Playing the lottery is a popular pastime for millions of Americans across the country. With giant multi-state games like Mega Millions and Powerball, jackpots frequently climb into the hundreds of millions of dollars, causing lottery fever to spread whenever the top prize grows that large. But not all states have equal luck when it comes to winning the lottery. Some states seem to produce way more jackpot winners than others relative to the size of their populations. So which states are the luckiest when it comes to winning the lottery? Let’s analyze the data and find out.
Measuring Lottery Luck by Jackpot Wins Per Capita
The easiest way to measure and compare the lottery luck of different states is to look at the number of big jackpot wins per capita. By looking at the population of each state and the number of jackpots won, we can see which states produce the most lottery winners relative to their populations. This controls for the fact that states with larger populations like California, Texas, and Florida will naturally produce more jackpot winners than less populated states. We’re interested in which states overperform their population sizes when it comes to lucky lottery winners.
Powerball Jackpot Luck by State
First, let’s look at luck in the Powerball game, one of the two huge national lottery games. Powerball jackpots start at $40 million and grow until someone wins the top prize. Over the history of the Powerball game, these are the luckiest states based on jackpot wins per capita:
| State | Powerball Jackpots Won | State Population | Wins Per Million People |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 2 | 762,062 | 2.62 |
| Montana | 2 | 1,068,778 | 1.87 |
| Missouri | 5 | 6,137,428 | 0.81 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 1,059,361 | 0.94 |
| Kansas | 2 | 2,913,314 | 0.69 |
As you can see, the luckiest Powerball states based on jackpot wins per capita are North Dakota, Montana, Missouri, Rhode Island, and Kansas. North Dakota is by far the luckiest, producing 2.62 Powerball jackpot winners per million people. For its small population, North Dakota has had an unusually high number of residents win massive Powerball prizes.
Mega Millions Jackpot Luck by State
Now let’s look at the other mammoth multi-state lottery game in America, Mega Millions. Mega Millions also has starting jackpots of $40 million and rolls over when no one wins the top prize. Here are the luckiest Mega Millions states based on jackpot wins per capita:
| State | Mega Millions Jackpots Won | State Population | Wins Per Million People |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 1 | 1,059,361 | 0.94 |
| South Carolina | 2 | 5,148,714 | 0.39 |
| Kansas | 1 | 2,913,314 | 0.34 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 4,467,673 | 0.22 |
| Idaho | 1 | 1,787,065 | 0.56 |
For Mega Millions jackpots, Rhode Island tops the list again with 0.94 wins per million residents. South Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, and Idaho round out the top 5 luckiest Mega Millions states per capita.
Combined National Jackpot Luck
Looking at both big national lottery games together, these are the luckiest states overall based on combined Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot wins per capita:
| State | Combined Jackpots Won | State Population | Wins Per Million People |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 2 | 1,059,361 | 1.89 |
| North Dakota | 2 | 762,062 | 2.62 |
| Montana | 2 | 1,068,778 | 1.87 |
| South Carolina | 2 | 5,148,714 | 0.39 |
| Kansas | 3 | 2,913,314 | 1.03 |
Analyzing both games together, the tiny state of Rhode Island stands out as the luckiest, producing almost 2 Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot winners per million residents. North Dakota, Montana, South Carolina, and Kansas round out the top 5.
State Lottery Jackpot Luck
Looking beyond just the two big national games, some states also have their own in-state lottery games that produce big jackpot winners. When including these state lottery jackpots, here are the states that rise up the luck list:
| State | State Lottery Jackpots | State Population | Wins Per Million People |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 19 | 6,892,503 | 2.76 |
| Michigan | 37 | 9,986,857 | 3.71 |
| New Jersey | 25 | 8,882,190 | 2.82 |
| Ohio | 33 | 11,689,100 | 2.82 |
States like Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio have produced a high number of jackpot winners in their respective state lottery games. When accounting for these in-state jackpots, they rise to the top as some of the nation’s luckiest lottery states.
Individual Luckiest Stores
Looking beyond just luckiest states, some individual stores across the country seem to sell an extraordinarily high number of winning lottery tickets. Here are some of the luckiest lottery retailers in the United States:
- Billy’s Beverage – Fall River, Massachusetts – Sold over 200 winning lottery tickets totaling over $82 million
- Indho Poorna Vivaram – Riverside, California – Has sold 4 Mega Millions jackpot tickets totaling over $208 million
- Moto Mart – Des Moines, Iowa – Sold 2 Powerball jackpots and numerous other wins totaling over $250 million
- Mingles FoodStore – Louisville, Kentucky – Sold a Mega Millions jackpot ticket and multiple other big winners totaling over $20 million
- Stop & Shop – Middlesex County, New Jersey – Has sold over 300 winning tickets totaling more than $100 million
Certain lucky retailers such as these seem to sell winning lottery tickets at a shockingly higher frequency than one would expect from random chance. Some retailers have reputations in their local areas for being go-to lucky stores.
