- Vermont tops the list with the highest number of Olympic gold medal wins per 100,000 people.
- Maryland and Colorado are in second and third, respectively.
- Wyoming and Rhode Island come in last with zero Olympic gold medal wins.
Vermont Business Magazine A new study has revealed the states with the most Olympic gold medal wins, with Vermont taking the top spot.
Online casino review site Lucky Gambler analyzed data from Team USA to find the number of Olympic gold medals won by American athletes in the Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics and Paralympics since the first Olympics in 1896. Each gold medal win was categorized by the birth state of the athletes who won them. The total number of gold medals in each state was weighed against the population to calculate wins per 100,000 residents. The states with the highest rate of gold medals determined the ranking.
Vermont ranks top, with 2.63 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 people. The state has a total of 17 gold medals, five silver medals and four bronze medals. Vermont lands the top spot mainly thanks to Sarah Will, an alpine skiing champion with 12 gold medals to her name.
Coming in second place is Maryland, with 1.25 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 residents. From a population of 6.18 million, Maryland has 77 gold medals, 29 silver medals and 19 bronze medals. Leading the state with the most gold medals is Michael Phelps with a total of 23 for swimming.
Third in the ranking is Colorado, with 1.04 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 population. The state has a total of 61 gold medals, 39 silver and 28 bronze. Colorado’s most decorated gold medallist is Erin Popovich, a Paralympic swimmer with a total of 14.
New Hampshire places fourth, with 0.78 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 inhabitants. New Hampshire’s gold medal wins are led by Jenny Thompson, an Olympic swimmer with eight gold. The state has 11 gold, 14 silver and three bronze medals.
In a close fifth comes California, with 0.77 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 people. From a population of 38.96 million, California has 301 gold, 156 silver and 117 bronze medals.
Wisconsin comes in sixth, with 0.76 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 residents. Wisconsin has 45 gold, 22 silver and 21 bronze medals; the state’s most decorated medalist is Jean Driscoll, who has five gold medals for wheelchair racing.
Seventh on the list is Minnesota, with 0.68 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 people. The state has a total of 39 gold, 35 silver and 20 bronze medals. Paul Nitz, a Paralympic sprinter, leads Minnesota with the most gold medals – four in total.
In eighth place is Oregon, with 0.66 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 inhabitants. Don Schollander leads the state with seven gold medals for swimming. Oregon has a total of 28 gold, 12 silver and 17 bronze medals.
Hawaii ranks ninth, with 0.56 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 people. From a population of 1.44 million, Hawaii has a total of eight gold, five silver and three bronze medals.
Landing the tenth spot is Alaska, with 0.55 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 inhabitants. The state has a total of four gold, five silver and three bronze medals.
Wyoming and Rhode Island rank last, with zero Olympic gold medal wins per 100,000 people. Rhode Island has two silver and two bronze medals, whilst Wyoming only has one silver.
States ranked by number of Olympic gold medals per 100,000 residents
|
Rank |
State |
Gold medal wins |
Silver medal wins |
Bronze medal wins |
Olympic gold medals per 100,000 residents |
|
1. |
Vermont |
17 |
5 |
4 |
2.63 |
|
2. |
Maryland |
77 |
29 |
19 |
1.25 |
|
3. |
Colorado |
61 |
39 |
28 |
1.04 |
|
4. |
New Hampshire |
11 |
14 |
3 |
0.78 |
|
5. |
California |
301 |
156 |
117 |
0.77 |
|
6. |
Wisconsin |
45 |
22 |
21 |
0.76 |
|
7. |
Minnesota |
39 |
35 |
20 |
0.68 |
|
8. |
Oregon |
28 |
12 |
17 |
0.66 |
|
9. |
Hawaii |
8 |
5 |
3 |
0.56 |
|
10. |
Alaska |
4 |
5 |
3 |
0.55 |
|
11. |
New Jersey |
50 |
24 |
11 |
0.54 |
|
12. |
Illinois |
66 |
34 |
32 |
0.53 |
|
13. |
Utah |
16 |
21 |
15 |
0.47 |
|
14. |
Maine |
6 |
3 |
0 |
0.43 |
|
15. |
Indiana |
29 |
18 |
13 |
0.42 |
|
16. |
Washington |
33 |
33 |
21 |
0.42 |
|
17. |
Idaho |
7 |
7 |
1 |
0.36 |
|
18. |
Florida |
79 |
37 |
35 |
0.35 |
|
19. |
New York |
67 |
38 |
25 |
0.34 |
|
20. |
Oklahoma |
13 |
6 |
5 |
0.32 |
|
21. |
Ohio |
37 |
12 |
11 |
0.31 |
|
22. |
Michigan |
31 |
30 |
27 |
0.31 |
|
23. |
Georgia |
31 |
18 |
19 |
0.28 |
|
24. |
Massachusetts |
19 |
23 |
10 |
0.27 |
|
25. |
Kentucky |
12 |
10 |
11 |
0.27 |
|
26. |
Montana |
3 |
4 |
2 |
0.26 |
|
27. |
North Dakota |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0.26 |
|
28. |
Nebraska |
5 |
7 |
6 |
0.25 |
|
29. |
Virginia |
22 |
9 |
13 |
0.25 |
|
30. |
Arizona |
18 |
21 |
13 |
0.24 |
|
31. |
New Mexico |
5 |
5 |
4 |
0.24 |
|
32. |
Texas |
70 |
26 |
30 |
0.23 |
|
33. |
Kansas |
6 |
7 |
4 |
0.20 |
|
34. |
Louisiana |
9 |
9 |
4 |
0.20 |
|
35. |
Connecticut |
7 |
10 |
7 |
0.19 |
|
36. |
Pennsylvania |
25 |
14 |
20 |
0.19 |
|
37. |
Nevada |
6 |
13 |
8 |
0.19 |
|
38. |
Iowa |
6 |
5 |
3 |
0.19 |
|
39. |
North Carolina |
20 |
18 |
9 |
0.18 |
|
40. |
Mississippi |
5 |
6 |
3 |
0.17 |
|
41. |
South Carolina |
7 |
7 |
0 |
0.13 |
|
42. |
Missouri |
8 |
8 |
8 |
0.13 |
|
43. |
Tennessee |
9 |
3 |
2 |
0.13 |
|
44. |
Alabama |
6 |
13 |
3 |
0.12 |
|
45. |
South Dakota |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0.11 |
|
46. |
Delaware |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0.10 |
|
47. |
West Virginia |
1 |
2 |
3 |
0.06 |
|
48. |
Arkansas |
1 |
2 |
4 |
0.03 |
|
49. |
Rhode Island |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0.00 |
|
50. |
Wyoming |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.00 |
Serhii Bielyi, Marketing Director of Lucky Gambler commented on the findings:
“It’s interesting that so many gold medals have been won by American swimmers throughout history. This could suggest that the US has always maintained a brilliant system for aquatics training. It will be interesting to see which states make the ranking in the future as new Olympians begin to triumph. It would be great to see some more gold medal wins for the US at the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer.”
This study was conducted by Lucky Gambler, an online casino review site operating in the US.
Methodology: Data on American Olympic gold medal winners was sourced from Team USA. Gold medals were organized into states based on the birthplaces of the athletes who won them. The total number of gold medals per state was weighed against the population to calculate the amount per 100,000 people. The states with the greatest number of gold medals per 100,000 determined the ranking.
Sources: Team USA. 6.3.2024. Journo Research on behalf of luckygambler.com. Journo Research operates as luckygambler.com’s Digital PR agency.
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