Florida, Georgia, Maine Lead Nation in Military Enlistments

When it comes to military enlistments, three states lead the nation with people between the ages of 18 and 24 from Florida, Georgia and Maine being more than twice as likely to join up than their contemporaries in places like North Dakota.

That comes from U.S. Department of Defense data crunched recently by Business Insider. The numbers show some of the lowest enlistment in the nation comes from New England and the Northeast, with Maine being the exception.

On a regional basis, the southern Atlantic states lead the nation in enlistments while areas such as the Northeast, New England sans Maine, and the Western North Central states have some of the lowest enlistment numbers.

While California, Texas and New York are the top three most populous states in the country, according to Census data, their enlistment rates don’t reflect this. California has an enlistment rate of about 4 to 5 per 1,000 in the 18 to 24 age category, while New York comes in at 3 to 4. In Texas, the rate is about 5 to 6 per 1,000.

When asked for a reason behind the disparity, Department of Defense spokesman Nate Christensen told Business Insider the numbers might be due to the large number of military bases found in the states. While that could explain Florida and Georgia, it doesn’t track in Maine.

Check out a state-by-state map of the numbers and read the Business Insider’s full story here.