Americans watch a lot of television, that’s for sure. While baseball has been described as the national pastime, a lot of people watch it on TV. They watch a lot of other things too — cartoons, news, soap operas, reality shows, sitcoms, etc. (Here are the best classic TV shows available to stream.)
24/7 Wall St. has ranked the TV watch time in all 50 States and Washington D.C. The results may be surprising to some. The average time watched per day ranges from a low of just over two hours in Utah to more than four and a half hours in West Virginia. It’s important to note this data was collected before the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a good bet that TV viewing hours climbed across the country during the early months of the crisis, when many people were unexpectedly stuck at home.
There aren’t obvious reasons why people watch twice as much TV in some states as they do in others. At the top of the list is West Virginia and at the bottom is Utah, both fairly rural states with lots of opportunities for outdoor recreation. (These are the 25 best cities for active people.)
Nor are there obvious reasons why people watch what they watch. In the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, for example, the favorite genres are daytime TV, reality TV, and sitcoms, respectively. In Washington, D.C. people like sitcoms. Maybe they need a break from politics. In Washington state, however, they like news. Maybe they can’t get enough.
To identify the states where people watch the most TV, 24/7 Tempo obtained the average TV watch time compiled by Verizonspecials.com, an online retailer of Verizon products and Verizon blog. Average time spent watching TV comes from the 2017 American Time Use Survey, and favorite genre was derived from Verizonspecials.com’s analysis of Google trends data from January 2018 to December 2018. Total population comes from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2019 1-year estimates.
Click here to see the states where people watch the most TV.
51. Utah
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 13 min, 55 sec
> Favorite genre: Animated Cartoon
> Total population: 3,205,958
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50. Maine
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 17 min, 37 sec
> Favorite genre: Cooking Show
> Total population: 1,344,212
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49. Vermont
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 19 min, 43 sec
> Favorite genre: Late-Night Talk Show
> Total population: 623,989
48. Alaska
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 20 min, 24 sec
> Favorite genre: Soap Opera
> Total population: 731,545
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47. Colorado
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 28 min, 22 sec
> Favorite genre: News
> Total population: 5,758,736
46. Hawaii
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 32 min, 58 sec
> Favorite genre: News
> Total population: 1,415,872
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45. Minnesota
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 33 min, 50 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 5,639,632
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44. Washington
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 35 min, 15 sec
> Favorite genre: News
> Total population: 7,614,893
43. Montana
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 36 min, 39 sec
> Favorite genre: News
> Total population: 1,068,778
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42. California
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 39 min, 3 sec
> Favorite genre: News
> Total population: 39,512,223
41. Wisconsin
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 39 min, 9 sec
> Favorite genre: ESPN
> Total population: 5,822,434
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40. New Hampshire
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 40 min, 22 sec
> Favorite genre: Children’s TV Series
> Total population: 1,359,711
39. Connecticut
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 41 min, 3 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 3,565,287
38. Oregon
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 46 min, 23 sec
> Favorite genre: Animated Cartoon
> Total population: 4,217,737
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37. Rhode Island
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 47 min, 26 sec
> Favorite genre: Reality TV
> Total population: 1,059,361
36. North Carolina
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 50 min, 50 sec
> Favorite genre: Soap Opera
> Total population: 10,488,084
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35. New Mexico
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 52 min, 6 sec
> Favorite genre: Animated Cartoon
> Total population: 2,096,829
34. New York
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 52 min, 31 sec
> Favorite genre: Daytime TV
> Total population: 19,453,561
33. Maryland
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 53 min, 23 sec
> Favorite genre: Reality TV
> Total population: 6,045,680
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32. Virginia
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 54 min, 3 sec
> Favorite genre: Reality TV
> Total population: 8,535,519
31. Kansas
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 56 min, 30 sec
> Favorite genre: ESPN
> Total population: 2,913,314
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30. Tennessee
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 56 min, 36 sec
> Favorite genre: Reality TV
> Total population: 6,829,174
29. Idaho
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 56 min, 41 sec
> Favorite genre: Cooking Show
> Total population: 1,787,065
28. Washington, D.C.
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 57 min, 9 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 705,749
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27. Arizona
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 57 min, 36 sec
> Favorite genre: News
> Total population: 7,278,717
26. Massachusetts
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 57 min, 52 sec
> Favorite genre: Children’s TV Series
> Total population: 6,892,503
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25. Nebraska
> Avg time watched per day: 2 hrs, 59 min, 41 sec
> Favorite genre: ESPN
> Total population: 1,934,408
24. South Dakota
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 2 min, 21 sec
> Favorite genre: Children’s TV Series
> Total population: 884,659
23. Michigan
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 2 min, 22 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 9,986,857
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22. Missouri
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 2 min, 37 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 6,137,428
21. Indiana
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 4 min, 35 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 6,732,219
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20. Texas
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 4 min, 35 sec
> Favorite genre: Telenovela
> Total population: 28,995,881
19. Iowa
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 7 min, 56 sec
> Favorite genre: ESPN
> Total population: 3,155,070
18. Illinois
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 8 min, 3 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 12,671,821
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17. Pennsylvania
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 13 min, 50 sec
> Favorite genre: Reality TV
> Total population: 12,801,989
16. Wyoming
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 14 min, 32 sec
> Favorite genre: News
> Total population: 578,759
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15. Ohio
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 19 min, 40 sec
> Favorite genre: ESPN
> Total population: 11,689,100
14. New Jersey
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 19 min, 55 sec
> Favorite genre: Reality TV
> Total population: 8,882,190
13. Kentucky
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 21 min, 29 sec
> Favorite genre: ESPN
> Total population: 4,467,673
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12. Florida
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 21 min, 39 sec
> Favorite genre: Telenovela
> Total population: 21,477,737
11. South Carolina
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 22 min, 23 sec
> Favorite genre: Soap Opera
> Total population: 5,148,714
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10. Arkansas
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 24 min, 52 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 3,017,804
9. Georgia
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 26 min, 29 sec
> Favorite genre: Reality TV
> Total population: 10,617,423
8. Alabama
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 27 min, 25 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 4,903,185
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7. Mississippi
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 29 min, 20 sec
> Favorite genre: Soap Opera
> Total population: 2,976,149
6. North Dakota
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 34 min, 29 sec
> Favorite genre: Sitcom
> Total population: 762,062
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5. Nevada
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 34 min, 53 sec
> Favorite genre: Reality TV
> Total population: 3,080,156
4. Oklahoma
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 36 min, 34 sec
> Favorite genre: Animated Cartoon
> Total population: 3,956,971
3. Louisiana
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 41 min, 20 sec
> Favorite genre: Soap Opera
> Total population: 4,648,794
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2. Delaware
> Avg time watched per day: 3 hrs, 47 min, 9 sec
> Favorite genre: Reality TV
> Total population: 973,764
1. West Virginia
> Avg time watched per day: 4 hrs, 30 min, 54 sec
> Favorite genre: Soap Opera
> Total population: 1,792,147
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