A new study has revealed which U.S. States have the most diverse taste in movies.
As streaming services continue to go from strength to strength, it’s never been easier to watch different genres of movies with the click of a button.
With choice, however, comes taste, and new research from our online casino has revealed which states have the most diverse taste in movies.
Data was collected by using Google search technology and results show the below states stand out for their even spread across genres:
Wyoming ranks as #1 as the state with most even spread of searches for each genre – a deviation of just 7.6%
North Dakota is second best with a keen interest across all genres – horror is most popular however with 31.5% of the search share.
Vermont’s deviation of 8.2% makes the state the 3rd most diverse consumers of movies.
Top Ten Diverse Movie States:
# | State | % Comedy | % Horror | % Thriller | % Romance | % Documentary | Deviation | Score |
1 | Wyoming | 18.8% | 31.2% | 11.8% | 15.1% | 23.1% | 7.6% | 84.9 |
2 | North Dakota | 17.5% | 31.5% | 12.7% | 14.5% | 23.8% | 7.7% | 84.6 |
3 | Vermont | 18.4% | 31.3% | 12.0% | 12.9% | 25.3% | 8.2% | 83.5 |
4 | South Dakota | 18.2% | 31.8% | 12.7% | 12.6% | 24.7% | 8.3% | 83.5 |
5 | Montana | 18.3% | 31.6% | 11.3% | 13.7% | 25.1% | 8.4% | 83.3 |
6 | Idaho | 16.8% | 34.7% | 11.3% | 13.0% | 24.1% | 9.6% | 80.8 |
7 | Nebraska | 15.5% | 34.6% | 11.6% | 12.5% | 25.9% | 9.9% | 80.2 |
8 | Kansas | 15.2% | 34.2% | 11.0% | 12.2% | 27.3% | 10.3% | 79.5 |
9 | New Hampshire | 15.9% | 33.7% | 11.9% | 10.4% | 28.1% | 10.3% | 79.3 |
10 | Mississippi | 14.7% | 36.8% | 11.9% | 12.8% | 23.8% | 10.5% | 79.0 |
The top five states all show remarkably similar viewing patterns, with horror leading but not dominating and every other genre maintaining a meaningful share.
Wyoming ranks first with a score of 84.9 and the lowest deviation at 7.6%, making it the most balanced state overall. Horror accounts for 31.2% of searches, documentaries 23.1%, comedy 18.8%, romance 15.1% and thriller 11.8%, meaning no genre drops into single digits and the spread between highest and lowest is under 20 percentage points.
North Dakota follows closely in second place with a score of 84.6 and a deviation of 7.7%. Horror again leads at 31.5%, but documentary holds 23.8% and comedy 17.5%. Romance sits at 14.5% and thriller at 12.7%, creating a very similar distribution to Wyoming and reinforcing the state’s broad viewing habits.
Vermont ranks third with a score of 83.5 and a deviation of 8.2%. Horror takes 31.3% of searches while documentary reaches 25.3%, one of the highest shares in the top five. Comedy makes up 18.4%, with romance at 12.9% and thriller at 12%, keeping all genres relatively close together.
South Dakota also scores 83.5, with a deviation of 8.3%. Horror leads at 31.8%, followed by documentary at 24.7% and comedy at 18.2%. Romance and thriller are almost identical at 12.6% and 12.7%, maintaining one of the tightest spreads across all five genres.
Montana, meanwhile, rounds out the top five with a score of 83.3 and a deviation of 8.4%. Horror accounts for 31.6% of searches, documentaries 25.1% and comedies 18.3%. Romances sit at 13.7% and thrillers at 11.3%, again showing no single genre overwhelming the rest.
Interestingly, across the top five states, horror ranges only from 31.2% to 31.8% and documentary from 23.1% to 25.3%, highlighting just how consistent their viewing mixes are.
States by Genre
While the most diverse states keep a balanced mix, some states clearly favour one genre. Colorado has the highest share for comedy at 24.9%, followed by Delaware at 21.4% and Maine at 20.6%.
Delaware leads the country when it comes to horror at 47.1%, followed by Georgia at 46.2% and Maine with 45.6%
Thriller is most popular in Maine at 14.5%, with Georgia at 13.1%, North Dakota and South Dakota (both 12.7%) following behind.
Romance really stands out in Delaware (16.8%), Wyoming (15.1%) and Maine at 14.6%, while Documentary movies are strongest in Massachusetts at 32.4%, followed by Connecticut at 29.7%. and then New York (29.4%).
Canadian City Analysis
Canada was instead analysed on a city-by-city basis and this research saw Ottawa emerge as the most diverse consumers of film:
# | City | % Comedy | % Horror | % Thriller | % Romance | % Documentary | Deviation | Score |
1 | Ottawa | 17.1% | 36.7% | 11.5% | 13.9% | 20.9% | 10% | 83.3 |
2 | Vancouver | 16.8% | 36.5% | 11.3% | 13.1% | 22.2% | 10.1% | 81.7 |
3 | Edmonton | 17% | 39.7% | 11.7% | 14.2% | 17.4% | 11.2% | 63.3 |
4 | Montreal | 16% | 39.9% | 10.8% | 14.1% | 19.2% | 11.5% | 58.3 |
5 | Toronto | 16% | 40.9% | 12% | 12.2% | 18.3% | 12% | 50.0 |
Similar to the United States, horror movies emerged as the most searched genre, with Toronto especially obsessed, as shown by a staggering 40.9% of the city’s movie searches angling for something scary.
On the other hand, Edmonton emerged as the country’s most romantic city with 14.2% of searches seeking out romance movies!
Methodology
Keyword data technology was used to find the number of searches for each movie genre in U.S. States and Canadian cities.
Each genre’s search count was then calculated as a percentage of total searches.
The standard deviation tells readers how far those genre percentages are from their average value.
The final score rewards the states with lower standard deviations, thus awarding points for diverse movie taste.
Data correct as of 20th February 2026
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