Data study
America's most and least haunted states ranked by ghost sightings
Maine is the most haunted state in America once population is taken into account, with 57.3 reported ghost sightings for every 100,000 residents, while Florida is the least haunted at 7.7.
Data collected
Source: SEO Backlinks, https://seobacklinks.com/
Key findings
North Dakota is second with 51.3 sightings per 100,000 residents and Oklahoma third with 48.2. Texas has the most sightings of any state, 7,669, but with more than 31 million residents it is only 23rd per person.
Maine's 811 sightings work out at one for every 1,745 residents, more than twice the rate in Texas, where there is one for every 4,135. South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, West Virginia and Montana all make the top eight with fewer than 650 sightings each. Oklahoma is the only state in the top 10 on both measures, with 1,987 sightings, the ninth-highest total in the country.
At the other end, Florida's 1,800 sightings are the 12th-highest total of any state, but with more than 23 million residents that works out at one for every 13,035 people. Arizona is the second least haunted state and New York the third. Nevada is fourth, and Las Vegas has just 30 sightings, fewer than neighboring Henderson with 42 and Reno with 31.
Military bases feature heavily among the places with the most sightings. Fort Knox has 95, the most of anywhere in Kentucky, Fort Benning has the most in Georgia with 68 and Camp Lejeune the most in North Carolina with 45. Gettysburg has the most in Pennsylvania with 44, Roswell the most in New Mexico with 38, and El Paso, with 197, has more than any other town on the site.
Chart
Most and least haunted 10 at a glance
Use this chart. It is free to use with a link to this page. Download the chart as a PNG.
Every state on one map
Method
How we did it
On October 5, 2026, we added up the ghost sightings listed for every town on each state's page of Ghosts of America, a long-running website where members of the public log paranormal encounters town by town. That came to 68,032 reported sightings across the 50 states.
Each state's total was divided by its population in the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates to give a rate per 100,000 residents, and the states are ranked on that unrounded rate. Rates are shown rounded to one decimal place, so where two states show the same figure, the order comes from the unrounded rate.
Washington, D.C., which is listed on both the Maryland and Virginia pages, was counted once and is not ranked as a state. Puerto Rico is not included, and a town listed twice on the same state page was counted once.
The sightings are reports from members of the public, not verified hauntings. The ranking shows where people are most likely to say they saw something they couldn't explain.
National rankings
The 10 most and least haunted states in America
The 10 most haunted states in America per person
| Rank | State | Per 100k | Sightings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MaineTop town: Sanford (27)811 sightings | 57.3 | 811 |
| 2 | North DakotaTop town: Argusville (24)410 sightings | 51.3 | 410 |
| 3 | OklahomaTop town: Concho (47)1,987 sightings | 48.2 | 1,987 |
| 4 | South DakotaTop town: Eagle Butte (26)428 sightings | 45.8 | 428 |
| 5 | VermontTop town: Saint Albans (16)245 sightings | 38.0 | 245 |
| 6 | WyomingTop town: Gillette (35)220 sightings | 37.4 | 220 |
| 7 | West VirginiaTop town: Harpers Ferry (20)619 sightings | 35.0 | 619 |
| 8 | MontanaTop town: Billings (44)394 sightings | 34.4 | 394 |
| 9 | IowaTop town: Clinton (50)1,074 sightings | 33.2 | 1,074 |
| 10 | KansasTop town: Wichita (36)979 sightings | 32.9 | 979 |
The 10 least haunted states in America per person
| Rank | State | Per 100k | Sightings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FloridaTop town: Lakeland (48)1,800 sightings | 7.7 | 1,800 |
| 2 | ArizonaTop town: Tucson (53)825 sightings | 10.8 | 825 |
| 3 | New YorkTop town: Newark Valley (40)2,196 sightings | 11.0 | 2,196 |
| 4 | NevadaTop town: Henderson (42)380 sightings | 11.6 | 380 |
| 5 | New JerseyTop town: Toms River (26)1,110 sightings | 11.6 | 1,110 |
| 6 | DelawareTop town: Wilmington (13)134 sightings | 12.6 | 134 |
| 7 | ConnecticutTop town: North Branford and Terryville (18 each)497 sightings | 13.5 | 497 |
| 8 | HawaiiTop town: Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay (20)194 sightings | 13.5 | 194 |
| 9 | MarylandTop town: Brooklyn (35)851 sightings | 13.6 | 851 |
| 10 | North CarolinaTop town: Camp Lejeune (45)1,621 sightings | 14.5 | 1,621 |
Rates are rounded to one decimal place. Where two states show the same figure, the order comes from the unrounded rate. Top town is the town with the most reported sightings in the state.
