Are You Entertained in Your Home State?

Do you think your home state is the most entertaining state in the country? You might need to think again. PlayNJ recently carried out research on which US states offer the most when it comes to entertaining both residents and tourists.

Get the scoop here!

Top 5 Most Entertaining US States

1. California

California’s big win was in its tourism, but it also scored highly when it came to both zoos and sports stadiums, only losing out to Texas on both.

2. Texas

Everything is bigger in Texas! The only state to win on more than one metric, Texas is the American sports hub and home to the most zoos.

3. Florida

The Sunshine State! Florida has a lot going on, according to TripAdvisor, including hundreds of miles of beaches, plus the famous Everglades National Park.

4. New York

Of course the hub here is New York, New York—the city so nice they named it twice. It’s also home plenty of casinos, theaters, zoos, and sports stadiums.

5. Nevada

The glittering lights of Las Vegas has drawn tourists to Sin City for years, and there was never any chance Nevada would let down those seeking entertainment. Its casino options pulled it into the top five. The state also fared well on theaters and, unsurprisingly, tourism income.

Here We Are Now, Entertain Us

While the overall winner for Most Entertaining State was California, with Texas as a runner-up, the list of winners from each metric of entertainment offered more variety:

Happiness

Hawaii

It seems that entertainment options don’t necessarily equal happiness, as Hawaii hit only #20 on the overall ranking, but took the top spot when it came to happiness.

Casinos

Nevada

It’ll come as a surprise to no one that Las Vegas and nearby Reno pushed Nevada to the top when it comes to the number of casinos. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Theme Parks

New Jersey

Move over, Disneyland! It turns out New Jersey is the theme park capital of America, with 30 parks available for residents and visitors. Tennessee was the runner-up with 29.

Sports Stadiums and Zoos

Texas

The Lone Star State came out on top when it came to seeing both animals and sporting events. On that note, congrats to the Houston Astros on winning the 2017 World Series!

TripAdvisor’s Things to Do

Florida

Some states offer completely unique experiences that can’t be assigned to any other category. According to users of TripAdvisor, the place with the most things to see and do was none other than the Sunshine State!

Theatres

Illinois

Illinois made it to the overall top ten for most entertainment, taking 9th place; but its stand-out success was in its number of theaters: 98. This was four more than the next most successful, Missouri, and 86 more than the worst, North Dakota.

Tourism Income

California

They say California knows how to party. Cali’s tourism income blew all others out of the water, reaching $126.3 billion in 2016—over $37 billion more than the runner-up, Florida.

For a closer look at America’s most entertaining states and to see where your home state falls on the list, check out the full map on PlayNJ here.