Map Shows Most-Searched Music Genre By U.S. State

Rock may still be present in the minds of people searching on Google, but it is far from being the most searched music genre in the U.S. In fact, a recent deep dive into each state’s music-related search queries found that only five U.S. states list rock as their most dominate genre for searching music.

According to Mental Floss, Google Trends recently did a breakdown of music-related search queries by state that was compiled over the span of Jan. 1, 2004 to Aug. 25, 2025.

Leading the way with the most states by a wide margin was country music, while rock and hip-hop both snagged five states apiece.

What States Have Rock as Their Biggest Google Search Queries?

Five states list rock as their primary searched genre. There doesn’t seem to be a geographical link either. Out west, you’ll find people in California, Nevada and Washington seeking out information on rock bands, while the other two states — Rhode Island and Connecticut — are in the eastern U.S.

Hip-hop seems to be more located to the eastern U.S. with New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Maryland ranking among the five states that are seeking out hip-hop material. Hawaii serves as the lone outlier.

Each of the other 40 U.S. states list country music as their most searched music genre.

How Do States Rock?

While search queries is one way we can examine which states rock, there have also been several other notable studies done in recent years.

In 2019, we shared a Vivid Seats study that sought to determine which states rocked the hardest. In that study, the population of each state was compared to the number of hard rock and metal concerts that take place there each year.

North Dakota took the title for most rock ‘n’ roll state, followed by South Dakota, Utah, Nevada and Idaho, seemingly showing a distinct regional appreciation for rock and metal.

Meanwhile, California and Texas, two of the largest states in the U.S., were calculated to have hosted the most rock and metal shows.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Rock Albums of the Last 25 Years

Elsewhere, a 2024 study by Merchoid attempted to break things down further by celebrating the most popular “dad rock” bands in each state. With over 3,000 participants surveyed, Nickelback were named the No. 1 “dad rock” band in the U.S.

A whopping 26 percent of those surveyed named Nickelback the patriarch of all dad rock acts. New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Ohio, Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Washington all named the Canadian band as their top “dad rock” band.

Blink-182 and Van Halen each topped six states, while Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers claimed five U.S. states apiece.