The States Most Like A Country Song (And The Least Like One)

States Most Like a Country Song Research Summary

The state most like a country song is Idaho, where 42% of the population owns a dog and there are only 21 people per square mile.

Arkansas has the most dog lovers in the U.S., with 48% of households owning one.

New Hampshire drinks the most alcohol in the U.S., at 4.8 gallons per person per year.

New York State is the least like a country song, as only 29% of households own a dog and there are a whopping 413 people per square mile.

Some of ya’ll city slickers sure like big, bustling cities.

But ya’ll might just be overlooking the sweet, simplicity of popping open a cold one on some country acres, a dog at your feet and some good tunes playing from the radio. What’s playing? Country music, of course.

It got us to thinking…where in the US is most like a country song? Sure, it’d be easy to assume it’s in the South, but as the poet Brantley Gilbert once said, “in every state there’s a station playing Cash, Hank, Willie Waylon.”

So we set out, using common lyrics and themes to find where country music isn’t just a song– it’s a way of life.

Other Interesting Findings

The west dominates the list for places most like a country song.
What pushes the west to the top? All of the acreage they have for Barefoot Bluejean Nights.
What Hurts The Most in Delaware, Arkansas, and Nevada? The high divorce rates! I wonder if that’s the reason for the Teardops On Their Guitar?
The Northeast and a handful of coastal states (cough, California and New York) just don’t get it– they’re some of the least Country states in the US

10 Most Country States

10 Least Country States

How We Figured This One Out

What happens when you play a country song backwards? Your wife comes back, you find your dog, and your beer is full!

Using this witticisms, we looked into gallons of alcohol consumption (using data from ), the percent of households that own a dog (American Veterinary Medical Association), and the percent of married couples that divorced last year from the ACS Census.

Of course, perhaps the biggest theme in country music is the way of live– and having the space and freedom to live as you choose.

Using this vibe, we added population density (once again using data from the Census, to find the amount of people per square mile). While we can’t guarantee these are the states with the most bon fires and people driving trucks down dirt roads, they certainly have the space to.

Unfortunately, our data only covered the continental US and excludes Hawaii and Alaska. However, the remaining 48 states were ranked equally.

These States Walk The Line

The Devil may have went down to Georgia, and the song Sweet Home, Alabama may be something of an anthem, but as you can see on the map, the west is where country songs reign supreme.

Where doesn’t appreciate the twang and strum of a guitar? The Northeast, with quite a few coastal states joining their ranks. Oh well, more tequila and acres for the rest of us!

You can see a full breakdown on our data below:

States Most Like A Country Song

Rank	State	Dog Owners (%)	Alcohol Consumption (Gallons)	Divorce	People Per Sq Mile
1	Idaho	42	2	1.35%	21
2	Nevada	37	3	1.41%	27
3	New Mexico	46	2	1.38%	17
4	Oregon	38	2	1.33%	43
5	Missouri	45	2	1.32%	88
6	Montana	41	3	1.07%	7
7	North Dakota	36	3	1.15%	11
8	Wyoming	38	2	1.12%	5
9	Arkansas	47	1	1.43%	57
10	South Dakota	42	2	0.94%	11
11	Colorado	42	2	1.04%	54
12	Texas	44	2	1.24%	109
13	Oklahoma	43	1	1.40%	57
14	Mississippi	45	2	1.17%	63
15	Arizona	40	2	1.20%	63
16	Kentucky	45	1	1.33%	112
17	Delaware	33	3	1.52%	495
18	Vermont	37	3	0.99%	67
19	Alabama	44	2	1.28%	96
20	Tennessee	44	2	1.31%	164
21	West Virginia	45	1	1.20%	75
22	Louisiana	36	2	1.15%	107
23	Indiana	39	2	1.37%	186
24	Kansas	42	1	1.14%	35
25	Maine	34	2	0.86%	43
26	Florida	35	2	1.23%	395
27	Georgia	40	1	1.30%	181
28	Nebraska	33	2	0.97%	25
29	Wisconsin	33	2	0.92%	107
30	Minnesota	31	2	0.96%	70
31	North Carolina	40	2	1.16%	213
32	Michigan	34	2	1.14%	176
33	Washington	36	2	1.09%	113
34	Iowa	33	2	0.92%	56
35	New Hampshire	30	4	0.88%	151
36	Virginia	35	2	1.17%	215
37	Rhode Island	29	2	1.27%	1,011
38	Utah	29	1	1.16%	38
39	Ohio	36	2	1.16%	285
40	South Carolina	38	2	0.93%	168
41	Pennsylvania	32	2	0.96%	285
42	California	32	2	0.97%	253
43	Maryland	30	2	1.19%	618
44	Illinois	32	2	0.94%	229
45	Connecticut	28	2	1.09%	737
46	Massachusetts	23	2	0.95%	880
47	New Jersey	32	2	0.84%	1,201
48	New York	29	2	0.93%	413

Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.

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