| Winner: | BeBe Shopp |
| Represented: | |
| Date: | September 11, 1948 |
| Presenters: | Bob Russell |
| Entrants: | 55 |
| Placements: | 15 |
| Venue: | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Before: | 1947 |
| Next: | 1949 |
| Congeniality: | Yun Tau Zane |
Miss America 1948, the 22nd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 11, 1948.[1]
The winner, BeBe Shopp, was the first Miss Minnesota to take the crown. Shopp performed a song on a Vibraharp during the talent competition. Later in life, she became an Episcopalian minister.
Third runner-up, Miss Kansas, Vera J. Ralston, and another finalist, representing Chicago, Lois Nettleton, went on to become a successful Hollywood actress.
| Placement | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Miss America 1948 | ||
| 1st Runner-Up |
| |
| 2nd Runner-Up |
| |
| 3rd Runner-Up | ||
| 4th Runner-Up |
| |
| Top 15 |
|
| Awards | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
| |
| Talent |
|
| Alabama | Martha Ann Ingram | Tarrant | Classical Vocal, "Quando me'm vo'" | 2nd Runner-up | ||||
| Arizona | Donna McElroy | Phoenix | Dramatic Monologue | |||||
| Arkansas | Van Louis McDaniel | Forrest City | Monologue, "Spartan Parents" | |||||
| Atlanta | Jerry Long | Atlanta | Tap Dance, "Cherokee" | Top 15 | ||||
| Birmingham | Marjorie Orr | Birmingham | ||||||
| Boston | Barbara McGrath | Boston | ||||||
| California | Reba Watterson | Stockton | ||||||
| Canada | Betty Jean Ferguson | Halifax | ||||||
| Chicago | Lois Nettleton | Chicago | Dramatic Monologue from Saint Joan | Top 15 | ||||
| Colorado | Virginia Smith | Pueblo | ||||||
| Connecticut | Fairfax Mason | Bridgeport | Classical Vocal, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" | |||||
| Delaware | Lorna Edwardson | Dover | Classical Vocal, "Un Bel Di" from Madama Butterfly | |||||
| Detroit | Doris Evelyn Johnson | Detroit | Vocal, "Worry, Worry, Worry" | Top 15 | ||||
| District of Columbia | Joann Miller | 23 | Vocal, "An Old, Old Castle in Scotland" | |||||
| Florida | Rosemary Carpenter | Miami Beach | Classical Piano & Accordion, "Fantaisie-Impromptu" & "Two Guitars" | Top 15 | ||||
| Georgia | Gwendolyn West | Statesboro | ||||||
| Greater Philadelphia | Betty Jane Bruce | Philadelphia | Vocal, "Fool That I Am" & "Mean to Me" | |||||
| Hawaii | Yun Tau Zane | Honolulu | Hula | Miss Congeniality | First Asian-American to compete at Miss America | |||
| Illinois | Viola Ruth Hutmacher | Quincy | Classical Vocal, "Italian Street Song" | |||||
| Indiana | Patti Grubbs | Gary | Vocal, "When You Are Away" | |||||
| Kansas | Vera June Ralston | Wichita | 18 | Oratory | 3rd Runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | Better known as actress Vera Miles | |
| Kentucky | Mildred Joanne Hollinger | Louisville | ||||||
| Maine | Muriel Applebee | Enfield | ||||||
| Maryland | Juanita Melrose Lookabaugh | Cumberland | Hawaiian Hula Dance & Dress Design | |||||
| Massachusetts | Barbara Laughton | Reading | Vocal, "The Moon Belongs to Everybody" | Top 15 | ||||
| Memphis | Lois Jeanette Welch | Memphis | Vocal & Fashion Design, "Gianni Mia" | Top 15 | ||||
| Michigan | Linda Carroll | Grand Rapids | Impersonations of famous people | |||||
| Minnesota | BeBe Shopp | Hopkins | 18 | Vibraharp, "Caprice Viennois" by Fritz Kreisler | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
| Mississippi | Virginia Hollingsworth | Kosciusko | ||||||
| Missouri | Dorothy Smith | Kansas City | ||||||
| Montana | Patti Luer | Anaconda | Vocal/Dance, "Gypsy Song" | Top 15 | Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| Nebraska | Betty Love Booth | Fremont | ||||||
| New Hampshire | Betty Taylor | Rochester | Dramatic Monologue | |||||
| New Jersey | Barbara Anderson | Bloomfield | ||||||
| New Mexico | Betha Young | Cuba | 22 | Art Sculpture | ||||
| New York | M. Yvonne Fix | Niagara Falls | Classical Vocal, "Un Bel Di" from Madama Butterfly | |||||
| New York City | Connie Inge Ronde | New York City | Dramatic Reading, "State of the Union" | Top 15 | ||||
| North Carolina | Patsy Osborne | Lawndale | Vocal & Piano | |||||
| Ohio | Maxine Waack | Fairview | Rumba Dance | |||||
| Oklahoma | Donna Briggs | Tulsa | Painting Display | 4th Runner-up | ||||
| Omaha | Serena McKinney | Omaha | ||||||
| Oregon | Joyce Davis | Bend | Classical Vocal, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" | Top 15 | ||||
| Pennsylvania | Ruth Douglas | Harrisburg | Vocal Medley, "Let my Song Fill Your Heart" & "Lover" | |||||
| Pittsburgh | Sarah Cromwell | Pittsburgh | ||||||
| Puerto Rico | Irma Nydia Vázquez | |||||||
| South Carolina | Esther Greene | Greenville | ||||||
| South Dakota | Myrna Clemenson | Conde | ||||||
| Tennessee | Dorothy Free | Chattanooga | Vocal Medley, "Let my Song Fill Your Heart" & "Embraceable You" | |||||
| Texas | Bonnie Jean Bland | Orange | Vocal/Art Display, "Put the Blame on Mame" | |||||
| Utah | Marilyn Robinson | Ogden | Dramatic Monologue, "Tommy, Tommy, Tommy" | Top 15 | Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| Vermont | Jean Peatman | Montpelier | ||||||
| Virginia | Bobby Joe Wilson | Hillsville | ||||||
| Washington | Lorraine Lowder | Aberdeen | Hula Dance | |||||
| West Virginia | Jane Queen | Huntington | Vocal & Piano | |||||
| Wisconsin | Marvene Fischer | Milwaukee | 19 | |||||
| Wyoming | Carol Held | Douglas | Piano, Hungarian Opus 9 by Edward MacDowell | 1st Runner-up |