May 4 will mark the 150^th running of the Kentucky Derby, but that buries the lede in our humble opinion. The fourth day in May has a sole purpose of celebrating May the Fourth Be With You, an annual tradition for Star Wars fans to wax poetic about the famed movie franchise. In between the Run for the Roses as well as both NBA and NHL postseason action, we know Star Wars’ biggest fans will be celebrating.

But which states will be going craziest for this celebratory day? We dove into Google Trends to find out. We took the last five years of data from Google Trends to see which states are searching “Star Wars” the most. Here’s what our analysis found:

Methodology

We took the last four years of data from Google Trends to look at which states search most for all things 'Star Wars'. There were some things we expected, others we didn’t, and a few surprises along the way. Here’s what we found:

Utah Simply Can’t Get Enough Of Star Wars

The state of Utah was ranked the nerdiest in the country—yes, there are also rankings for that—so it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’re also the most die-hard Star Wars fans. In fact, Utah has ranked highest on the list of top Star War searches each in the last six years! It’s an absolute dynasty that would make even Pat Riley blush. Its annual FanX convention for pop culture, cosplay, and anime is a hit—and these nerds (we say that with love) simply can’t get enough of Luke, Darth Vader, and the rest of the bunch. If you’re a Star Wars fan, Utah is the place to be. It’s as simple as that.

We’ll also give a shoutout to Idaho and Alaska here, which ranked second and third, respectively, on this list. Idaho has ranked in the top 3 of these standings each of the last five years. Alaska moved from second to third on the overall list this year, but they’ve still had a great showing with a top-10 finish all five seasons. Maybe it reminds them of Hoth.

Momentum Is Rightfully Building In California—Literally

Though Star Wars was primarily filmed outside the U.S. (no, it wasn’t actually filmed in space, but it was filmed in Tunisia and England in the 70s) but parts of certain movies were filmed in California. What’s more, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is set to open sometime in 2025 in Los Angeles. What’s more, Lucas was born in Modesto, California, and is obviously synonymous with Hollywood. So it makes sense that California ranked seventh on this list in 2024, and their ranking has increased (relative to Utah) in each of the last three years.

That museum was originally going to be erected in Chicago but a potential lawsuit from a local preservation changed that—and Illinois ranks just a measly 31^st on this list. The Land of Lincoln must have Star Trek fans.

For what it’s worth, some of Star Wars has been filmed in Arizona, and they ranked 8^th on this list and likewise have improved their interest each of the last three years.

Tell SEC Country They Can Watch Spring Football AND Star Wars

It’s true the college football season never really ends, and spring football is in full swing for the top programs in the country. And we know SEC football is a religion, but variety is the spice of life and there’s time to watch football and Star Wars. The southeast apparently doesn’t believe us, because a handful of states down there ranked near the bottom of this list: Mississippi (50^th), Louisiana (50^th), Georgia (49^th), South Carolina (46^th), Alabama (44^th), and Arkansas (41^st) all didn’t fare too well in these rankings

We have to admit that Mississippi surprised us considering the longstanding connection and joke that Ole Miss has with Admiral Ackbar. Not only was the Magnolia State ranked last on this overall list—they’ve ranked last in the country each of the last five seasons.