Your State’s Favorite Rom-Com Movie 2022

Hello, lovers. More specifically, hello lovers who live in states. You know who you are. You know where you are. But do you know your state’s favorite romantic comedy, or “rom-com?” CableTV.com does.

We understand if you aren’t ready to meet the love of your cinematic life. But isn’t romance always unexpected?

At any moment, cosmic forces—other people’s internet searches within a particular date range, analyzed by some rando with a platform—might conspire to tell you your state’s favorite rom-com. That moment is now.

But this is the twenty-first century, and our study results are just data. If you don’t vibe with your state’s favorite rom-com, you don’t have to marry it.

Now, let’s go ahead and take a non-committal look at what film your state prefers—and then we’ll overanalyze the data while gobbling ice cream.

Hot goss re: breakups

So many rom-coms start with a breakup. Let’s form a sewing circle and dish on who dumped their old favorite rom-com for new hotness.

• Idaho dumped The Princess Bride for Groundhog Day and Clueless.
• Iowa broke it off with The Princess Bride in favor of 10 Things I Hate About You.
• Massachusetts thought There’s Something About Mary but something better about The Princess Bride.
• New Hampshire kicked Groundhog Day to the curb and hooked up with 10 Things I Hate About You and The Princess Bride.
• Oregon dropped Amélie and picked up The Princess Bride.
• Utah cut loose 10 Things I Hate About You for Love Actually.
• Vermont called it quits with Love Actually and started something with 10 Things I Hate About You.
• Wyoming ghosted 10 Things I Hate About You and is playin’ peek-a-boo with Groundhog Day.

Lean in—it gets better. Actually, no state is with their “favorite” rom-com from last year. Do we love it? It’s drama; of course we do.

Popularity contest

Wanna know which of our five rom-coms is the biggest thirst trap? Here’s how many states dig the same film (ties included):

• 10 Things I Hate About You: 22
• The Princess Bride: 20
• Clueless: 9

• Groundhog Day: 7
• Love Actually: 3

Perfect matches

We didn’t set out to be matchmakers with this study, but the data reveals two potential perfect matches.

Alaska and Wyoming both are 100% enamored with Groundhog Day. But if we ‘ship ‘em, will it work out? Alaska is full of polar bears. Wyoming is 100% sheep. This one’s doomed.

Hawaii and Vermont love only 10 Things I Hate About You. One state’s a colorful tropical paradise where Willie Nelson lives part-time. The other is a snowy forest ruled by Bernie Sanders. Despite climate differences, we sense a love connection.

Forever alone

Alas, Louisiana went 100% for Clueless—but no other state loved the Alicia Silverstone film as much. The closest was Nevada at 60%. We don’t like the odds for these two states. But they say that in every relationship, one partner is more invested than the other…

Bizarre love triangles

Some states are torn between two rom-coms, loving them equally.

• Arkansas: 10 Things I Hate About You and Clueless
• Montana: Clueless and Love Actually
• North Dakota: Groundhog Day and The Princess Bride
• Rhode Island: Love Actually and The Princess Bride

Is loving them both breakin’ all the rules? That’s not for us to say. So we’ll cop out and advise Arkansa, Montana, North Dakota, and Rhode Island to listen to their hearts. Or check out polyamorous life.

Spreadin’ the love

And the state that’s best at spreadin’ the love around is—Texas! In an interview*, the State of Texas said it likes the fantasy romance of The Princess Bride (24%), the spunky independence of 10 Things I Hate About You (22%), the reliable stability of Groundhog Day (21%), the charming vapidity of Clueless (19%), and Love Actually (14%) for its onion booty.

(*Conducted via IMAGINATION.)

cRaZy StUpId LoVe

Love makes you obsess over, and draw ridiculous conclusions about, the wrong things. Sounds like fun!

• Love Actually scored zero in 19 of 50 states. So 38% of the country hates love, actually.
• Clueless didn’t rate in 15 of 50 states (it’s possible those states just aren’t aware of the film).
• How could 12 states not fall for The Princess Bride? Inconceivable!
• A total of 11 states don’t seem to like Groundhog Day, including Pennsylvania, home of alpha ‘hog, Punxsutawney Phil. What happened? Did Phil step into a six-week emotional winter?
• Only eight states failed to resonate with 10 Things I Hate About You. Is that good? Let’s see . . . what’s 8 times 10? Gasp! Does that mean there are 80 things not to like about it?

Let us know what you think of your state’s favorite rom-com in the comments below. Then go live happily ever after—or just chill until something better comes along.

Methodology

To build our initial list of movies, we gathered titles from articles covering the best or most popular romantic comedies. We then analyzed the titles for average monthly search volume and compared them in Google Trends for the week of Valentine’s Day 2020 (2/9/2020–2/16/2020) to arrive at the five films included in this piece.

Which Rom-Com Is Your State in Love With?

As social distancing becomes the new normal, we want to see what rom-coms the world is watching.

During times like this, Americans turn to love and humor to keep warm. Here at CableTV.com, we’re also totally into laughable love stories, and we wondered if certain parts of the country are more obsessed with some titles than others.

What rom-com is the United States lovesick over? Apparently, we’re turning green with envy over Pretty in Pink, the throwback Molly Ringwald classic that stokes our 1980s nostalgia. It’s the belle of the ball, outshining other popular titles like Pretty Woman and About A Boy across large sections of the country.

How’d we arrive at which movie most states have been bitten with the love bug for? After analyzing this list from Google of the most popular romantic comedies, we cross-referenced it with Google Trends data to determine which movie folks in your state were snuggling up to.

Further digging into the data that romantic comedy preferences follow other viewing trends pretty closely. Take a closer look at what your state is lovesick for and why.

Hometown Heroes

We said it once and we’ll say it again. Everybody likes movies that hail from their hometown.

• Washington stays up late for Sleepless in Seattle.
• Alaska put a ring on The Proposal.
• It’s always 500 Days of Summer in California.
• Pennsylvania wins at the game of love with Silver Linings Playbook.
• For Hawaii, it feels like the first time every time in 50 First Dates.
• New Yorkers are always ready to check if You’ve Got Mail.
• Alabama brings it home with Sweet Home Alabama.

Regional Rom-Coms

Clusters of romantic comedies dominate certain areas of the country. In general, we find predictable patterns of viewing behavior that follow several of other mapped movie trends.

• Large parts of the South and Midwest keep it traditional with Pretty in Pink.
• The east coast has a preference for movies from across the pond.
  • West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Indiana are all crazy About a Boy.
  • Love Actually really is everywhere in Vermont.
  • Maryland is nuts about 4 Weddings and a Funeral.
  • Bridget Jones’s Diary is a bestseller in D.C.
• The Mountain West likes their romance with a side of sassy and snarky.
  • Utah’s got the method for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
  • The Princess Bride is Idaho’s fantasy escape.
  • Wyoming can’t help but fall in love with 10 Things I Hate About You.

Comedic Clichés

Some popular favorites by state enforce regional clichés that are just too good to pass up commenting on.

• Maine, which has the oldest median age in the United States, goes old school with It Happened One Night.
• Oregon keeps it weird with Amélie, a quirky French film about an off-beat romance.
• South Dakota, which rates in the top five highest birth rates in the U.S., gets Knocked Up a little more often.

Are you head over heels with the favorite romantic comedy from your state? Share the love.