USANew ranking reveals how hard it is to get concert tickets in each state
- Our new ranking reveals which states will struggle most to get tickets to popular concerts - with Rhode Island named the state with the worst odds.
- The results look at which venues artists frequent on their tours, their capacity, how often acts visit each state, and the local demand for tickets.
- California came out as the best state for securing tickets, as artists visited 24 venues across this year’s biggest events - including The Eras Tour.
- Rhode Islanders have the worst luck when it comes to seeing their favorite artists live, as NONE of the artists analyzed stopped in the State.
Infographic Best & Worst States for Concert Tickets
This ranking, created by our team at JustGamblers, assigned each state a score out of 40 for ticket likelihood based on the number of venues visited across 20 of this year’s biggest tours, average venue capacity, how often an act stops in each state, and local ticket demand.
The number of venues refers to the concert halls, arenas, amphitheaters, and stadiums visited by the likes of Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Coldplay, and Blink-182 on their latest tours.
Venue Capacity and Ticket Demand
Each venue’s capacity was then scaled against the state’s population to establish where fans are most likely to get access, while ticket demand is based on the volume of Google searches made for the most in-demand tours in each state.
The data also looked at how often an artist stops in each state, as some are skipped completely, even on the biggest nationwide tours - including Rhode Island.
Ticket Availability and State Rankings
And if an act did stop in the state, you’d still struggle to get tickets as there’s a high demand for each tour - despite fans currently having to travel elsewhere to see their favorite artist.
The state’s most in-demand artist that has toured recently came out as Taylor Swift, but despite hosting her annual Fourth of July party at her Rhode Island beach house this year, the multi-award-winning singer didn’t include ‘The Ocean State’ as a stop on The Eras Tour.
Best and Worst States for Tickets
New York is the best nearby state for Rhode Islanders who want to attend any show, as they’re 64% more likely to get tickets there than in Connecticut, Vermont, or Massachusetts.
Overall, California boasts the highest likelihood of securing tickets, largely due to how often artists stop in the state and the high number of venues they visit.
Every artist analyzed stopped in ‘The Golden State’ at least once on their most recent tours, meaning fans don’t have to worry about whether they’ll have to travel to see their favorite artist - instead, their biggest obstacle is competing with other fans for a chance to attend.
The state has one of the highest levels of demand for tickets, and despite 24 venues being visited on recent tours, their average capacity of 30,835 doesn’t go far compared to California’s population of 39.2 million - and also the out-of-state fans who plan to attend.
Following California as the second-best state for securing tickets is Illinois, which was also a stop on every analyzed tour, with ticket demand named the state’s biggest obstacle.
Top 10 States for Securing Concert Tickets
| State | Likelihood Score | |
| 1 | California | 23 /40 |
| 2 | Illinois | 23 /40 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 22 /40 |
| 4 | Florida | 20 /40 |
| 5 | Texas | 19 /40 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 18 /40 |
| 7 | Michigan | 18 /40 |
| 8 | New York | 17 /40 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 17 /40 |
| 10 | Georgia | 16 /40 |
No state scored higher than 23 out of 40, meaning that nowhere can guarantee attendance to the most coveted concerts - although it can help fans decide whether to try for local tickets or whether to attend a show in a nearby state instead.
Fans in New Hampshire, Delaware, and North Dakota will definitely want to consider the latter, along with Rhode Islanders, as they’ll struggle most to get tickets in their state.
States with the Lowest Chances
| State | Likelihood Score | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | 3 /40 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 5 /40 |
| 3 | Delaware | 5 /40 |
| 4 | North Dakota | 6 /40 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 7 /40 |
| 6 | Vermont | 8 /40 |
| 7 | New Mexico | 8 /40 |
| 8 | Arkansas | 8 /40 |
| 9 | Hawaii | 8 /40 |
| 10 | South Dakota | 8 /40 |
Additional Insights
Overall, the state that boasts the best venues for attending a tour came out as Minnesota, as the average 39,412 capacity reported across the five visited venues can accommodate a higher proportion of the local population - more so than in any other area.
Meanwhile, Illinois and California tie for the most-visited states and are the most likely to be included as tour stops, while Rhode Island, Alaska, and North Dakota are the least likely.
Alaska was the best state for combatting ticket demand, but this isn’t particularly helpful given that the state has not been visited on any analyzed tours. That means Idaho is the top state, as there was less demand for the two artists that stopped there over the last year.
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the difficulty of securing tickets for tours, especially given complications with platforms like Ticketmaster and the rising prevalence of scalpers.
However, beyond this, it’s clear that some states are at a greater disadvantage than others based on variables like local competition, venue availability, and how frequently a state hosts a show - and, surprisingly, some states are ignored by artists altogether.
Patrik Lidin, Head of Content at JustGamblers.
Methodology
We gathered the data from the latest tours from Drake, Pink, Harry Styles, Coldplay, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Elton John, Def Leppard, Billie Eilish, Foo Fighters, Blink-182, Lizzo, Madonna, Metallica, Paramore, The Weeknd, Blackpink, Arctic Monkeys, Journey, and Janet Jackson.
Full state ranking, from best to worst for tickets
| State | Score |
|---|---|
| California | 23.3 |
| Illinois | 23.1 |
| Minnesota | 21.8 |
| Florida | 19.5 |
| Texas | 19.3 |
| Pennsylvania | 18.0 |
| Michigan | 17.5 |
| New York | 16.7 |
| Tennessee | 16.6 |
| Georgia | 16.0 |
| Arizona | 15.3 |
| Washington | 14.7 |
| Alaska | 14.3 |
| Missouri | 13.4 |
| North Carolina | 13.2 |
| Ohio | 13.1 |
| West Virginia | 12.9 |
| Colorado | 12.6 |
| New Jersey | 12.0 |
| Oregon | 11.8 |
| Alabama | 11.6 |
| Wisconsin | 11.6 |
| Nevada | 11.5 |
| Maryland | 11.4 |
| Massachusetts | 10.8 |
| Indiana | 10.8 |
| Kansas | 10.6 |
| Wyoming | 10.5 |
| Idaho | 10.3 |
| Nebraska | 10.1 |
| Virginia | 10.1 |
| Kentucky | 10.0 |
| Oklahoma | 9.7 |
| Utah | 9.6 |
| Louisiana | 9.5 |
| Maine | 9.1 |
| District of Columbia | 8.9 |
| Iowa | 8.7 |
| South Carolina | 8.6 |
| Mississippi | 8.4 |
| Montana | 8.3 |
| South Dakota | 8.1 |
| Hawaii | 7.9 |
| Arkansas | 7.5 |
| New Mexico | 7.5 |
| Vermont | 7.5 |
| Connecticut | 7.4 |
| North Dakota | 6.0 |
| Delaware | 5.0 |
| New Hampshire | 4.9 |
| Rhode Island | 2.8 |
We Would Love to Hear From You!
What do you think about our rankings of concert ticket availability across states? Do you agree with our findings, or have you had different experiences when trying to secure tickets to your favorite shows? Share your thoughts and insights with us in the comments below!