| Winner: | Susan Akin |
| Date: | September 14, 1985 |
| Presenters: | Gary Collins |
| Venue: | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Broadcaster: | NBC |
| Before: | 1985 |
| Next: | 1987 |
Miss America 1986, the 59th Miss America pageant, took place at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 14, 1985 and was broadcast on NBC Network.[1]
| Placement | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Miss America 1986 | ||
| 1st runner-up |
| |
| 2nd runner-up | ||
| 3rd runner-up |
| |
| 4th runner-up |
| |
| Top 10 |
|
| Awards | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
| |
| Talent |
| Alabama | Angela Tower | Birmingham | 25 | Ballet en Pointe, "Chariots of Fire" | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | Toured with the 1986 Miss America Gillette Show Troupe Mother of Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2010, Scarlett Walker, and Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2012 and Miss Alabama 2018, Callie Walker | |
| Alaska | Kristina Christopher-Taylor | Palmer | 20 | Comedy Monologue | ||||
| Arizona | Diane Martin | Phoenix | 23 | Vocal, "The Man That Got Away" & "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret | Later Miss Arizona USA 19872nd runner-up at Miss USA 1987 | |||
| Arkansas | Christi Taunton | Camden | 20 | Popular Vocal, "Remembering" | Dr. David B. Allman Medical Scholarship | |||
| California | Lisa Davenport | Santa Cruz | 23 | Popular Vocal, "Once in my Lifetime" | Previously named Miss California 1982 when original winner, Debra Maffett, won Miss America 1983 Became the first titleholder to hold a state title twice | |||
| Colorado | Linda Trimmer | Denver | 22 | Vocal, "He Touched Me" from Drat! The Cat | ||||
| Connecticut | Lorine Guagenti | Derby | 21 | Jazz Dance | ||||
| Delaware | Lisa Anne Patrick | Newark | 24 | Character Ballet en Pointe | ||||
| District of Columbia | Cherie Ward | Adelphi, MD | 22 | Original Drama | ||||
| Florida | Monica Farrell | Jacksonville | 21 | Classical Piano, "Prelude No. 5 in G Minor" by Sergei Rachmaninoff | Non-finalist Talent Award | Sister of Miss New York 1984, Mary-Ann Farrell and Miss Illinois 1992, Kathleen Farrell Later Miss Florida USA 1988 3rd runner-up at Miss USA 1988 | ||
| Georgia | Samantha Mohr | Columbus | 23 | Popular Vocal, "Wind Beneath My Wings" | ||||
| Hawaii | Jeanne Miyamoto | Honolulu | 25 | Vocal, "Bali Ha'i" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Idaho | Nanette South | Rexburg | 19 | Alto Saxophone | ||||
| Illinois | Karen Moncrieff | Chicago | 21 | Popular Vocal, "Through the Eyes of Love" from Ice Castles | ||||
| Indiana | Laurie Broderick | Elkhart | 21 | Dance/Twirl | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Iowa | Sherri Bowman | Council Bluffs | 24 | Piano | ||||
| Kansas | Carolyn Jo Kirgis | Salina | 25 | Vocal, "Our Love Is Here to Stay" | Carolyn Jo Kirgis Johnson died in Phillipsburg, Kansas of complications with Multiple Sclerosis on July 24, 2022 at age 61. | |||
| Kentucky | Laurie Janine Keller | Nippa | 21 | Vocal/Ballet en Pointe, "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" | Top 10 | |||
| Louisiana | Carol Carter | Shreveport | 20 | Vocal, "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin | Later Miss Louisiana USA 1987 | |||
| Maine | Mary Margaret Nightingale | Fort Fairfield | 20 | Vocal, "The Blue Danube" | ||||
| Maryland | Jennifer Louise Charlton | Bethesda | 22 | Vocal/Dance, "Last Blues Song" | ||||
| Massachusetts | Lisa Kleypas | Carlisle | 20 | Original Vocal Composition & Guitar, "Love You Are My Wings" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Michigan | Alecia Rae Masalkoski | Muskegon | 23 | Karate Kata | Top 10 | Holds a black belt in karate Later Miss Indiana USA 1987 | ||
| Minnesota | Elizabeth Hunter | Austin | 21 | Semi-classical Vocal, "Love Is Where You Find It" | ||||
| Mississippi | Susan Akin | Meridian | 21 | Vocal, "You're My World" | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
| Missouri | Lisa Coverdale | Columbia | 24 | Classical Piano | ||||
| Montana | Julie Culbertson | Billings | 19 | Jazz Dance | ||||
| Nebraska | Julie Meusburger | Lincoln | 22 | Flute, Carmen Fantasy | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Nevada | Sonja Nall | Las Vegas | 23 | Classical Ballet en Pointe, "Kitri's Variation" from Don Quixote | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| New Hampshire | Tami Jean Brisebois | Deerfield | 24 | Modern Dance | ||||
| New Jersey | Toni Georgiana | Cherry Hill | 21 | Acrobatic Dance, "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" | ||||
| New Mexico | Valerie Faber | Hobbs | 26 | Classical Piano, "Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53" | Top 10 | |||
| New York | Jill Privateer | Fredonia | 21 | Vocal, "Shine On, Harvest Moon" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| North Carolina | Joni Parker | Fayetteville | 24 | Vocal, "The Shadow of Your Smile" | ||||
| North Dakota | Elizabeth Anne Jaeger | Fargo | 25 | Jazz Dance | Previously Miss North Dakota USA 19834th runner-up at Miss USA 1983 | |||
| Ohio | Suellen Cochran | Heath | 21 | Piano, "Variations on Chopsticks" | Top 10 | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Oklahoma | Felicia Ferguson | Oklahoma City | 24 | Vocal, "You Don't Know Me" | ||||
| Oregon | Dana Kocks | Ashland | 21 | Classical Vocal, "Seguidilla" from Carmen | ||||
| Pennsylvania | Lea Schiazza | Philadelphia | 23 | Vocal, "Who's Sorry Now' | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Rhode Island | Lori Boucher | Pawtucket | 20 | Vocal, "Losing My Mind" | ||||
| South Carolina | Sherry Thrift | Westminster | 23 | Clogging, "Are You From Dixie?" | 1st runner-up | Previously South Carolina's Junior Miss 1980 | ||
| South Dakota | Amy DeHeer | Hot Springs | 21 | Vocal, "Who Will Buy?" from Oliver! | ||||
| Tennessee | Sonya Pleasant | Mountain City | 22 | Vocal, "I Fall to Pieces" | ||||
| Texas | Jonna Fitzgerald | Tyler | 21 | Fiddle, "Csárdás" & "Orange Blossom Special" | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Utah | Gina Larsen | Provo | 21 | Popular Vocal, "Greatest Love of All" | ||||
| Vermont | Erica Van Der Linde | Old Bennington | 21 | Classical Piano, "Waldesrauschen" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Virginia | Kimberly Johnson | Coeburn | 19 | Vocal & Piano, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" | ||||
| Washington | Honey Castro | Moses Lake | 19 | Vocal, "What Did I Have I Don't Have Now" from On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | 3rd runner-up | Dr. David B. Allman Medical Scholarship | ||
| West Virginia | Rebecca Porterfield | Martinsburg | 21 | Jazz Dance, "Dance Attack" | ||||
| Wisconsin | Mary Kay Anderson | St. Francis | 20 | Piano, "Frederik Chopin's Etude, Winter Wind, Op 25, No 11" | Later Miss Wisconsin-USA 1988 | |||
| Wyoming | Tamra Jo Dereemer | Horse Creek | 22 | Popular Vocal, "God Bless the USA" |