Top 10 luckiest US states where Americans win huge lottery jackpots
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Data analysis by Jackpot City Casino found that Maine is the luckiest state in the US in terms of average winnings per ticket holders, at a total of $574,900,000 per ticket
Winning the lottery is a dream for many, but the chances of huge jackpots are usually very slim.
However, it appears that some US states are luckier than others when it comes to your chances of winning, as new research shows. Data analysis carried out by Jackpot City Casino found that Maine is the luckiest state in the US in terms of average winnings for the state per winning ticket holders, at a total of $574,900,000 (£455,884,202) per ticket.
But when it comes to where you might be most likely to win according to population size, Vermont comes out on top with one winner per 647,464 people. The research's results were based on data about previous jackpot winners across the US.
Looking at lottery jackpots where the prize money was over $300million (£238million) per winning ticket, Jackpot City Casino found thatMaine was the front runner. There have been two winning ticket holders from the East Coast state, with a combined total jackpot of $1,149,800,000 (£911,630,428)- a total of $574,900,000 (£455,815,214) per ticket, which is the highest average winning amount.
Coming in second is South Carolina, with slightly less winnings at $550,550,000 (£436,509,073) per ticket. Rounding out the top three is Massachusetts, at $480,500,000 (£380,969,230) per ticket.
But when considering where you might be more likely to win relative to the population size, it is Vermont that steals the number one spot - despite having just one winner out of a population of only 647,464. Maine and New Hampshire trail slightly behind in second and third place with one winner per 697,861 and 701,027 people, respectively.
While there may have been eight people winning big in New Jersey, due to it holding a larger number of people within the state, that is only a winner for every 1 in 1,161,355.
Luckiest states according to average per winning ticket
- Maine
- South Carolina
- Massachusetts
- Wisconsin
- New Hampshire
- California
- Florida
- Michigan
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
Luckiest states according to winning tickets relative to population size
- Vermont
- Maine
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- New Jersey
- Maryland
- West Virginia
- Idaho
- Nebraska
- Indiana
Last month, Indiana was named the luckiest state for winning Powerball, a game offered by 45 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The Hoosier State boasts 39 Powerball jackpot wins since 1992, when the game began.
Just weeks ago, we reported that a group of employees and teachers from a Kentucky middle school who bought a $1million (£790,000) Powerball winning ticket tucked it in a math textbook for safekeeping before claiming the prize. The group of 30 educators, some retired, met at Rector A. Jones Middle School in northern Kentucky near Cincinnati and have been playing the Powerball together for eight years.
They call themselves the "Jones 30", and the members include counselors, administrators, teachers, and some retirees from the school, according to a media release from the state lottery. "We all taught at the same school at one point or another," one winner said. "We've got counsellors, admins, special ed teachers, the school nurse… Some have moved on or retired but we still continue to do it. We’ve remained buddies for all of these years."
The group has been playing the same Powerball numbers since 2019 when they drew them randomly from a hat. On Saturday, those numbers, 7-38-65-66-68, finally hit. Their ticket matched all five white numbered balls in the drawing, but missed the Powerball, giving them a $1million prize.
Sharon Reynolds, a vice principal at the middle school, said she got a call Sunday morning from a teacher in the group saying she believed they had won. "She said, ‘I think we won big.’ I said, ‘How big?’” Reynolds said. "She said, 'I think it's a million.'"
