The USA’s favorite colors: State edition

Color is so important when it comes to art: it brings each piece to life, and helps to evoke feelings, memories and emotions that are unique to each individual consuming the piece.

We wanted to find out what the USA’s favorite colors are, and the reasons behind them, so we did exactly that, by surveying the nation and speaking to Karen Haller, author of The Little Book of Color, How to Use Color Psychology to Transform Your Life to provide psychological insight on colors, and how we connect with them.

Blue is officially America’s favorite color, with 39 out of 50 states selecting this as their favorite, which may or may not be surprising, depending on what your personal favorite is. As Haller explains, our love of this color is often because it connects us with nature – especially the blue of the skies and oceans.

In second place was purple, with six states choosing this color. Haller shares that this represents inner contemplation; and green in third place, is often associated with balance and harmony. Red and pink make up the top five favorite colors of the U.S., where red represents energy and stamina, and pink compassion and nurturing love.

When asking U.S. residents their reasoning behind their favorite color, the main reason was because it was their favorite from being a kid which Haller refers to as ‘personal color association’, otherwise explained as when we see a color and even if we don’t necessarily remember the event or the reason why, all those feel-good feelings associated with it, come flooding back. As well as this, the color making them feel happier and calmer were also top reasons, which might be explained by color having the power to change how we think, feel and behave in an instant, as highlighted by Haller. Others included that they felt their favorite color matched their personality, which comes as no surprise as Haller explains it can allow us to express our personality without having to say a word.

In contrast, America’s least favorite color is beige, followed by brown, silver, gold and indigo. Interestingly, the dislike in beige may be because of the many ‘ban the beige’ campaigns, so as Haller shares, if we’d named this taupe or mushroom, the response may have been very different.

To conclude, blue is the favorite color of 39 states in total, including Alabama, California, Hawaii, and New York. Six states said purple was their favorite color, including Arizona, Louisiana and Montana. Green is Arkansas, South Dakota and Washington’s favorite colors, whereas red is the favorite of Massachusetts, and pink is joint favorite for Arkansas and North Carolina. Vermont’s favorite color is orange, and Wyoming was the only state to say they didn’t have a favorite color. While it might seem strange to not have a favorite color, Haller explains that we’re actually only about 20% conscious of our color choices, so it makes sense that for many, there’s no immediate strong connection with any particular hue or color.

With color such an important aspect of art, you can browse our collection of photography and paintings to see which pieces evoke emotions and feelings; or for tips, trends, and more information on how to interpret art, head on over to our blog.

A survey of 2,031 Americans carried out by Censuswide in August 2021. In the instance that more than one color was chosen as the equal favorite, all were included in the list. Despite green being the favorite in one less state than red, it received a higher percentage overall in the U.S. and therefore tops red on the list.