State ranking
Every state ranked from most to least haunted
Reported ghost sightings for every 100,000 residents in each of the 50 states, with each state's total number of sightings. Washington, D.C. is not ranked.
| Rank | State | Sightings | Per 100k |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maine811 sightings | 811 | 57.3 |
| 2 | North Dakota410 sightings | 410 | 51.3 |
| 3 | Oklahoma1,987 sightings | 1,987 | 48.2 |
| 4 | South Dakota428 sightings | 428 | 45.8 |
| 5 | Vermont245 sightings | 245 | 38.0 |
| 6 | Wyoming220 sightings | 220 | 37.4 |
| 7 | West Virginia619 sightings | 619 | 35.0 |
| 8 | Montana394 sightings | 394 | 34.4 |
| 9 | Iowa1,074 sightings | 1,074 | 33.2 |
| 10 | Kansas979 sightings | 979 | 32.9 |
| 11 | Alaska240 sightings | 240 | 32.6 |
| 12 | Indiana2,212 sightings | 2,212 | 31.7 |
| 13 | Nebraska606 sightings | 606 | 30.0 |
| 14 | New Mexico630 sightings | 630 | 29.6 |
| 15 | Michigan2,813 sightings | 2,813 | 27.8 |
| 16 | Kentucky1,268 sightings | 1,268 | 27.5 |
| 17 | Missouri1,711 sightings | 1,711 | 27.3 |
| 18 | Arkansas844 sightings | 844 | 27.1 |
| 19 | Wisconsin1,597 sightings | 1,597 | 26.7 |
| 20 | Idaho532 sightings | 532 | 26.2 |
| 21 | Oregon1,103 sightings | 1,103 | 25.8 |
| 22 | Ohio2,985 sightings | 2,985 | 25.1 |
| 23 | Texas7,669 sightings | 7,669 | 24.2 |
| 24 | Alabama1,231 sightings | 1,231 | 23.7 |
| 25 | Rhode Island255 sightings | 255 | 22.9 |
| 26 | Virginia1,908 sightings | 1,908 | 21.5 |
| 27 | New Hampshire302 sightings | 302 | 21.3 |
| 28 | Massachusetts1,508 sightings | 1,508 | 21.1 |
| 29 | Illinois2,638 sightings | 2,638 | 20.7 |
| 30 | Mississippi608 sightings | 608 | 20.6 |
| 31 | Minnesota1,143 sightings | 1,143 | 19.6 |
| 32 | Tennessee1,428 sightings | 1,428 | 19.5 |
| 33 | California7,310 sightings | 7,310 | 18.6 |
| 34 | Pennsylvania2,335 sightings | 2,335 | 17.9 |
| 35 | Utah608 sightings | 608 | 17.2 |
| 36 | Washington1,371 sightings | 1,371 | 17.1 |
| 37 | South Carolina930 sightings | 930 | 16.7 |
| 38 | Georgia1,857 sightings | 1,857 | 16.4 |
| 39 | Louisiana738 sightings | 738 | 16.0 |
| 40 | Colorado877 sightings | 877 | 14.6 |
| 41 | North Carolina1,621 sightings | 1,621 | 14.5 |
| 42 | Maryland851 sightings | 851 | 13.6 |
| 43 | Hawaii194 sightings | 194 | 13.5 |
| 44 | Connecticut497 sightings | 497 | 13.5 |
| 45 | Delaware134 sightings | 134 | 12.6 |
| 46 | New Jersey1,110 sightings | 1,110 | 11.6 |
| 47 | Nevada380 sightings | 380 | 11.6 |
| 48 | New York2,196 sightings | 2,196 | 11.0 |
| 49 | Arizona825 sightings | 825 | 10.8 |
| 50 | Florida1,800 sightings | 1,800 | 7.7 |
Using this research
Citing these figures
You're welcome to quote or republish any figure on this page. Please credit SEO Backlinks and link to this page so readers can see the full method and rankings.
How to cite
SEO Backlinks, "The most and least haunted states in America", data collected October 5, 2026: https://seobacklinks.com/
This study comes from SEO Backlinks, which runs data-led digital PR campaigns built on public data like Google reviews.