Which States Are the Most Redhead-Friendly in America?
Once persecuted for their fiery hair and accused of not having souls, redheads are finally enjoying their day in sun (metaphorically speaking). They are ruling Hollywood, jumping over cars to win the Slam Dunk Contest, and they even have their own dating site. But where is life best for a red-haired American? The real estate search company Estately researched this extensively and has uncovered the answer.
How did we arrive at our conclusion? Using these six criteria…
- Fewest number of clear, sunny days on average (Got to keep our freckled friends safe from ultraviolet rays).
- Percentage of Facebook users with interest in pro-redhead sites, issues, holidays, celebrations, etc.
- Percentage of Facebook users expressing interest in these 26 famous American redheads: Thomas Jefferson, Bonnie Raitt, Axl Rose, Carol Burnett, Chuck Norris, Emma Stone, Conan O’Brien, Jenny Lewis, Louis C.K., Julianne Moore, Malcolm X, Kathy Griffin, Mario Batali, Sylvia Plath, Mark Twain, Shirley MacLaine, Blake Griffin, Lucille Ball, Beaker (the muppet), Christina Hendricks, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jessica Chastain, Dwight Eisenhower, and Susan Sarandon.
- Local businesses with “redhead” or “redheaded” in name per 10,000 residents.
- Highest amount of redhead representation in Congress per constituents
- Preference for Ginger over Mary Ann—Google searches for Tina Louise (actress who played Ginger on Gilligan’s Island) compared to searches for Dawn Wells (actress who played Mary Ann)
#1—WEST VIRGINIA
Estately’s study determined the Mountaineer State provides America’s finest habitat for redheads. West Virginia earned the top spot in our survey thanks to the state’s general lack of sunshine and enthusiasm for redhead causes and famous redheads. The state’s excitement for all things ginger is so strong it still came in first place despite Googling the actor who played Gilligan more than the one who played Ginger. It was the only state to do that.
#2—KENTUCKY
If you ever see Kentucky native and redheaded country star Loretta Lynn in a bar buy her a Kentucky Redhead. What’s in it? Start with 2oz bourbon and then ad 1oz ginger liqueur, 1oz lemon juice, 1/2oz simple syrup, and 3 dashes of bitters.
#3—OHIO
In 2010, the largest gathering of redheads (at the time) in North America occurred in Dublin, Ohio. Over 2,500 redheads attended the annual event. Not only that, but way back in 2013 both Ohio pro football teams (the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals) featured starting quarterbacks with red hair (Brandon Weeden and Andy Dalton).
#4—INDIANA
Former Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose left his home state of Indiana to find rock and roll fame in California? Still, when he looks out at city lights at night he probably longs for the redhead-friendly people of his home state, as well as their general enthusiasm for all things ginger.
#5—MARYLAND
Redheaded songstress Tori Amos is from Maryland, as is Redhead Companies, a local marketing firm.
#6—NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota residents don’t turn their heads when a copper-topped person walks past. Their eyes are on the horizon, searching for the elusive redhead, a redheaded duck that’s popular with area hunters.
#7—OREGON
In 2013, over 1,600 redheads gathered in downtown Portland in an attempt to set the world record for most redheads assembled in one place. Not only that, on Redhead Tuesdays, all redheads get a free chocolate chip cookie at Maine Street Lobster Company in Portland, Oregon.
#8—VERMONT
Redheads can go easy on the sunscreen in Vermont because it is tied with Washington state for the fewest days with clear skies per year—just 58! All those Vermont clouds are keeping gingers safe!
#9—IOWA
In the novel Red, there’s a fictional town in Iowa called Scarletville where red hair is prized above all else. Local blondes dye their locks red to avoid being persecuted. Seriously. That’s a real book.
#10—ALASKA
Alaska is home to the Redhead Express, a band made up of four redheaded sisters. Not only that 100% of congressional delegation leans ginger, although it is hard to tell because so much of Congress wears a hairpiece or uses a reddish rinse to disguise their gray hair.
