CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — West Virginia is the perfect place to fall in love at one of its beautiful overlooks, waterfalls or state park resorts. So it is no surprise that a recent study ranked the Mountain State as the most romantic in the country.
Bookies.com used Google Trends data to determine which states were searching “Valentine’s Day” to find a gift or date idea. The study used raw search data from 2017 to 2022 in the 30 days leading up to Feb. 14. The data was then averaged and ranked from most romantic to least.
According to Bookies.com, West Virginians “love themselves some Valentine’s Day” despite the state having one of the smallest populations in the country. West Virginia topped the list with a 100 score each year, making 100 the state’s average score as well.
“Color us shocked, impressed, and everything in between here.
Bookies.com
Love is in the air in the Mountain State, apparently.”
The study hypothesized that timezones possibly influenced West Virginia’s high score. To support this, all the highest-scoring states (West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York) run on Eastern Standard Time. Bookies.com said that eastern states may be ranked higher because the holiday arrives some hours sooner than in other parts of the country.
Adding onto that, a state west of the Mississippi River is not listed until No. 7 (Texas), and two of the least romantic states are on the West Coast. The lowest-scoring states were Washington (average: 60) and Oregon (average: 58).
West Virginia’s neighbors had the following average scores:
- Pennsylvania – 87
- Ohio – 82
- Kentucky – 81
- Maryland – 80
- Virginia – 80
For a special West Virginia valentines gift, try a Rhododendron, which is the state flower, or a Mountain State-themed charcuterie board. Or couples can even plan a Romantic getaway at locations like The Greenbrier, Blackwater Falls, or some of the Mountain State’s stargazing spots.
Click here to view the full study by Bookies.com.
