With all due respect to hot dogs, baseball, and apple pie, the most American part of the Fourth of July is the fireworks. 

These displays of explosive gunpowder and chemicals flying through the sky make for some of the memorable nights of the summer—anyone think about that scene from The Sandlot this time of year?—and there will be thousands of firework celebrations across all 50 states this week.

But which states, specifically, love fireworks the most? We’re glad you asked. The sale of consumer fireworks is legal in most states — we’ll talk more about New England later—so we looked at Google Trends of which states searched “fireworks” the most from June 4 to July 4 in each of the last three years. 

We combined those totals to find the most firework-happy states. This is what we found.

The Midwest Seriously Loves Fireworks

Perhaps it’s because the Midwest has so much flat land that it makes seeing fireworks easy—or maybe it’s a coincidence—but they dominated these rankings. Ohio and Wisconsin led the country with the top two total scores—including the top two scores in 2021 and 2022—and Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri all ranked in the top-12. 

That means the Midwest makes up eight of the top-12 spots, and Kansas (16th) wasn’t all that far behind. The lowest Midwest state? Minnesota at 27th, nearly coming in above the halfway point. Whatever the fireworks are in the Midwest, they’ll keep buying them based on these numbers.

Shocker: Fireworks Don't Fly in Alaska

Let’s set the scene in Alaska in July: The average temperature hovers around 52 degrees, the coldest of any state in the country. There’s also an incredible amount of sunlight—up to 19 hours each day—so it’s very rarely dark unless it’s the wee hours of the morning. So it’s pretty cold and the sun is out until it’s past bedtime. Uh, yeah, Alaska was last on the list—by a longshot. 

Alaska finished last in each of the three years we looked at the rankings, and we can’t exactly blame them. Hawaii—which always gets looped in with Alaska—ranked 49th on the list. Maybe it’s because there’s so much to do that the locals (and tourists) don’t have time for fireworks—or it’s that it’s 2,400 miles from the mainland and it’s more difficult to find and get fireworks. 

No matter what, you’ll find plenty to do besides fireworks on the island of your choice.

The South Dakota vs. North Dakota Rivalry Continues

OK, so we actually don’t know if—or think—South Dakota and North Dakota have a rivalry. But for being so close in proximity to one another—and sharing half a name—it’s wild to see the difference in fireworks searches. 

South Dakota ranked third on this list (the only non-Midwest state in the top-5) including the top spot in 2020, while North Dakota finished 26th in the rankings and had a poor showing in 2022, coming in 29th most recently. 

Head South if you’re into fireworks—maybe it’s the more patriotic of the two because it has Mount Rushmore. For what it’s worth, the Carolinas were evenly unflattering with their fireworks, with South Carolina ranking 43rd and North Carolina ranking 32nd.

Rule Breakers in New England

OK, so in reality a lot of people are rule breakers. Many states require consumers to have a permit to actually set off fireworks—you can imagine the small percentage of people who actually do. 

But did you know that fireworks as a whole are illegal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island? Folks in Massachusetts apparently don’t care all that much, considering they finished a respectable 22nd on this list, including a huge jump from 46th in 2020 to 20th in 2021 to 11th in 2022. 

What’s more, both Connecticut and Rhode Island had their highest ranking in 2022 (based on our 3-year data crunch). Perhaps by no coincidence, surrounding states—and the Northeast as a whole—are seeing a big uptick in fireworks searches. Consider that bordering states in New Hampshire and Vermont finished seventh and eighth, respectively. 

New Hampshire has, for years, been a massive fireworks supplier for the rest of New England. Give the people what they want, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island law makers!