From little green men to xenomorphs, we have been staring at the skies and wondering about the unknown for ages. Thanks to technology and social media, UFO sightings are being filmed and shared more than ever, sparking curiosity from believers and skeptics alike.
Whether you’re a hardcore believer or just a bit curious, a UFO is just something you can’t explain. So, where in the U.S. are you most likely to see one? We’ve looked at the sightings and worked out the moneyline odds to give you a fun way to see your chances.
The 3 UFO Hotspots in the U.S.
We’ve compiled the data and determined the top three states for UFO sightings based on the number of UFO sightings cross-referenced against population.
We had to bring in an honorary mention for California – as the most populous state, it didn’t make our list for the best odds of seeing a UFO, but it did rack up an impressive 16,826 total UFO sightings, blowing the other states out of the water and almost doubling the next highest number of reported sightings. The truth is out there, California!
But let’s take a look at where you’re most likely to spot a UFO, starting with…
Washington (Odds: +105,700)
The term ‘flying saucer’ can trace its origins back to Kenneth Arnold, a pilot who believed he saw a formation of UFOs while flying over Mt Rainer in Washington state and was quoted (or misquoted) as using the phrases ‘saucer’, ‘disk’ and ‘pie-pan’ when sharing his story with various news sources. His experience is credited as being one of the first well-known UFO sightings.
It seems the close encounters didn’t stop there, with 94.5 reported UFO sightings per 100,000 people across the state (7,464 in total), giving Washingtonians odds of around +105,700 of spotting a UFO and placing them firmly in our top three.
Montana (Odds: +104,800)
Coming in at number two, Montana boasts an impressive number of sightings of 94.5 per 100,000 of the population, with 1,048 reported sightings. With some of the lowest levels of light pollution in the country, Montana’s clear skies make it all the easier for local residents to spot something out of the ordinary and MT is certainly no stranger to ETs, with the Mariana UFO footage filmed occurring over Great Falls providing us with among the first filmed ‘evidence’ of UFOs.
So, what are the odds of spotting a UFO in Montana? Based on reported sightings and population data, you'd be looking at moneyline odds of +104,800.
Vermont (Odds: +102,900)
With 97.1 UFO sightings per 100,000 people, Vermont tops the list as the best state to catch a glimpse of the unknown. The odds of spotting a UFO here are around +102,900, making it one of the most likely places in the country to witness something unusual. For comparison, Texas sees just 21.7 sightings per 100,000 people, with odds of +475,200, the lowest chance of a sighting in the U.S. Vermont’s rural skies and clear nights offer the perfect backdrop for extraterrestrial watchers eager to see something out of this world.
The Top 3 Most UFO-Obsessed States
We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to look at which states are the most obsessed with UFOs, so we also looked at search data to see who is doing the most research into UFOs.
Move over Mulder and Scully – our analysis suggests that Massachusetts is the most UFO-obsessed state, with 94.3 monthly online searches for UFOs per 100,000 people, or 6,600 searches per month!
Unsurprisingly, as the most likely place to spot a UFO yourself, Vermont comes in second, with 90.8 searches per 100,000 people, and Oregon takes the number three spot with 83.7 searches per 100,000 people.
What better way is there to celebrate World UFO Day on July 2 than by grabbing some friends and heading out to the mountains of Washington, Montana or Vermont to see if you can’t spot a UFO of your own? And if the skies are quiet, you can always catch an MLB game while you wait, and bet on the action using our Fanatics Sportsbook promo or our Kalshi referral code!
Methodology
Here’s what we looked at:
- We pulled data from National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC). Reports were filtered and manually compiled by U.S. state to determine the number of UFO sightings in each location.
- We calculated the odds of spotting a UFO per 100,000 capita in each state, and then converted figures to American Moneyline Odds.
- We also looked at search volume per month per 100,000 capita to reveal the most "UFO-obsessed" states.
