Miss USA 1961 was the tenth Miss USA pageant, held at the Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida on July 13, 1961.

At the end of the event, Linda Bement of Utah crowned Sharon Brown of Louisiana as Miss USA 1961. It was the second victory of Louisiana in the pageant's history. Brown later competed at Miss Universe and was named as fourth runner-up to eventual winner, Marlene Schmidt.

Contestants from forty-two states and the District of Columbia competed in this pageant.

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss USA 1961	Louisiana – Sharon Brown
1st runner-up	California – Pamela Stettler
2nd runner-up	Nevada – Karen Weller
3rd runner-up	New York – Alexa Currey
4th runner-up	Alabama – Suellen Robinson
Top 15	Connecticut – Florence Mayette Kentucky – Marcia Chumbler Massachusetts – Elaine Cusick Michigan – Patricia Squires Mississippi – Marlene Britsch Nebraska – Gail Weinstock New Jersey – Diane Giersch Rhode Island – Joan Zeller Utah – Janet Hawley West Virginia – Kathy McManaway

Contestants

Forty-three contestants competed for the title.

State/District	Contestant	Age	Hometown	Notes
Alabama	Suellen Robinson	20	Fairfax
Alaska	Judy Onstad	21	Fairbanks
Arizona	Shyrle Owens	18	Phoenix
Arkansas	Mickey Lambert	20	El Dorado
California	Pamela Ray Stettler	18	San Rafael
Connecticut	Florence Mayette	20	Hartford
Delaware	Nina Lou Ringler	18	Selbyville
District of Columbia	Patricia Brunette	–	Washington, D.C.
Florida	Peggy DeFreitas	22	Miami
Georgia	Patsy Giddens	–	–
Idaho	Delcene Kay Rossiter	20	Pocatello
Illinois	Dianne Duffey	19	Elmhurst
Indiana	Janice Kay Oliver	18	Indianapolis
Iowa	Deanne Ostermann	19	Ocheyedan
Kansas	Dixie Lee Cook	22	Topeka
Kentucky	Marcia Gale Chumbler	18	Mayfield
Louisiana	Sharon Rene Brown	18	Minden	4th runner-up at Miss Universe 1961
Maine	Barbara Ann Dyer	–	Dexter
Maryland	Gail Baxter	–	High Point
Massachusetts	Elaine Cusick	18	Boston
Michigan	Patricia Squires	20	Dearborn
Mississippi	Marlene Britsch	21	Clermont Harbour
Missouri	Joan Roberts	19	Richmond Heights
Nebraska	Gail L. Weinstock	20	Omaha
Nevada	Karen Weller	18	Las Vegas
New Hampshire	Dianne Ellen Lipson	–	–
New Jersey	Diane C. Giersch	19	Red Bank
New Mexico	Georgi Edwards	18	Albuquerque
New York	Alexa Currey	22	New York City	Replaced Marcia Banks as Miss New York USA
North Carolina	Marie Clyburn	20	Charlotte
Ohio	Alice Lou Engleman	23	Ashtabula
Pennsylvania	Gayle Nelson	19	Chester
Rhode Island	Joan Marie Zeller	23	Riverside
South Carolina	Yvonne Quick	21	Bennettsville
South Dakota	Sharon Hoffman	19	Harrisburg
Tennessee	Anita Atkins	25	Memphis
Texas	Sheila Wade	18	Dallas
Utah	Janet Marie Hawley	25	Salt Lake City
Vermont	Susan Nielson	–	Poultney
Virginia	Bonnie Jones	18	Norfolk
West Virginia	Kathy McManaway	20	Princeton
Wisconsin	Karen Reisweber	21	Milwaukee
Wyoming	Judy Larae Walton	–	Cokeville