Americans will mark Columbus Day tomorrow, Monday, October 12, but how they celebrate depends solely on where they live.
The extent of their engagement centers on whether they get a paid day off, celebrate indigenous people or other commemorations, or simply continue with a normal working day.
The different approaches among states come as Donald Trump has renewed his defense of Christopher Columbus and pledged to protect his legacy.
On Friday, Trump hosted a Columbus Day Celebration at the White House, ahead of the federal holiday.
The administration had already issued its 2026 Columbus Day proclamation on October 7, saying Americans should "honor his life of valor, adventure, and ingenuity" and "pledge to safeguard his story." The proclamation strongly stated that the administration would "never allow his legacy to be erased by radical extremists."
Earlier this year, a replica of a Columbus statue originally built by Ronald Reagan which had stood in Baltimore since 1984 was installed on the White House grounds after “rioters tore it down and threw it into Baltimore Harbor on July 4, 2020.”
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Why It Matters
Columbus Day is a federal holiday, but its observance at the state level is far from uniform.
An analysis by Pew Research Center found that 30 states recognize Columbus Day in some form, while only 20 make it a paid holiday for state government employees.
Other states have either replaced it with Indigenous Peoples Day, recognize both occasions, or don’t make either a state holiday, and treat it as a normal day.
The differences reflect the longstanding debate surrounding Columbus' legacy.
Native American advocates and other critics have opposed celebrating him because of his treatment of Indigenous people and the consequences of European colonization, while Columbus Day has historically also served as a celebration of Italian American heritage.
Trump, meanwhile, has embraced Columbus as part of his broader effort to defend what his administration portrays as traditional American historical figures and symbols.
Where Columbus Day Is a Paid State Holiday
According to Pew Research Center's analysis, in almost all of the 30 states that recognize Columbus Day in some form, it falls on the second Monday of October, although Washington state fixes its Columbus Day observance on October 12 and Puerto Rico commemorates Columbus' arrival there on November 19.
The states that make Columbus Day a standalone paid holiday are:
- Idaho
- Utah
- Arizona
- Missouri
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Georgia
- West Virginia
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- New York
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
Seven states share Columbus Day with another observance:
- Alabama is also American Indian Heritage Day and Fraternal Day
- Virginia is also called Yorktown Victory Day
The other five share the day with Indigenous Peoples Day:
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
Where Columbus Day Is Recognized Without a Day Off
Another 10 states recognize Columbus Day as a public or legal holiday or another formal day of recognition, but without giving state employees a paid day off.
Those states are:
- Florida
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
Tennessee takes an unusual approach. Although the state officially observes Columbus Day, its governor can, and routinely does, shift the observance to the Friday after Thanksgiving so communities get a four-day weekend, according to Pew.
Which States Have Replaced Columbus Day With Indigenous Peoples Day?
Delaware dropped Columbus Day entirely in 2009, replacing it with a floating holiday that state workers can take on a day of their choosing. In 2019, Maine, Vermont and New Mexico, along with the District of Columbia, replaced their paid Columbus Day holidays with Indigenous Peoples Day.
California has also routinely used an official proclamation to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day.
Oklahoma uses another formulation. It marks the second Monday of October as Oklahoma Native American Day, which is an unpaid day of observance. The state separately observes Indian Day and has a law requiring the governor to declare a day honoring each tribe on a date chosen by that tribe.
Another 18 states don’t commemorate Native Americans on the second Monday in October but do have Native American-related observances at other points in the year.
Trump's Push To Preserve Columbus Day
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The diverging state policies contrast sharply with the position taken by the Trump administration.
In his 2026 proclamation, Trump called Columbus a "legend" and said his "vision, fortitude, and perseverance" helped set historical events in motion that eventually culminated in the creation of the United States.
The president also directly addressed attempts to remove Columbus from public commemoration, saying: "We are forever indebted to his courageous voyage, and we will never allow his legacy to be erased by radical extremists."
That position continues the approach Trump took in 2025.
In last year's proclamation, he accused "left-wing radicals" of toppling Columbus statues, vandalizing monuments and attempting to "erase our history." He also described Columbus as a "true American hero."
In a Truth Social post, Trump also wished Americans a "Happy Columbus Day," singling out the Italian American community and again criticizing the removal of statues of Columbus. He said the "days of plunder are over," adding that the statues were "back, more magnificent than ever."
"This is a big day for our great Italian American Community, and the Country of Italy itself, maybe the biggest," Trump wrote.
Why Columbus Day Is Celebrated Differently Across The U.S.
The split over the second Monday in October has developed over decades.
Columbus Day was first observed as a federal holiday in 1937 and was originally associated strongly with Italian American heritage, according to Pew. In 1971, the holiday moved from October 12 to the second Monday of October.
In more recent decades, Native American organizations and other critics have pushed governments to replace Columbus Day, pointing to Columbus' treatment of Indigenous people and the consequences of European settlement.
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Anthony Tamburri, dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute at the City University of New York, told Newsweek that the differences between states and cities are partly connected to their Italian American populations. He said cities and states with established Italian American communities have traditions of celebrating Columbus as a figure who "brought together two worlds," while places with smaller Italian populations may not have the same tradition. "States and cities determine whether to celebrate it or not. This is why we have the three different circumstances of (1) Columbus Day, (2) Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day, (3) Indigenous Peoples’ Day."
Historian Philip Deloria, a professor at Harvard University, also previously told Newsweek that Columbus Day's history is also intertwined with efforts to combat anti-Italian prejudice and position Italian immigrants and their descendants within a shared American identity. He said, “Columbus Day has its roots in violent anti-Italian/anti-immigrant sentiments and practices in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and its elevation as a holiday had a lot to do with efforts to combat those sentiments and to position the Italian immigrant and Italian descent communities in relation to a shared sense of Americanness.”
At the same time, he said Columbus' own writings and accounts of his voyages showed his plans for Indigenous populations included enslavement, raising the question of why Indigenous Americans would celebrate him.
Ben Railton, a professor at Fitchburg State University, previously told Newsweek: "We desperately need a holiday focused on Indigenous Americans; and it also would be great to have one focused on actual Italian Americans and that community and heritage."
What Happens Next
Columbus Day falls on Monday, October 12, 2026, with federal observance continuing nationwide but state governments marking the date in markedly different ways.
Trump's comments and his 2026 proclamation signal that, at the federal level, his administration intends to continue explicitly championing Columbus and the Columbus Day holiday. State approaches, however, range from paid Columbus Day holidays to Indigenous Peoples Day observances, combined commemorations, and states where the second Monday in October is an ordinary working day.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Trevor Davies