Official state songs rarely win in search. Of 16 state pairs, the unofficial anthem gets more US searches in 14. "Sweet Home Alabama" (~151,417/mo) dwarfs searches for Alabama's state song (~1,174), and "Empire State of Mind" (~25,592) beats "I Love New York" (~11,483). The exceptions are Kentucky, where "My Old Kentucky Home" (the Derby song) wins, and Virginia, whose retired song "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" is the weak challenger. Even "Georgia on My Mind" narrowly loses to "Midnight Train to Georgia". Among official songs overall, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (West Virginia, ~78,875) and "You Are My Sunshine" (Louisiana, ~50,000) lead.
Official vs unofficial anthem (US monthly searches)
| # | State | Official term | Avg/mo | Unofficial anthem | Avg/mo | Unofficial ÷ official |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | alabama state song | 1,174 | sweet home alabama | 151,417 | 129.0x |
| 2 | Wisconsin | on wisconsin | 2,392 | jump around | 35,617 | 14.9x |
| 3 | Nevada | home means nevada | 1,297 | viva las vegas | 18,683 | 14.4x |
| 4 | California | california state song | 1,732 | california love | 18,575 | 10.7x |
| 5 | Colorado | colorado state song | 1,012 | rocky mountain high | 10,558 | 10.4x |
| 6 | Ohio | ohio state song | 1,391 | hang on sloopy | 12,675 | 9.1x |
| 7 | Tennessee | rocky top | 24,558 | tennessee whiskey | 141,792 | 5.8x |
| 8 | Texas | texas our texas | 1,315 | deep in the heart of texas | 5,400 | 4.1x |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | pennsylvania state song | 1,131 | streets of philadelphia | 4,483 | 4.0x |
| 10 | Arizona | arizona state song | 1,072 | by the time i get to phoenix | 4,000 | 3.7x |
| 11 | Illinois | illinois state song | 1,338 | sweet home chicago | 4,500 | 3.4x |
| 12 | New York | i love new york | 11,483 | empire state of mind | 25,592 | 2.2x |
| 13 | Oklahoma | oklahoma song | 5,067 | okie from muskogee | 6,200 | 1.2x |
| 14 | Georgia | georgia on my mind | 11,225 | midnight train to georgia | 12,325 | 1.1x |
| 15 | Virginia | virginia state song | 1,483 | carry me back to old virginny | 814 | 0.5x |
| 16 | Kentucky | my old kentucky home | 7,492 | blue moon of kentucky | 2,892 | 0.4x |
Most-searched official state-song terms
| # | Search term | Avg/mo (last 12 mo) | 3-yr change | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | take me home country roads | 78,875 | +140% | Jul |
| 2 | you are my sunshine | 50,000 | -1% | Oct |
| 3 | home on the range | 36,183 | +9% | Jan |
| 4 | alaskas flag | 27,175 | +30% | May |
| 5 | yankee doodle | 26,467 | +37% | Oct |
| 6 | rocky top | 24,558 | -16% | Oct |
| 7 | i love new york | 11,483 | -18% | Jan |
| 8 | georgia on my mind | 11,225 | -11% | Apr |
| 9 | my old kentucky home | 7,492 | -4% | May |
| 10 | oklahoma song | 5,067 | -8% | Oct |
| 11 | texas state song | 3,075 | +37% | May |
| 12 | on wisconsin | 2,392 | +11% | Sep |
| 13 | florida state song | 1,748 | +23% | May |
| 14 | california state song | 1,732 | +63% | May |
| 15 | old folks at home | 1,675 | +29% | Jan |
| 16 | tennessee state song | 1,582 | +40% | Jul |
| 17 | virginia state song | 1,483 | +25% | Apr |
| 18 | ohio state song | 1,391 | +20% | Nov |
| 19 | connecticut state song | 1,345 | +406% | Nov |
| 20 | illinois state song | 1,338 | +84% | May |
| 21 | texas our texas | 1,315 | +25% | Apr |
| 22 | home means nevada | 1,297 | -6% | Oct |
| 23 | georgia state song | 1,244 | +27% | May |
| 24 | new york state song | 1,224 | +35% | May |
| 25 | alabama state song | 1,174 | +33% | May |
What it means
Music travels, but language still shapes what people go looking for. If you have a hook of your own, an AI song generator can turn it into a full track with vocals in a few minutes. For a soundtrack to your own day, an AI music generator can score it to whatever mood you need.
Method
- US Google search volume (English), monthly, Oct 2022–Sep 2026. 'Avg/mo' = mean of the latest 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026); '3-yr change' = latest 12 months vs Oct 2022–Sep 2023.
- National US volumes. Where the official song has a generic title, "[state] state song" is used.
- Excluded ambiguous unofficial titles: Kansas City, Albuquerque, Oregon Trail, Purple Rain, Born to Run, Lose Yourself. "Jump Around" (Wisconsin) is kept but is mostly the House of Pain song.
Cite and download
Free to use and cite with a link back to this page.
aisong.lol Research. (2026). Official state songs vs the songs residents actually search. aisong.lol. https://aisong.lol/research/official-state-songs-vs-the-songs-residents-actually-search
Use this data. Every table in this study as one spreadsheet-ready file.
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