Which Powerball States Are Most Successful And Why?

Most Powerball Jackpot Winners

Out of all the participating states, more than 40 have had at least one jackpot winner. There are plenty of jurisdictions that have hit double figures, and the states at the top of the list land the top prize with impressive regularity.

Indiana has been the most successful state, followed by Missouri, with both states crowning more than 30 winners. The likes of Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Wisconsin also feature prominently in the rankings. Visit the Powerball Winners page to see how many players have won the jackpot where you live.

There are a couple of major reasons why some states perform better than others. One factor to consider is when a particular state started to sell Powerball tickets. Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky were all part of the game when it began, so players in these states have been able to take part in every single draw. Wyoming and Puerto Rico, by contrast, only joined in 2014, so they have had considerably less time to create as many winners.

Powerball has also changed a lot since it launched almost 30 years ago. The format of the game, and the odds, meant that the jackpot was won more often in its early stages. The matrix has undergone a number of tweaks to help generate bigger prizes, and the jackpot nowadays regularly runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The states that have been around the longest were therefore able to rack up more wins when the odds were more favorable.

The other big reason behind the success of some states is population. The more people there are in a state, the more Powerball tickets will be sold and the more chance that someone will win the jackpot. California is the most populous state and notched up eight winners in its first six years of Powerball, having only entered the game in April 2013. Vermont, on the other hand, is one of the least populated states and is at the bottom of the table despite having been a Powerball member since 2003.

Lucky States By Population

There are several jurisdictions that still have notable winner records despite having lower populations. Washington D.C., for instance, has had more than ten jackpot winners even though it is ranked 50th for population out of all the country’s states and territories. This is partly because the game has been available in D.C. since it launched in 1992.

New Hampshire is also into double figures for jackpot winners despite only being the 41st most populous state, and the Granite State only entered Powerball a few years after it had started, selling tickets for the first time in 1995. At the other end of the scale, Texas has only had a handful of jackpot wins since joining the game in 2010, although it is the second-largest state by population.

Odds The Same For Everyone

Regardless of where you play Powerball, you should remember that the odds of winning are the same for every single line of numbers. It may feel that some states are luckier than others, but you have just as much chance of winning whether you live in Arizona or Arkansas, Washington State or Washington D.C.

There is more to Powerball than the jackpot as well, with nine different ways to win in every draw. Go to the Numbers page, where you can find state-by-state breakdowns of the number of winners for each draw, complete with interesting facts about the results.

There are also other ways to think about measuring the luckiest or most successful states. The rate of tax varies so considerably from state to state that you can receive a larger payout in some places than others even for winning the same prize. A number of states also give you the option to remain anonymous, while in other places you have no choice but to go public. You may feel more fortunate if you live in a state with no local tax that allows you to stay private.