#11—ALABAMA
Alabama’s auburn-haired locals express their pride on Facebook, and when naming their businesses. However, even in a general redhead paradise like Alabama there are problems. In 2014, an Alabama high school sent a 16-year-old student home from high school because administrators said her red hair was too distracting to her classmates (see the article). Not only that, but the red-haired woman who appears in all those annoying Wendy’s ads is from Alabama, but she’s actually a blonde! That’s fraud.
#12—ARIZONA
Sandra Bernhard went to high school there, and she’s just one of the many redheads beloved by Arizona residents—#1 for interest in red-haired celebs on Facebook.
#13—LOUISIANA
If you find yourself in Mandeville, Louisiana in the near future be sure to stop off at the local eatery Louis & the Redhead Lady and try the fried green tomatoes. Wait, why aren’t they red tomatoes? That’s a real missed opportunity with branding.
#14—OKLAHOMA
The Sooner State has not one, but two copper-topped congressional representatives. In addition, it’s home to a lot of redhead pride and numerous businesses with “redhead” in the name. Sadly, Red Head Bail Bonds closed, which kept them from being ranked higher.
#15—MICHIGAN
In Michigan, hunters have been jailed for exceeding the redhead limit (ducks, not people). The state has numerous ginger-themed businesses, including Redhead Design Studio, as well as The Redheads, a healthful foods manufacturing and marketing company (try the hummus). But perhaps the most important thing to know is that actress Gillian Anderson (Agent Scully—The X-Files) went to high school in Grand Rapids and had a brief punk phase. You know X-Files is coming back, right?
#16—MAINE
Maine is very proud of its state cat—the Maine coon cat, but it would have won points with the state’s redheads by choosing the humble orange tabby cat, which is nature’s finest feline.
#17—NEW MEXICO
The debate over Ginger or Mary Ann has raged for decades, except in New Mexico. The state is staunchly pro-Ginger, with dramatically more Google searches for the actress who played the red-haired Ginger on Gilligan’s Island than for the one who played Mary Ann.
#18—MISSOURI
Maybe the reason for big leaguer Mark McGwire is now a coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers instead of his old team the St. Louis Cardinals is because he got tired of people making fun of his hair. According to Google Trends, Missouri Googles “redhead jokes” more than all but two other states. Despite this, the state produces two of America’s finest red-haired talents—author Mark Twain and the actress Ellie Kemper, who plays the main character in the Netflix sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
#19—WASHINGTON
Redheads make up just 2% of the U.S. population, but they make up 9.4% of the Seattle Seahawks. The local NFL team has ginger fever so bad they recently gave up their first-round draft pick and Pro Bowl center for carrot-topped tight end Jimmy Graham.
#20—DELAWARE
If you Google “Delaware redhead” eight of the first ten things that pops up are links to escort services. Delaware loves its redheads, but maybe not in a way we’d anticipated.
#21—NEW YORK
When New Yorkers look out the window at the frequent gray skies they imagine themselves sitting on a sunny beach on Gilligan’s Island, sipping a Mai Tai with the red-haired Ginger.
#22—PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania produces a large number of famous redheads, including poet Ezra Pound, actor Larry Fine (one of the 3 Stooges), actress Lauren Holly, and actor Seth Green.
#23—KANSAS
Not a single member of the band Kansas is a redhead, but you know who is? Kansas native, and former President, the one and only Dwight D. Eisenhower.
#24—MASSACHUSETTS
If you like funny men (and hair the color of a Nocktiluca algae bloom) then Massachusetts might be your paradise. The state produced both Louis C.K. and Conan O’Brien. Not only that, but the Boston Celtics won the 2008 NBA Championship with super-ginger Brian Scalabrine providing excellent encouragement from his seat on the bench.
#25—TENNESSEE
Tennessee ranks high for redhead pride on Facebook, but that pride doesn’t extend to including “redhead” in their business names.
#26—SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota isn’t the redhead haven that North Dakota is, but its official state bird is the ring-necked pheasant, a lovely bird with stunning red and orange feathers.
#27—MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi is home to the band Red Roots, whose members consist of three identical triplet sisters. And they’re redheads. What are the odds?
