| Winner: | Nancy Fleming |
| Represented: | Michigan |
| Date: | September 10, 1960 |
| Presenters: | Bert Parks |
| Entrants: | 54 |
| Placements: | 10 |
| Venue: | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Broadcaster: | CBS |
| Before: | 1960 |
| Next: | 1962 |
Miss America 1961, the 34th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 10, 1960, on CBS.
The telecast was watched by a reported 85 million viewers. Nancy Fleming, the winner as Miss Michigan, later became a television personality and the wife of Jim Lange, host of TV's The Dating Game.
| Placement | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Miss America 1961 | ||
| 1st Runner-Up |
| |
| 2nd Runner-Up |
| |
| 3rd Runner-Up |
| |
| 4th Runner-Up |
| |
| Top 10 |
|
| Award | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
| |
| Talent |
|
| Award | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Miss Congeniality |
| |
| Non-finalist Talent |
|
| Alabama | Teresa Rinaldi | Birmingham | 21 | Vocal, "Addio" from La bohème | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Alaska | June Bowdish | Anchorage | 22 | Dramatic Monologue from St. Joan | ||||
| Arizona | Georgia Garbarino | Flagstaff | 18 | Modern Dance, "An American in Paris" | ||||
| Arkansas | Claudette Smith | Star City | 18 | Vocal | Mother of Miss Arkansas 1991, Heather Hunnicut | |||
| California | Suzanne Reamo | La Mesa | 20 | Vocal, "Love is Where You Find it" | 1st runner-up | |||
| Canada | Iris Elaine Thurwell | Northtown | Vocal | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||||
| Chicago | Margaret McDowell | Evanston | 21 | Dramatic Reading | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Colorado | Anne Walker | Littleton | 18 | Dance | ||||
| Connecticut | Wendy Mitchell | New Haven | 18 | Vocal, "Just in Time" | ||||
| Delaware | Deborah Dunkenfield Benoit | Wilmington | 21 | Composite Expression of Special Training | ||||
| District of Columbia | Ruth Rea | Chevy Chase, MD | 18 | Vocal, "A Little Brains, A Little Talent" from Damn Yankees | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
| Florida | Kathy Magda | Fort Lauderdale | 19 | Dramatic Monologue from Our Town | ||||
| Georgia | Sandra Tally | Homerville | 18 | Piano, "Deep Purple" | ||||
| Hawaii | Gabriella Haleakala'l | Honolulu | 20 | Hula | ||||
| Idaho | Marlene Coleman | Pocatello | 18 | Vocal, "If I Were on the Stage" | Top 10 | Contracted laryngitis and was unable to perform her talent during the national telecast | ||
| Illinois | Vicky Joyce Nutter | Vandalia | 18 | Presentation of Fashion Designs | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Indiana | Tommye Glaze | Culver | 21 | Classical Vocal, "Una Voce Poco Fa" from The Barber of Seville | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Iowa | Sally Neville | Davenport | 18 | Dramatic Reading, "Mother on a Moment's Notice" | ||||
| Kansas | Gayla Leigh Shoemake | El Dorado | 19 | Original Dramatic Interpretation, "Rude Awakening" | ||||
| Kentucky | Alice Chumbley | Jamestown | 21 | Dramatic Monologue from The Country Girl | ||||
| Louisiana | Judith Ann Coday | Baton Rouge | 20 | Vocal | ||||
| Maine | Sally Ann Robinson | Enfield | 20 | Monologue/Piano | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Maryland | Robin Carole Davis | Hyattsville | 18 | Vocal, "I Cain't Say No" | ||||
| Massachusetts | Brenda Crovo | Reading | 20 | Vocal Medley, "Bill" & "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" from Show Boat | Top 10 | |||
| Michigan | Nancy Fleming | Montague | 18 | Presentation of Dress Design | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Minnesota | Jean Elverum | Fairbault | 22 | Vocal, "Romany Life" from The Fortune Teller | ||||
| Mississippi | Patricia McRaney | McComb | 20 | Speech & Art Presentation | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Missouri | Dusene Vunovich | Kansas City | 19 | Vocal, "Honey Bun" from South Pacific | ||||
| Montana | Lois Marie Volkel | Missoula | 18 | Classical Vocal, "Voi lo Sapete" from Cavalleria rusticana | ||||
| Nebraska | Cheryl Ann Jacke | Shelton | 18 | Vocal | ||||
| Nevada | Nancy Bowen | McGill | 19 | Humorous Reading & Piano | ||||
| New Hampshire | Drina Bouchard | Rochester | 18 | Cha-cha-cha Interpretation | ||||
| New Jersey | Ann Barber | Westfield | 18 | |||||
| New Mexico | Carolyn Moore | Carlsbad | 18 | Caricature Drawing | ||||
| New York | Susan Talbert | Ogdensburg | 19 | Dance | Miss Congeniality | |||
| New York City | Sherrylyn Patecell | New York City | ||||||
| North Carolina | Ann Herring | Winston-Salem | 19 | Vocal, "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music | 2nd runner-up | |||
| North Dakota | Carol Olson | Fargo | 21 | Dramatic Monologue from Mary Stuart | ||||
| Ohio | Alice McClain | Marion | 18 | Vocal, "Summertime" & "I Got Plenty of Nothin'" | ||||
| Oklahoma | Donna Kay Creed | Enid | 20 | Vocal, "The Sound of Music" | ||||
| Oregon | Rosemary Doolen | Salem | 19 | Vocal, "A Heart That's Free" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Pennsylvania | Priscilla Mae Hendricks | Shillington | 19 | Original Display of Art Work | ||||
| Rhode Island | Sally Saabye | Warwick | 18 | Piano/Pantomime | ||||
| South Carolina | Edith Sandra Browning | Greenwood | 19 | Comic Dance/Pantomime, "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like my Sister Kate" | Top 10 | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
| South Dakota | Janet Barber | Britton | 18 | Dramatic Interpretation, "Casual Approach to Violence" | ||||
| Tennessee | Jenny Thomas | Nashville | 19 | Modern Ballet, Porgy and Bess | ||||
| Texas | Mary Cage Moore | Laredo | 18 | Spanish Dance with music by Manuel de Falla | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Utah | Marian Faye Walker | Salt Lake City | 27 | Classical Vocal, "The Waltz Aria" from Mireille | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Vermont | Anne Masino | Randolph | 18 | Accordion, "China Boy" | ||||
| Virginia | Catherine Birch | Staunton | 19 | Classical Ballet | Later married magician John A. Daniel | |||
| Washington | Connie Hughes | Bellingham | 18 | Original Monologue | ||||
| West Virginia | Mary Hoback | Bluefield | 18 | Original Dramatic Reading | ||||
| Wisconsin | Karen Fahrenbach | Racine | 21 | Classical Ballet en Pointe, The Sleeping Beauty | ||||
| Wyoming | Sharon Luond | Cheyenne | 18 | Dramatic Monologue from Wingless Victory by Maxwell Anderson |
Canada