States with the most men drafted in World War II

Stacker
·9 min read

As of September 2022, there are just over 167,000 American veterans of World War II alive, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Since most are over 90 years old, it is estimated that three in every 10 will pass away in 2023. More than 16 million people served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the war, which took the lives of 30-65 million people. To this date, the exact number of casualties remains unknown.

In September 1940, Congress sanctioned the Selective Training and Service Act, the first peacetime draft law in the nation’s history. By then, most of Europe had been at war for a year. The legislation—also known as the Burke-Wadsworth Act—required men ages 21 to 45 to sign up for conscription. If inducted, they were appointed to serve for one year. When the U.S. officially entered the war, however, conscription limits were removed and service ran through the war’s end.

The age of draftees was also lowered to 18 as the war developed, a change that ignited protests and a public campaign demanding the government lower the statutory age to vote. (Decades later, amidst the Vietnam War, this would prove to be the premise for the 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971.)

Over 36.5 million draft cards were issued during the time the U.S. fought in World War II; 10.1 million men were inducted between 1940 and 1947, which represented about 7.6% of the national population, according to estimates from the 1940 census. They joined 6 million volunteers in combat.

Stacker analyzed data quantifying draft numbers during World War II from multiple sources, including historical Census data, a report issued by the Selective Service System, and a WWII draft card project provided by Ancestry.com in association with the National Archives and Records Administration. Draft card data for Maine was not available; their draft cards were destroyed before being digitized. States, territories, and Washington D.C. are ranked by the number of inductees as a percentage of the total state population as estimated from the 1940 census.

#51. Alaska

– Number of men drafted: 3,564 (4.91% of the territory population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 22,518
— 15.83% of draft cards called

Note: Alaska was a U.S. territory during WWII and became a state in 1959.

#50. Vermont

– Number of men drafted: 21,456 (5.97% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 86,651
— 24.76% of draft cards called

#49. Iowa

– Number of men drafted: 154,603 (6.09% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 621,426
— 24.88% of draft cards called

#48. South Dakota

– Number of men drafted: 39,707 (6.18% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 151,055
— 26.29% of draft cards called

#47. North Dakota

– Number of men drafted: 39,895 (6.21% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 380,297
— 10.49% of draft cards called

#46. Nebraska

– Number of men drafted: 82,735 (6.29% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 324,606
— 25.49% of draft cards called

#45. Wisconsin

– Number of men drafted: 203,235 (6.48% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 777,714
— 26.13% of draft cards called

#44. Oklahoma

– Number of men drafted: 151,883 (6.50% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 580,191
— 26.18% of draft cards called

#43. Washington

– Number of men drafted: 113,451 (6.53% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 476,971
— 23.79% of draft cards called

#42. Colorado

– Number of men drafted: 73,786 (6.57% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 284,881
— 25.90% of draft cards called

#41. Oregon

– Number of men drafted: 72,800 (6.68% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 294,538
— 24.72% of draft cards called

#40. New Hampshire

– Number of men drafted: 32,920 (6.70% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 123,730
— 26.61% of draft cards called

#39. Georgia

– Number of men drafted: 209,589 (6.71% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 845,405
— 24.79% of draft cards called

#38. Massachusetts

– Number of men drafted: 292,439 (6.77% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 1,056,985
— 27.67% of draft cards called

#37. Kansas

– Number of men drafted: 122,470 (6.80% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 428,140
— 28.61% of draft cards called

#36. Texas

– Number of men drafted: 438,232 (6.83% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 2,225,880
— 19.69% of draft cards called

#35. Minnesota

– Number of men drafted: 191,238 (6.85% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 697,360
— 27.42% of draft cards called

#34. Wyoming

– Number of men drafted: 17,254 (6.88% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 66,540
— 25.93% of draft cards called

#33. Montana

– Number of men drafted: 38,820 (6.94% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 144,604
— 26.85% of draft cards called

#32. Maine

– Number of men drafted: 59,815 (7.06% of the state population)
– Draft card data not available

