Plant Powered: States Most Likely To Go Vegan

As food prices continue to rise across the U.S., people are scrutinizing their groceries more than ever. 

Add in the increasingly environmentally conscious nature of Americans, and it’s no surprise that the popularity of veganism has risen twelvefold across the country in the past seven years. 

From competitive sports stars looking to get an edge on their opponents to cash-strapped families looking to find savings anywhere they can — many individuals are moving to a plant-based diet. 

With this in mind, the research team at Gambling.com investigated which state’s residents are the most likely to go vegan. It analyzed Google search volumes, vegan vs. meat savings per pound, and vegan restaurants and meetup groups per million residents to work out where you’re most likely to switch to a herbivore diet. 

Top 20 States Most Likely to go Vegan

After calculating all the plant-based considerations: Hawaii is the State Most Likely To Go Vegan. 

The Aloha State was rated highly in all four categories, showing that islanders should be the most tempted to leave animal products behind!

Hawaii Residents Most Likely to go Green

With an overall vegan score of 91.7 out of 100, Hawaii is the state whose residents are most likely to make the plant-based switch. 

The tropical paradise had the highest number of vegan restaurants per capita in the country and the second highest number of vegan meetups per capita and vegan-related Google search interest. Hawaii also ranked fifth in terms of savings regarding vegan alternatives vs. meat — scoring 91.8, which translates to a $5.75 per pound saving.

Oregon is the No. 2 state most likely to go vegan. Oregonians had the highest vegan Google search interest across the U.S. and the second-highest number of vegan restaurants per person. All four categories culminate in an overall vegan score of 86.6 for the Beaver State, which also performs strongly in the vegan savings and meetups sections. 

California is not far behind in No. 3, which achieved an overall vegan score of 85.6. While the Golden State didn’t come out on top in any categories analyzed, it still had high ratings in all four. California’s highest score came in the vegan meetups per capita (93.8), ranking fourth nationwide.

New York and Washington complete the Top 5, in No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. New York racked up a final score of 81.5, including the third-highest vegan vs. meat savings in the U.S. ($5.89 per pound). Washington was ranked fourth in the same category, helping form a final rating of 80.5 out of 100.

Which States Are Most Likely to Stick to Steak?

At the other end of the scale, Wyoming is the state whose residents are least likely to adopt a vegan diet. 

Wyoming performed poorly in all four categories, with low scores in Google search interest (14.8), meat vs. vegan savings (12.2), and one of the lowest in vegan meetups per capita (0.0). This translates to an overall vegan score of 16.4 (out of 100) — which won’t give residents much appetite for a plant-based change.

The No. 2 least likely state to go vegan is Arkansas. Despite its nickname, the Natural State only recorded a final score of 18.0. Although Arkansas wasn’t bottom of any of the four categories, it didn’t perform well in any either, with ratings ranging from 10.2 to 29.0.

West Virginia is the No. 3 least likely to switch to a plant-based diet. The state shared one of the lowest vegan meetup scores in the country (0.0), and only achieved a respectable score in the vegan restaurants per capita category (48.9).