Mental Floss

The States With the Most—and Least—Christmas Spirit, Ranked

The states most likely to hear sleigh bells jingling—and to believe in Santa—might really surprise you.

This time of year, it's hard not to feel the good joy and cheer.
This time of year, it's hard not to feel the good joy and cheer. | d3sign, Moment Collection, Getty Images

It’s getting harder and harder to keep track of annual trends in our fast-paced world, but one thing’s for sure: Americans still love Christmas. But how much do we enjoy it? Some would say that it depends on the state you’re in, literally. As it turns out, some states across the U.S. have a bit more holiday cheer to spare than others, and our digital footprints may offer some surprising insights there.

To understand where that Christmas spirit burns brightest, the team at Preply developed the Christmas Spirit Index. Essentially, this analyzes a year’s worth of Google search data for popular festive keywords, including terms like Christmas carols, holiday recipes, and Christmas light displays. Then, they rank states on a per capita basis, taking those search rates into account.

Infographic on Christmas Spirit from Preply.
The Bay State isn't short on holiday cheer. | Preply

According to the findings, the top 10 states for Christmas-related searches are as follows:

  1. Utah
  2. Massachusetts
  3. Virginia
  4. Illinois
  5. Washington
  6. Texas
  7. Maryland
  8. Pennsylvania
  9. California
  10. New Jersey

Utah, famous for the world-renowned Tabernacle Choir’s Christmas concert, topped the list for Christmas spirit. Massachusetts came in second for online searches, a far cry from the Commonwealth’s roots as the state that once banned Christmas. Virginia, home to some of America’s earliest Christmas celebrations, followed in the rankings while Illinois came in at No. 4, the only Midwestern state to do so.

Not only that, but Preply took a closer look at the inverse—those places across the U.S. that are not so keen to discover a winter wonderland or fixate on holiday-related things come December. Below are the 10 states with the least Christmas cheer, according to search data:

  1. New Mexico
  2. Arkansas
  3. Vermont
  4. Maine
  5. North Dakota
  6. Mississippi
  7. Montana
  8. South Dakota
  9. Wyoming
  10. Alaska

It might seem almost surprising that a place as snow-laden as Alaska would turn up in the last spot within these rankings, but that might be precisely the point. With its rugged terrain, northern lights, and snowcapped mountains, the Last Frontier may be too much of a winter destination to spark singular excitement around Christmastime.

Beyond mere holiday mirth, Preply’s researchers took a look at Santa-related skepticism, too. Specifically, they analyzed search data per capita across the U.S. around the phrase “Is Santa Real?” to determine which states seemed more likely to wonder whether or not jolly old Saint Nick was a figment of one’s imagination.

According to the findings, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts were among the states least likely to believe in that bearded gift-giver. Within the Northeast, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut also cracked into the top 10. At the same time, folks in West Virginia and Ohio also remained highly skeptical of Santa’s existence. On the flip side, states like Alaska, Montana, and Hawaii were considered the most likely to believe—and probably leave out some milk and cookies—for Santa on Christmas Eve.

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