Which states have had the most Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots?
(NEXSTAR) — Yet again, a pair of record and near-record lottery prizes are growing.
As of Monday, March 11, the estimated cumulative jackpots for the nation's largest draw games are $1.27 billion: $532 million in Powerball, and $735 million in Mega Millions. Your odds of winning either are slim — 1 in 292. 2 million for the Powerball jackpot, and 1 in 302.6 for the Mega Millions grand prize.
While some will argue there are ways to improve your odds, data does show that where you live could have an impact.
Since the 1990s, jackpots in both games have been hit hundreds of times — some states have sold dozens of those rare winning tickets.
Only five jurisdictions that participate in Powerball have yet to sell a jackpot-winning ticket, according to the game's data dating back to 2003: Maine, Mississippi, North Dakota, the Virgin Islands, and Washington.
Even fewer jurisdictions have sold jackpot-winning Mega Millions tickets. Game records dating back to 2002 show 18 states and the Virgin Islands are still searching for their first grand prize winner.
Alternatively, New York has had the most jackpot-winning tickets at 54: 42 from Mega Millions, 12 from Powerball. Some of those were split jackpots, meaning another winning ticket was sold elsewhere. For example, in October 2018, a ticket sold in New York split a $687.8 million Powerball jackpot with a ticket sold in Iowa.
After New York is California, where 50 grand prize tickets — 36 in Mega Millions, 14 in Powerball — have been sold. That includes a $394 million Mega Millions jackpot hit by two tickets sold at the same gas station.
New York has sold the most Mega Millions jackpot-winning tickets, followed by California. Only seven other states have had more than 10 jackpot winners: New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, and Maryland. Virginia is just shy of joining that group at nine jackpots.
The interactive map below shows how many grand prize tickets have been sold in each state, according to Mega Millions records.
Jackpots split by tickets sold in different states are included in each state's cumulative total.
As you can see, the more populated states have sold the largest swath of jackpot-winning Mega Millions tickets. The exception is Florida, where the game's top prize has only been won five times.
Florida has had better luck with Powerball jackpots, having 16 over the last two decades. That's two less than the leader, Pennsylvania. The latter hasn't had a jackpot-winning ticket since 2021, when a $516 million grand prize was hit in May of that year. Florida saw two jackpots last year alone.
Six other states have sold more than 10 jackpot-winning Powerball tickets: California, New York, Indiana, New Jersey, Missouri, and Louisiana. Wisconsin is close behind at nine.
The interactive map below shows the number of Powerball jackpot-winning tickets sold by state.
Like the Mega Millions map above, jackpots split by tickets sold in different states are included in each state's cumulative total. There are also five states that don't participate in either game.
A $842.4 million Powerball jackpot is the only grand prize to be won in either game this year.
The current Powerball jackpot sits at an estimated $532 million, with a cash value of roughly $260.1 million. At that size, the jackpot ranks as the 17th largest in the game's history. The next Powerball drawing is Monday at 10:59 p.m. ET.
At an estimated $735 million, the current Mega Millions jackpot ranks as the sixth-largest in game history. It has a cash value of roughly $356.7 million.
Tickets for both games start at $2. Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET. Mega Millions drawings are held at 11 p.m. ET every Tuesday and Friday.