our list, we have California – a state that’s home to close to 40 million people. Under these circumstances, there’s very little surprise that the number of hate crimes is the highest in the entire country.

Trump’s win seems to have brought the worst in people here too, as Los Angeles, for instance, saw a 29% increase in hate crimes in the last quarter of 2016, a study shows. The 2015 data the FBI has shown that the number of hate crimes triggered by racism was larger than all other types of hate crimes combined.

The numbers provided by the FBI might be under what’s really happening simply because not all hate crimes are reported as such and, furthermore, not all law enforcement agencies do their part of reporting the data properly. Either way, with the available data, these have been the most racist states in America ranked by hate crimes in 2017.