IOT = Interest Over Time – determining the amount of interest each US state has shown on Google in Star Wars across the last 12 months
Key Highlights:
- Over 12 months, Alaskans Googled “Star Wars” the most out of all 50 states.
- Texas had the lowest Interest Over Time (IOT) when googling “Star Wars.”
- California, Florida, Vermont & Nebraska are the only US states that prefer the dark side characters over light side.
With May 4 on the horizon, which states are home to the biggest Star Wars fans?
The states that googled “Star Wars” the most over the last 12 months were determined with the help of Google Trends data.
The United States loves to explore a galaxy far, far away. May 4th is known as “Star Wars Day.” “May the Fourth be with you” is a play on the famous phrase,” May the Force be with you.”
There is plenty to celebrate about Star Wars, with multiple TV shows and movies on the way. “The Acolyte” premieres on June 4, 2024, on Disney+, with “Skeleton Crew” streaming later this year.
The next Star Wars film will be “The Mandalorian & Grogu” on May 22, 2026. The untitled Star Wars film featuring the return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker will likely arrive in December 2026.
Alaska feels the force on May 4th
| State | “Star Wars” IOT |
| Alaska | 36 |
| Minnesota | 34 |
| Missouri | 34 |
| New Hampshire | 34 |
| North Dakota | 34 |
| Oregon | 34 |
| Washington | 34 |
| Colorado | 33 |
| Idaho | 33 |
| Kansas | 33 |
| Kentucky | 33 |
| Maine | 33 |
| Michigan | 33 |
| Montana | 33 |
| Nebraska | 33 |
| Utah | 33 |
| Wyoming | 33 |
| Nevada | 32 |
| New Mexico | 32 |
| Arizona | 31 |
| Ohio | 31 |
| Wisconsin | 31 |
| California | 30 |
| Oklahoma | 30 |
| West Virginia | 30 |
| Florida | 29 |
| Massachusetts | 29 |
| Rhode Island | 28 |
| Arkansas | 27 |
| Connecticut | 27 |
| Indiana | 27 |
| Virginia | 27 |
| Delaware | 26 |
| Maryland | 26 |
| North Carolina | 26 |
| Pennysylvania | 26 |
| Iowa | 25 |
| Mississippi | 25 |
| Alabama | 24 |
| Louisiana | 24 |
| New Jersey | 24 |
| South Carolina | 24 |
| Georgia | 23 |
| Hawaii | 23 |
| New York | 23 |
| South Dakota | 23 |
| Illinois | 22 |
| Vermont | 22 |
| Tennessee | 21 |
| Texas | 19 |
Using Google Trends, the state that has searched “Star Wars” the most over the last 12 months was Alaska, with an average interest over time (IOT) value of 36/100.
5 states — Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, and Washington — registered an IOT of 34/100.
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Utah, and Wyoming garnered IOTs of 33/100.
California (30 IOT) not ranking toward the top is surprising because Star Wars creator George Lucas was born in Modesto, California. Industrial Light & Magic, Lucas’s visual effects company, also worked on most special effects from “A New Hope” in Van Nuys, California.
Another surprising result was Florida (29 IOT), home to Galaxy’s Edge, a Star Wars-themed area at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Galaxy’s Edge is also located at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
Unfortunately for Texans, the Lone Star State is not too concerned with “Star Wars.” Texas recorded the lowest IOT of 19, the only state with a value below 20.
Tennessee was slightly ahead of Texas with an IOT of 21, followed by Illinois and Vermont at 22.
The 4 US States which choose Dark side over Light
By gathering search data on Google Trends relating the light side characters like “Luke Skywalker,” “Han Solo,” “Princess Leia,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Yoda”& dark side villains like “Darth Vader,” “Kylo Ren,” “Emperor Palpatine,” “Darth Maul,” and “Count Dooku”, we were able to deduce which US states preferred the light side and which preferred the dark side.
In Star Wars, the battle of good versus evil is also known as the light side against the dark side.
The highest IOT value on the light side belonged to Arizona, searching more for “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “Han Solo”and “Yoda” than any other US state.
Meanwhile, the residents of Florida and California have embraced the dark side. Each state had searched for dark side characters the most out of all US states.
Florida had notable high searches for “Darth Vader,” & “Kylo Ren,”.
California’s standout searches were for “Kylo Ren,” & “Darth Maul,”.
When comparing the light side against the dark side, 45 states had higher Interest Over Time numbers for light side terms than dark side terms.
Delaware was the only state with the same ranking for the light and dark side.
Alaska Airlines unveiled Star Wars plane
On May 4, 2022, Alaska Airlines unveiled a Star Wars plane to celebrate “Star Wars Day.”
Alaska Airlines and Disneyland Resort combined forces to create the Star Wars-themed aircraft.
The plane was painted space black and included two images of the Millennium Falcon on the tail. The plane also featured eight TIE Fighters and a Porg on each winglet.
“As part of our strong collaboration, Alaska is proud to combine forces with Disneyland Resort for another magical, special-edition aircraft,” Natalie Bowman, the managing director of marketing and advertising for Alaska Airlines, told “Travel + Leisure”. “The detailed artwork and intricately painted design is out of this world, and our guests, especially lifelong Star Wars fans, will feel instantly transported and eager to land at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge the moment they see it.”
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Methodology
Google Trends – Using Google Trend data over the last 12 months, we were able to see the volume of search Interest Over Time (IOT) for all 50 US states. We used “Star Wars” as the keyword to determine the most obsessed fans across the states, & the main light side & dark side characters from Star Wars to determine if a US state was pro light side or pro dark side
