Which State You Live in Says a Lot About Where You Like to Travel

New Yorkers prefer Florida, Californians are all about Vegas (baby), and Delawarians love Dublin.

Which State You Live in Says a Lot About Where You Like to Travel

Americans are primarily domestic travelers, but where they choose to go in the United States ranges considerably.

Illustration by Emily Blevins; HARRIS.news; David Maiolo/Wikipedia; Jonathan Silverberg/FlickrWikimedia

When it comes to where Americans choose to travel, tastes vary widely depending on where travelers reside.

We asked Expedia to compiled some data for us about where people from each state travel to the most. The travel-booking site analyzed flight demand from July 2017 through June 2018, and the results showed that regardless of which state we live in, we are primarily domestic travelers, and we often stay close to home, traveling within our own state or to a nearby one.

But that was where a lot of the similarities ended; there were some notably different results by state and region. For instance, a couple of international destinations did make the list—Mexico was a top-three destination among North Dakotans and New Jersey residents, and Ireland was the leading destination for travelers from Delaware.

And there were some other interesting findings as well. Florida revealed itself to be very popular among those who live on the East Coast—it made it in the top-three destinations in 10 out of 11 East Coast states. Los Angeles and Las Vegas were the dominant destinations among western states. Southerners seem to have a thing for big cities, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. And, in the Midwest, warm weather and mountain destinations reigned supreme. Below, we compiled the top three destinations by state, based on the Expedia findings.

Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver, and Los Angeles are all popular destinations with West Coast travelers.

Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver, and Los Angeles are all popular destinations with West Coast travelers.

Illustration by Emily Blevins, Kory Westerhold/Flickr, William Creswell/Flickr, Jeff Turner/Flickr

The West sticks to the West

In the western states, there were a few notable top spots farther afield, including New York and Chicago, but the vast majority of the preferred destinations were located in the West. Some may say that given the good weather, bounty of beaches, and great ski resorts, it’s with good reason, while others may think westerners could stand to expand their boundaries a bit.

Alaska – Seattle, Anchorage, Portland
Arizona – Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles
California – Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York
Colorado – Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York
Hawaii – Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Francisco
Idaho – Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix
Montana – Denver, Portland, Seattle
Nevada – Los Angeles, New York, Chicago
New Mexico – Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle
Oregon – Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas
Utah – San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas
Washington – Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas
Wyoming – Denver, Dallas, Seattle

Major metropolises reign supreme among southerners.

Major metropolises reign supreme among southerners.

Illustration by Emily Blevins, Raymonst/Wikimedia, Ian D. Keating/Flickr, Michael Kranewitter/Wikimedia

The South loves the big cities

Who knew that southerners were such city-loving folk? But truly, when you look at the list below, it is dominated by the country’s major urban hubs.

Alabama – New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C.
Florida – Newark, New York, Boston
Georgia – New York, Chicago, Los Angeles
Kentucky – Washington, D.C., New York, Denver
Louisiana – Los Angeles, New York, Chicago
Mississippi – Washington, D.C., Dallas, Denver
North Carolina – New York, Boston, Newark
South Carolina – Washington, D.C., Newark, New York
Tennessee – New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas
Texas – Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago
Virginia – Orlando, New York, Chicago
West Virginia – Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, New York

In the Midwest, travelers flock to the sun.

In the Midwest, travelers flock to the sun.

Illustration by Emily Blevins, Kory Westerhold/Flickr, Derek Jensen/Wikimedia, Max Pixel

The Midwest seeks out warmer climes

Given the notoriously brutal Midwest winters, it perhaps comes as little suprise to see destinations such as Orlando, Phoenix, Miami, Vegas, and Cancun cropping up on this list. Midwesterners are known for flocking to the sun, and who could blame them? And there also may be some avid skiers and snowboarders in the bunch, with Denver having made the top three for several Midwestern states.

Arkansas – New York, Chicago, Las Vegas
Illinois – New York, Los Angeles, Orlando
Indiana – Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco
Iowa – Phoenix, Orlando, Denver
Kansas – Orlando, Dallas, Seattle
Michigan – Orlando, New York, Miami
Minnesota – Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas
Missouri – Denver, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles
Nebraska – Chicago, Orlando, Los Angeles
North Dakota – Denver, Las Vegas, Cancun
Ohio – Orlando, Las Vegas, New York
Oklahoma – Orlando, Los Angeles, Seattle
South Dakota – Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego
Wisconsin – Orlando, Phoenix, Las Vegas

People on the East Coast like to shoot down the coast to Florida, among other locales.

People on the East Coast like to shoot down the coast to Florida, among other locales.

Illustration by Emily Blevins, m01229/Flickr, Max Pixel

Easterners are partial to Florida
Are people on the East Coast a hardcore, theme park–loving bunch? The data showed them flocking to Orlando en masse. Sure, they are hitting up Miami, Tampa, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Atlanta, too, but Orlando was the top destination in seven out of 11 East Coast states.

Connecticut – Orlando, Tampa, Washington, D.C.
Delaware – Dublin, Boston, Raleigh
Maine – New York, Orlando, Washington, D.C.
Maryland – Orlando, Atlanta, Los Angeles
Massachusetts – Orlando, Los Angeles, Chicago
New Hampshire – Washington, D.C., Fort Myers, Orlando
New Jersey – Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Cancun
New York – Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles
Pennsylvania – Orlando, Los Angeles, Atlanta
Rhode Island – Orlando, Washington, D.C., Fort Lauderdale
Vermont – New York, Washington, D.C., Tampa

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Michelle Baran is a deputy editor at AFAR where she oversees breaking news, travel intel, airline, cruise, and consumer travel news. Baran joined AFAR in August 2018 after an 11-year run as a senior editor and reporter at leading travel industry newspaper Travel Weekly.
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