#31. Missouri

– Number of men drafted: 272,180 (7.19% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 956,325
— 28.46% of draft cards called

#30. California

– Number of men drafted: 500,920 (7.25% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 2,094,031
— 23.92% of draft cards called

#29. South Carolina

– Number of men drafted: 137,969 (7.26% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 501,839
— 27.49% of draft cards called

#28. Florida

– Number of men drafted: 138,619 (7.31% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 545,128
— 25.43% of draft cards called

#27. North Carolina

– Number of men drafted: 262,942 (7.36% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 1,483,473
— 17.72% of draft cards called

#26. Arkansas

– Number of men drafted: 143,682 (7.37% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 395,488
— 36.33% of draft cards called

#25. Alabama

– Number of men drafted: 210,599 (7.43% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 764,045
— 27.56% of draft cards called

#24. Utah

– Number of men drafted: 41,061 (7.46% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 145,410
— 28.24% of draft cards called

#23. Rhode Island

– Number of men drafted: 53,235 (7.46% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 186,940
— 28.48% of draft cards called

#22. Idaho

– Number of men drafted: 39,220 (7.47% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 139,652
— 28.08% of draft cards called

#21. New Mexico

– Number of men drafted: 39,944 (7.51% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 141,042
— 28.32% of draft cards called

#20. Hawaii

– Number of men drafted: 31,899 (7.54% of the territory population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 139,178
— 22.92% of draft cards called

Note: Hawaii was a U.S. territory during WWII and became a state in 1959.

#19. Louisiana

– Number of men drafted: 179,029 (7.57% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 649,825
— 27.55% of draft cards called

#18. Indiana

– Number of men drafted: 261,079 (7.62% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 904,608
— 28.86% of draft cards called

#17. Kentucky

– Number of men drafted: 220,619 (7.75% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 738,534
— 29.87% of draft cards called

#16. Arizona

– Number of men drafted: 39,069 (7.83% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 141,706
— 27.57% of draft cards called

#15. Mississippi

– Number of men drafted: 172,136 (7.88% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 564,513
— 30.49% of draft cards called

#14. Illinois

– Number of men drafted: 629,516 (7.97% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 2,124,699
— 29.63% of draft cards called

#13. Tennessee

– Number of men drafted: 233,993 (8.02% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 764,556
— 30.61% of draft cards called

#12. Virginia

– Number of men drafted: 216,060 (8.07% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 768,847
— 28.10% of draft cards called

#11. Michigan

– Number of men drafted: 424,335 (8.07% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 1,462,490
— 29.01% of draft cards called

#10. Connecticut

– Number of men drafted: 139,629 (8.17% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 488,632
— 28.58% of draft cards called

#9. New York

– Number of men drafted: 1,108,799 (8.23% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 3,802,625
— 29.16% of draft cards called

#8. New Jersey

– Number of men drafted: 345,236 (8.30% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 1,168,325
— 29.55% of draft cards called

#7. West Virginia

– Number of men drafted: 158,533 (8.34% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 524,336
— 30.24% of draft cards called

#6. Ohio

– Number of men drafted: 576,622 (8.35% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 1,790,654
— 32.20% of draft cards called

#5. Delaware

– Number of men drafted: 22,330 (8.38% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 74,649
— 29.91% of draft cards called

#4. Maryland

– Number of men drafted: 158,121 (8.68% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 536,962
— 29.45% of draft cards called

#3. Pennsylvania

– Number of men drafted: 866,264 (8.75% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 2,660,878
— 32.56% of draft cards called

#2. Nevada

– Number of men drafted: 10,289 (9.33% of the state population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 36,348
— 28.31% of draft cards called

#1. Washington D.C.

– Number of men drafted: 64,243 (9.69% of population)
– Total number of Draft Cards issued: 212,943
— 30.17% of draft cards called

Note: Washington D.C. is not a U.S. state, but was included for purposes of comparison.

Data reporting by Sam Larson. Story editing by Brian Budzynski. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. Photo selection by Elizabeth Ciano.

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