Hank Hill
I sell propane and propane accessories
Hard work, small government, old values.
Traditional Conservative LibertarianOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Conservative Libertarian hall →- Role
- Propane salesman (fiction)
- From
- King of the Hill
- Region
- United States
- Social band
- Traditional
- Placement
- +72 · −30 · −52
§ Where Hank Hill stands
3 axesHank believes in honest work, private enterprise and paying his own way, and he takes pride in selling a quality product while resenting handouts, debt and get-rich-quick schemes. In the 2000 episode Propane Boom a big-box Mega Lo Mart undercuts Strickland Propane, a story about competition told from the small businessman's side; his faith in free enterprise is tested by bad bosses, never abandoned.
Hank wants government small, local and out of his garage, yet he respects the law, the flag and the police and has little patience for Dale Gribble's anti-government conspiracy theories. The 1997 pilot, in which a social worker wrongly suspects him of abusing Bobby after a Little League injury, sets the tone for the show's wariness of intrusive officialdom.
Hank is deeply traditional: a Methodist who values duty, family, restraint and Texas pride, uneasy with displays of emotion and suspicious of fads. Yet the series repeatedly lets his decency outweigh his prejudices, from his uneasy first meeting with his Laotian neighbours in 1997 to his slow acceptance of Bobby's unconventional ambitions, so his conservatism is about manners and responsibility more than hostility to others.
How close are you to Hank Hill?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
FictionHank Rutherford Hill is the protagonist of King of the Hill, the animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that ran from 1997 to 2010 and returned on Hulu in 2025. Voiced by Judge, Hank is the assistant manager of Strickland Propane in the fictional suburb of Arlen, Texas, a Methodist, a loyal husband to Peggy and a bewildered father to Bobby, whose love of comedy and lack of interest in sport prompt Hank's verdict that the boy ain't right.
Hank is the show's straight man: a decent, rule-following conservative who drinks beer with his neighbours in the alley, tends his lawn obsessively and believes in hard work, honesty and propane. The comedy comes from his collisions with change, from his conspiracy-minded friend Dale to his Laotian neighbour Kahn and a shifting Texas, which usually end with Hank grudgingly doing the right thing. Critics have praised the series as a sympathetic, unpatronising portrait of small-town conservatism, and Hank has become a cultural shorthand for the decent, unglamorous American everyman.
Notable for
- 01Strickland Propane
- 02Animated everyman conservative
- 03'That boy ain't right'
Key works & moments
- 1997King of the Hill premieres on Fox, created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels.
- Season 1A social worker wrongly suspects Hank of abusing Bobby after a Little League injury.
- Season 1The Laotian Souphanousinphone family moves in next door, testing Hank's assumptions.
- Season 4A Mega Lo Mart selling cut-price propane explodes in the season finale, Propane Boom.
- 2010The original run ends after 13 seasons.
- 2025The series returns on Hulu, with Hank back in Arlen after years working in Saudi Arabia.
In Hank Hill's words
“I sell propane and propane accessories.”
“That boy ain't right.”
§ Minds closest to Hank Hill
All minds →
§ Also in the Conservative Libertarian hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is Hank Hill's political ideology?
Hank Hill is a small-government Texas conservative of the old school: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Traditional Conservative Libertarian. Economically he sits firmly on the market side (+72), devoted to honest work, small business and paying his own way. On governance he leans libertarian (−30), wanting government local, limited and out of his garage while respecting the law, and socially he is strongly traditional (−52), a Methodist family man who values duty, restraint and Texas pride.
Is Hank Hill left-wing or right-wing?
Right-wing, in a moderate, small-town way. Hank is a conservative Texan who prizes free enterprise, hard work, guns, church and family, and he distrusts bureaucrats and trendy causes. But the show presents his conservatism as decency rather than ideology: he rejects conspiracy theories, usually ends up treating outsiders fairly and judges people by their character, which is why viewers across the political spectrum have embraced him as a sympathetic portrait of everyday conservatism.
Why is Hank Hill seen as a conservative icon?
Because he embodies a conservatism built on manners and responsibility rather than anger. Hank works hard at Strickland Propane, keeps his lawn and his word, distrusts government and fads, and defends tradition, yet the writers rarely make him the butt of the joke: episodes usually end with his decency winning out. That balance has made him popular with conservative viewers who see their values treated with respect, and with liberal viewers who find in him a conservative they can like.
Which minds are closest to Hank Hill?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Hank Hill are L. Brent Bozell Jr. (99% alike), M. Stanton Evans (97% alike) and Frank Meyer (97% alike). The furthest is Pol Pot (3% alike).