Before you think that North Carolina isn’t darker, read the title which makes one think the statistics will be on the entire military and then notice that the statistics reported are only enlisted members between 18 and 24.
The statistics leave out officers and the professional enlisted ranks (those with more than six years of service) over age 24.
This indicates where the rate of enlistment is currently high or low.
That’s useful in itself, but of course it isn’t a complete picture and shouldn’t be required to be. It is what it is.
It says little about the overall composition of the military, as that also depends on where recruitment was in earlier times, and also on the pools of available young people. I.e., it is false to conclude that there are plenty of people from Maine in the military, because though the recruitment rate is high the actual numbers are small.
Interesting though that some of the more conservative states have relatively low rates. Why so few out of WV ? One would think its prime territory.