Television has always been a significant part of both showcasing, as well as influencing, popular culture in the United States. And we've come a long way from three networks and a dial built into a bulky box. With an ever-growing number of streaming services and the countless options available for you to watch what you want, when you want, and where you want, the TV industry is, in many ways, bigger than ever.
However, whether TV is an incredible invention with the capacity to inform, educate, and entertain or a dangerous distraction shortening our attention spans and dampening our ability to think creatively is very much a subject of debate. And some people certainly spend much more time testing those notions than others—leading us to wonder how much TV people watch depending on where they live.
Lucky for us, Verizon Wireless gathered and analyzed the most recent data available on the daily TV habits of people across the U.S. Read on to discover how much TV people watch in your state every day, on average, and see how the numbers align with your own viewing habits. And for the place where people probably make TV time a high priority of their daily lives, This Is the Laziest State in America, According to Data.
50 | Utah
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:13:55
49 | Maine
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:17:37
48 | Vermont
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:19:43
47 | Alaska
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:20:24
46 | Colorado
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:28:22
45 | Hawaii
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:32:58
44 | Minnesota
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:33:50
43 | Washington
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:35:15
42 | Montana
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:36:39
41 | California
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:39:03
And to test your entertainment knowledge, see how many of The Saddest TV Deaths of All Time you can recall.
40 | Wisconsin
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:39:09
39 | New Hampshire
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:40:22
38 | Connecticut
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:41:03
37 | Oregon
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:46:23
36 | Rhode Island
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:47:26
35 | North Carolina
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:50:50
34 | New Mexico
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:52:06
33 | New York
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:52:31
32 | Maryland
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:53:23
31 | Virginia
Sean Pavone / ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:54:03
30 | Kansas
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:56:30
29 | Tennessee
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:56:36
28 | Idaho
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:56:41
27 | Arizona
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:57:36
26 | Massachusetts
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:57:52
25 | Nebraska
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 2:59:41
24 | South Dakota
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:02:21
23 | Michigan
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:02:22
22 | Missouri
Sean Pavone / ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:02:37
21 | Indiana
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:04:35
20 | Texas
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:04:35
And for another fascinating fact about the place you call home, This Is How Long You're Likely to Live in Your State, According to Data.
19 | Iowa
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:07:56
18 | Illinois
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:08:03
17 | Pennsylvania
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:13:50
16 | Wyoming
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:14:32
15 | Ohio
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:19:40
14 | New Jersey
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:19:55
13 | Kentucky
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:21:29
12 | Florida
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:21:39
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11 | South Carolina
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:22:23
10 | Arkansas
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:24:52
9 | Georgia
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:26:29
8 | Alabama
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:26:29
7 | Mississippi
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:29:20
6 | North Dakota
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:34:29
5 | Nevada
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:34:53
4 | Oklahoma
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:36:34
3 | Louisiana
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:41:20
2 | Delaware
iStockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 3:47:09
1 | West Virginia
ShutterstockTV watched per day (hr:min:s): 4:30:54
And to stay current when it comes to what other people are watching right now, check out The Biggest Show on Netflix in 2021 So Far.