You’d think the big money always lands in places like California or Florida. It makes sense, right? More people, more tickets, more chances to strike it rich. But if you look at the actual history of the game, the map tells a completely different story. Honestly, the real "luck" isn't where you’d expect.
The state with most powerball winners is actually Indiana.
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Yeah, the Hoosier State. It’s sitting at the top of the mountain with 39 jackpot wins since the game kicked off back in 1992. That’s nearly 10% of every grand prize ever handed out. If you’re standing in a gas station in Indianapolis, you’re technically in the undisputed capital of Powerball luck. But before you go packing your bags for a move to the Midwest, there’s a bit of a logical twist to why this keeps happening.
Why Indiana Is the State With Most Powerball Winners
Luck is weird. But in the world of lotteries, time is the biggest factor. Indiana was one of the founding members of the game. When Powerball launched on April 19, 1992, replacing the old Lotto America, Indiana was right there on day one.
In fact, the very first Powerball winner was from Indiana. Bert Morlan, an 85-year-old former mayor, snagged $5.9 million just days after the game started.
The Early Bird Advantage
Most of the states at the top of the leaderboard share this one trait: they’ve been playing the longest. While states like Mississippi didn't even start selling tickets until 2020, Indiana has had a 30-plus year head start. That’s thousands of extra drawings. Thousands of extra chances to hit those six numbers.
Missouri follows close behind Indiana with 31 wins. Minnesota holds the third spot with 22. Do you see the pattern? It’s a Midwestern sweep. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are next up, with 20 and 19 jackpots respectively.
These states created a culture around the game. In places like Indiana and Missouri, buying a ticket isn’t just a "once a year" thing when the jackpot hits a billion. It’s sort of a weekly ritual. People have been doing it since the early 90s, and that consistency shows up in the data.
The Big Population Shift: California’s Rise
While Indiana has the most winners, it doesn't have the biggest winners. That's a key distinction.
If we're talking about the size of the checks, California is currently crushing everyone. Even though California didn’t even join Powerball until 2013—over 20 years late to the party—they’ve already racked up some of the most massive prizes in history.
- Edwin Castro: Won the world-record $2.04 billion jackpot in Altadena, CA (November 2022).
- Theodorus Struyck: Led a group that won $1.765 billion in Frazier Park, CA (October 2023).
California is basically the "new money" of the lottery world. They have 14 jackpot wins as of early 2026, which is impressive for how short they've been in the game. Because California has nearly 40 million residents, they sell an astronomical number of tickets. When the jackpot gets huge, the volume of sales in the Golden State is so high that the odds of the winner being a Californian skyrocket.
Does Your State Actually Lack Luck?
It’s easy to feel like your state is cursed if you live in Wyoming or North Dakota. Those states, along with Maine and Mississippi, have never—not once—had a Powerball jackpot winner.
Is it because the air is different? No.
It’s purely a numbers game. Wyoming has about 580,000 people. California has 39 million. The sheer volume of tickets sold in high-population states or long-participating states is what creates "luck."
Basically, the "unluckiest" states are just the ones with the fewest players or the shortest history with the game. Mississippi only joined in 2020. They’ve only been in the mix for about six years. Comparing them to Indiana is like comparing a rookie to a Hall of Famer who’s been playing for three decades.
Per Capita Success: The Rhode Island Factor
If you want to get really nerdy with the stats, some experts look at wins per 100,000 residents. When you do that, smaller states like Rhode Island and Delaware actually look "luckier" than the giants. Rhode Island has 8 jackpot wins. That doesn't sound like much until you realize the state is tiny. Their "win rate" per resident is actually higher than many of the big states.
The Truth About Where You Buy Your Ticket
You’ve probably heard people say you should buy your ticket in a "lucky" state. We’ve all seen the news reports about a specific gas station that has sold three winning tickets.
Let’s be real for a second: the machine doesn't know where it is.
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Whether you’re in a cornfield in Indiana or a skyscraper in New York, the odds are exactly the same. $1 in 292,201,338$. Geography is just a backdrop for the math.
The reason some stores sell more winners is simply that they sell more tickets. If a store near a state border sells 50,000 tickets a week because people drive over to buy them, they are statistically more likely to sell a winner than a corner shop that sells 50 tickets. It’s not a "hot streak." It’s just more entries in the hat.
Practical Insights for the Next Drawing
If you're looking at the state with most powerball winners and thinking about your own strategy, here’s the reality of how to handle the game in 2026:
- Stop "State-Hopping": Don't waste gas money driving to Indiana or Missouri. Your odds are identical at your local 7-Eleven.
- Check the Tax Laws: This is where the state actually matters. If you win in California or Florida, the state doesn’t take a cut of your lottery winnings. If you win in New York, they’re going to take a massive bite out of that check.
- The "Early Joiner" Myth: Understand that the rankings are skewed. Indiana is #1 because of time, not magic. New York and California are catching up fast because of population.
- Anonymity Matters: Some states let you stay anonymous (like Delaware or Kansas), while others (like California) require your name to be public. If you value your privacy, that is the only reason to care about which state's name is on your ticket.
The map of Powerball winners is always changing. While the Midwest holds the legacy titles, the massive population centers of the South and West are where the billion-dollar headlines are happening now. Whether you're in a "lucky" state or not, the math remains the same—you can't win if you don't have a ticket in the drawer.
To see where your state stacks up right now, you can check the latest historical win data provided by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which tracks every single jackpot hit since the 90s. While Indiana sits on the throne today, the "luck" of the draw is only one billion-dollar ticket away from shifting somewhere else entirely.