#28—UTAH
While there aren’t stats on how many redheads live in each state, many claim Utah looks like one giant Weasely family reunion. Perhaps that’s because it was the red-haired Brigham Young who led the Mormon migration to Utah?
#29—NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Granite State likes gingers so much they elected one—Maggie Hassan—as their governor (twice).
#30—CONNECTICUT
The title of Miss Connecticut 2013 was won by Kaitlyn Tarpey, a flame-haired beauty whose talents included Irish dancing.
#31—CALIFORNIA
California is no stranger to scandals, but a ginger-related one involves Miss California 2011, a stunning woman named Alyssa Campanella whose red locks were dyed. She’s actually a blonde.
#32—NEW JERSEY
The Garden State has the third-fewest people expressing interest in pro-redhead pages on Facebook.
#33—ILLINOIS
Illinois hosts its own Redhead Days Festival in Highwood, and people can visit The Redhead Piano Bar in Chicago. The state gave rise to comedians Redd Foxx and Kathy Griffin, and it has the third most businesses per capita with “redhead” in their names.
#34—TEXAS
A major flaw in this study is the fact that Texas is ranked way down at #34. That just doesn’t make sense considering Texas-produced country music legend Willie Nelson. Apparently, that just wasn’t enough to make up for all those sunny days.
#35—WYOMING
Wyoming has the second-highest percentage of people expressing interest in pro-redhead pages on Facebook, but it’s not enough to put in the top tier of redhead-friendly states. Of course, we didn’t factor in habitat for the Red-naped sapsucker, a red-feathered bird.
#35—MINNESOTA
Minnesota’s Redhead Creamery, which thinks it’s fun to use stereotypes to sell one of its products—Red Temper cheese.
#37—FLORIDA
Comedian Carrot Top grew up in Florida because of course, he did.
#38—COLORADO
Actor Robert Redford went to the University of Colorado on a baseball scholarship but got kicked out of school for drunkenness. Is that how Colorado treats one of America’s greatest living actors and redheads?
#39—WISCONSIN
Wisconsin produced Senator Joseph McCarthy who led the witch hunt to root out real and imagined communists in government and society. Perhaps it’s not a surprise that a state that elected this notorious red-hater would also rank low on a list of best for redheads.
#40—RHODE ISLAND
The official state bird of Rhode Island is the Rhode Island Red, a domestic chicken. It’s a small thing, but that’s about all Rhode Island can offer in the way of being pro-redhead.
#41—MONTANA
The most famous redhead to come out of Montana is Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. So that will put your pretty low on the list.
#42—GEORGIA
Georgia may not be the best place for redheads to live, but Georgia did produce actress Julia Roberts and Sterlin Holloway—the voice of Winnie the Pooh.
#43 (tie)—ARKANSAS
The All American Red Heads were a professional women’s basketball team from 1936-1986 and traveled all over the country. They hailed from Arkansas, but that’s in the past.
#43 (tie)—NEVADA
Nevada has the most businesses listed in the Yellow Pages with “redhead” in the name, but nearly all of them are for escorts.
#45—VIRGINIA
Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were Virginians who also had red hair, which is a trait not shared by any of Virginia’s current 15 members of Congress.
#46—NEBRASKA
Every Saturday in the fall you’ll find the locals dressed in bright red clothing, but that’s just colors for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers.
#47—SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina locals think gingivitis is a disease you can catch from red-haired people.
#48—HAWAII
It’s been alleged (not making this up) that in Hawaii local cooks are reluctant to serve spicy food to redheads. When serving fiery hot wings why not assume the person with the fiery hair can handle them?
#49—IDAHO
The Gem State is home to a number of redheaded businesses, including Red Head Real Estate and Redhead Construction Company—a father/daughter build and design team. Still, that isn’t enough to help a state that Googles the actress who played Mary Ann in Gilligan’s Island dramatically more than it Googles the actress who played Ginger.
#50—NORTH CAROLINA
If you have red hair and live in North Carolina you probably want to get the hell out of town. The state is in the bottom ten in three of five categories. Seriously, get out.
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