| Winner: | Marilyn Buferd |
| Date: | September 7, 1946 |
| Presenters: | Bob Russell |
| Entrants: | 50 |
| Placements: | 16 |
| Venue: | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Before: | 1945 |
| Next: | 1947 |
Miss America 1946, the 20th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 7, 1946.[1]
The winner, Marilyn Buferd, later became an actress, as did fourth runner-up Carol Ohmart and one of the 16 finalists, future Oscar and Emmy Award winner Cloris Leachman.
| Placement | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Miss America 1946 | ||
| 1st Runner-Up |
| |
| 2nd Runner-Up |
| |
| 3rd Runner-Up |
| |
| 4th Runner-Up | ||
| Top 16 |
|
| Awards | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
| |
| Talent |
|
| Alabama | Emma Dale Nunnally | Preliminary Talent Award | ||||||
| Arkansas | Rebecca McCall | Blytheville | Vocal, "Put the Blame on Mame" | 1st Runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |||
| Atlanta | Janey Miller | Atlanta | Classical Vocal, "Vissi d'arte" | 2nd Runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| Baltimore | Virginia Martin | Baltimore | ||||||
| Baton Rouge | Marguerite McClelland | Baton Rouge | Classical Vocal, "Frühlingsstimmen" | 3rd Runner-up | ||||
| Birmingham | Sue Donegan | Birmingham | ||||||
| Boston | Paula C. Jerome | Boston | ||||||
| California | Marilyn Buferd | Los Angeles | 21 | Dramatic Monologue from Accent on Youth | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
| Chicago | Cloris Leachman | Chicago | Comic Sketch, "One Man Radio Program" | Top 16 | Later an Oscar and Emmy Award winning actress | |||
| Cincinnati | LaVonne Bond | Cincinnati | Vocal, "Thine Alone" from Eileen | Top 16 | ||||
| Cleveland | Mary Eileen Kelly | Cleveland | ||||||
| Colorado | Raye Donnelly | Colorado Springs | ||||||
| Columbus | Mary Lou Henderson | Columbus | ||||||
| Connecticut | Joan Turner | West Haven | Vocal, "Coax Me a Little Bit" | Top 16 | ||||
| Detroit | Constance Liddicoat | Detroit | ||||||
| District of Columbia | Jeanne Carlson | 19 | Vocal, "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" | |||||
| Florida | Jacquelyn Jennings | Miami | Pantomime, "Just a Square in a Social Circle" | Top 16 | ||||
| Greater Philadelphia | Virginia Brown | Philadelphia | ||||||
| Illinois | Patricia Frye | Pekin | Vocal/Tap Dance, "I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do" | Top 16 | ||||
| Indiana | Lois Chitwood | Helmsburg | Piano & Speech | |||||
| Iowa | Jacqueline Means | Des Moines | 19 | Acrobatic Dance | ||||
| Kansas | Joyce Blakemore | Liberal | ||||||
| Kansas City | Nadine LaVerne Fugett | Kansas City | ||||||
| Kentucky | Mary Madonna Smith | Jenkins | ||||||
| Louisville | Patricia Alden Fenton | Louisville | Artistic Exhibition & Sketch | Top 16 | ||||
| Maryland | Dorothy Crockett | Baltimore | Original Poetry Recitiation | |||||
| Massachusetts | Urania "Rae" Nichols | Malden | ||||||
| Miami Beach | Jini Boyd | Miami | ||||||
| Michigan | Ruth Margaret Lenfestey | New Baltimore | 20 | |||||
| Minnesota | Rosemarie Gregg | St. Paul | ||||||
| Mississippi | Lennie Nobles | Greenwood | Dance | Non-finalist Talent Award Best Dancer Award | Later Known as Josephine Nobles Giacketti | |||
| Nebraska | Marjorie Ann Hanson | Omaha | ||||||
| New Jersey | Helen Sprinitis | Kearny | ||||||
| New Mexico | Martha Cooper | Albuquerque | Speech, "Career as a Newspaper Reporter" | |||||
| New Orleans | Joyce Josephine Frink | New Orleans | ||||||
| New York | Violet Mellar | White Plains | Recitation "True to the End" | Top 16 | Miss Congeniality | |||
| New York City | Eileen Henry | New York City | Dramatic Monologue from Saint Joan | Top 16 | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |||
| North Carolina | Trudy Riley | Wilson | ||||||
| Pennsylvania | Eleanor Kramer | Lebanon | Vocal, "My Hero" from The Chocolate Soldier | Top 16 | Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| Rhode Island | Marilyn Tripp | Westenly | ||||||
| South Carolina | Anne Mae Morse | |||||||
| Tennessee | Wilda Bowman | Chattanooga | ||||||
| Texas | D. Anne Wisener | University Park | Vocal, "Embraceable You" | |||||
| Utah | Armelia Carol Ohmart | Salt Lake City | Vocal, "I Won't Tell a Soul" | 4th Runner-up | Later a well-known film & TV actress | |||
| Vermont | Lola Sundberg | Burlington | ||||||
| Virginia | Bette Cannon | Alexandria | Monologue, "The Waltz" by Dorothy Parker | |||||
| West Virginia | Norma Lee Salisbury | Parkersburg | Top 16 | |||||
| Wisconsin | Antoine Lunde | Milwaukee/Westby | 20 | Top 16 |