Interest in Gold Prices by State

While the same Gallup poll indicates that gold’s reputation as a reliable asset varies by income and political affiliation, interest in gold also varies regionally. According to data collected from Google Trends over the past five years, residents in the western half of the country—particularly in the Mountain West and Alaska—show a much higher interest in gold relative to stocks when compared to residents in the eastern half of the U.S.

In states like Alaska, internet searches for terms containing “gold prices” outpaced searches for terms containing “stock prices” by a factor of more than three. This high level of interest can be attributed to the state’s rich history of gold mining and its economy, which relies heavily on natural resources. Similarly, states such as Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico also demonstrate a strong inclination toward gold as a financial asset, with approximately twice as many gold-related searches as stock-related searches in recent years.

In contrast, states in the eastern part of the country show a lower interest in gold relative to stocks. For example, residents in Virginia search for stock prices nearly twice as often as gold prices. Similar trends show in Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Despite lower interest in gold relative to stocks in eastern states, it’s important to note that gold-related searches still grew in 44 states when comparing search data from 2024 to 2019. Gold-related searches relative to stock-related searches grew by more than 10 percentage points nationally over this five-year period.

Below is a breakdown of the top and bottom states based on interest in gold prices relative to stock prices. The analysis was conducted by U.S. Money Reserve , a leading distributor of government-issued gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, using data from Google Trends. See Residents of These U.S. States Are More Interested in Gold Than Stocks on U.S. Money Reserve for additional information.