States with the Most Lottery Revenue
A different but also relevant way to look at lottery success by state is total lottery revenue. The luckiest states based on jackpot wins and the states that generate the most total lottery income are not always the same. Here are the top 5 states based on total annual state lottery revenue:
| State | Annual Lottery Revenue |
|---|---|
| New York | $10.15 billion |
| California | $8.41 billion |
| Texas | $6.70 billion |
| Florida | $6.22 billion |
| Massachusetts | $6.10 billion |
The states that generate the most total lottery revenue are large states with big populations like New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts. Having more people playing the lottery leads to more overall ticket sales and revenue. But those states are not necessarily the luckiest in terms of jackpot wins per capita, as we saw earlier.
Lottery Luck by Region
Analyzing lottery luck by region, a couple of trends stand out:
- Southern states tend to overperform at lottery jackpots. States like South Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Louisiana produce more major jackpot winners than their populations would suggest.
- Northeast states also overperform at jackpots. Rhode Island, Delaware, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts are all lucky compared to their populations.
- Western states underperform at lottery jackpots relative to population. Populous states like California, Washington, Utah, and Arizona produce fewer big winners than expected.
- Midwest states are mixed. Some like North Dakota and Montana are very lucky. But other large Midwest states lag behind.
These regional lottery luck differences are intriguing but hard to explain definitively. More detailed statistical and sociological analysis would be needed to understand if there are real regional factors at play.
Common Winning Lottery Numbers
Some number combinations seem to be drawn more often than others in lottery games. Here are some of the most frequently occurring winning number combinations:
- 23 – This number comes up in the winning numbers at a disproportionately high rate in many different lottery games and jurisdictions.
- 7/39/42 – These three numbers together form a common combination in Pick 3 and Pick 4 lottery games across multiple states.
- 1/2/13/14/15 – Unusually frequent exact sequence in multiple pick 5 and pick 6 lottery games.
- 3/6/9/12/24/27 – A frequently drawn combination in 6-number lottery games like Mega Millions.
- 10/20/38/41/65 – This combination has been an unusually frequent winner in multiple state lottery games for unknown reasons.
Of course, every number theoretically has an equal chance of being picked in each new drawing. But some combinations, like the ones above, have defied the odds and been drawn more often than pure chance would dictate. Lottery officials have no explanation for these frequently occurring combinations.
Game Selection Affects Luck
It’s worth pointing out that your choice of lottery game can influence your odds and luck. Games with smaller number fields, fewer overall combinations, and less heavy play typically have better odds for players. For example:
- Pick 3 and Pick 4 games have much better odds than massive games like Powerball.
- State-run lottery games often have better odds than giant multi-state games.
- Scratchers with modest top prizes of $30,000 or $50,000 have better odds than instant tickets with $1 million prizes.
- Lotto games with less popular or unpopular combinations can temporarily have better jackpot odds.
Game selection strategy and choosing games with currently favorable odds is an element of luck that players have some control over.
Unofficial Lottery Strategies
Over the decades, lottery players have devised many strategies and systems for trying to win, or at least increase their odds:
- Frequency tracking – Studying past draws to identify numbers that are “hot” or “due” to hit.
- Number grouping – Selecting consecutive numbers or numbers that form a recognizable pattern.
- Significant dates – Using important personal dates like birthdays to choose numbers with meaning.
- Quick picks – Using computer-generated random number selections to avoid human bias.
- Pooling – Joining office or friend lottery pools to buy more combinations.
There is endless debate about which approach works best and plenty of rationale behind each strategy. But lottery officials assert the odds of any system beating random number selection over time are extremely thin.
Maximizing Lottery Fun, Not Profit
Let’s remember that while winning a jackpot can be life-changing, lotteries are mainly entertainment games of chance, with long odds stacked against players. Experts recommend:
- Spend only what you can afford to lose for fun, not as an investment.
- Think of playing as purchasing a daydream, not a financial plan.
- Use any winnings to help your daily life, not to play more.
- Play lottery games strictly for their entertainment value.
Keeping lottery play in perspective allows you to enjoy the excitement while minimizing risks.
Conclusion
In the end, lottery luck is incredibly unpredictable, random and mysterious. Some players play for years with no big wins. Then there are the improbable cases of people striking it rich on their very first lottery ticket purchase or winning multiple times. Consistently predicting who will win the next jackpot is impossible. But the data shows some suggestive patterns in terms of states and regions where residents seem to beat the lottery odds at an unusually frequent rate. Rhode Island stands out as having the luckiest lottery players of all. And certain individual stores have also built astonishing track records of selling winning tickets, suggesting they may be lucky lottery retailers. But of course past luck is no guarantee of future results. Every lottery drawing and ticket is an independent event, and your chances of winning stay astronomically low. Lotteries are best played for entertainment, not for profit. But it is still fun to dream about joining the lucky few who beat the long odds to take home a jackpot win for the ages.