Ranked: Which state has the most gamers per capita?

Gaming has set a new high score in popularity.

Three out of four people in the US today play video games, according to a study from The NPD Group (https://www.npd.com/news/press-releases/2020/more-people-are-gaming-in-the-us/), and 65% of those people play on more than one device, whether that’s a computer, a console, or a smartphone. For those who prefer to go on quests or defeat cunning opponents with a team, joining an online gaming community and gaming with friends is easier than ever, thanks to the availability of high-speed residential internet plans and lightning-fast fiber connections. 

There’s no doubt that gaming has exploded in popularity—so which state’s gaming community is the biggest per capita?

GetCenturyLink scored every state on six factors—population demographics, number of gaming conventions, number of social gaming groups, average internet download speed, number of residents that have computers, and 5G coverage—and we used these scores to find out which state’s gaming community has made it to the highest level. Here are the results: 

 Interesting Findings:

• Maryland has the largest gaming community per capita! Maryland has the most gaming Meetup groups per 100,000 people at 385 groups, it is in the top three for 5G coverage with an average of 53%, and over 39% of the state’s population is in the age range that makes up the majority of the gaming population.
• New Jersey came in a close second, with an average 5G coverage of 70% and the second most gaming Meetup groups at 264 per 100,000 people
• California’s gaming community ranked third. It has the highest number of gaming conventions and Comic-Cons of any state, with a total of 15 gaming-related events—10 gaming conventions and five Comic-Con events.
• Texas landed a fourth place spot, with 42% of its population falling in the typical gaming age range. They also have a total of 11 gaming events—six gaming conventions and five Comic-Cons.
• Delaware took fifth place, with the best average download speed of all the states at 58Mbps. This speed is 1350% higher than what’s needed for online multiplayer gaming, according to CenturyLink.

Methodology

To determine which states have the biggest gaming communities, we looked at the number of state residents between the ages of 15 and 44, according to the U.S. Census. We chose this age group because it makes up the largest gaming demographic, according to a report done by ESA. This was worth 20 percent of the final score.  

We looked at the number of gaming conventions (from Fancons.com and videogamecons.com)  and Comic-Cons per state, according to their official sites. This was worth 19.5 percent of the final score. 

We also counted the number of each state’s social gaming groups from Meetup. This was worth 17.5 percent of the final score. 

We looked at the states’ average download speeds, essential for online gaming, from measurementlab.com. This was worth 15.3 percent of the final score.

We also looked at the population of computer owners according to the U.S. Census. This was worth 6.5 percent of the final score.

Lastly, we looked at the states with the most 5G coverage on average from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. This was worth 21.2 percent of the final score.

In this scoring system, we wanted to focus more on the scores that assessed the size of the community, so those factors received a higher score than factors such as the number of people who have computers.

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