Luxury means a lot of different things to different people: for some, it’s a Michelin-starred dinner, while for others it’s chartering a yacht in turquoise waters, spending a day shopping at high end boutiques or staying in a lavish hotel with attentive service and a beautiful view.
A new study by Navigare Yachting reveals each state’s favorite luxury experience, based on five years of Google search data across all 50 states (and the District of Columbia) from October 2020 through October 2025. The analysis looked at interest in five indulgent categories—wellness retreats, yacht charters, Michelin-starred restaurants, luxury villas and luxury train rides—then normalized the data to determine how residents in each state prefer to spend their luxury dollars.
Of those five options, yacht charters dominated, ranking as the top choice in 36 states, particularly across the South and Midwest. Michelin-starred dining came in second, winning 13 states including California, New York and Illinois. Only two states—Montana and Vermont—favored wellness retreats, while luxury villas and train rides didn’t gain traction. (We think that’s a shame: a scenic luxury train ride through the countryside sounds pretty spectacular.)
Here’s how each state prefers to splurge, organized by favorite luxe experience:
Yacht charter
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Florida
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Mexico
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Michelin-starred dining
California
Colorado
Hawai’i
Illinois
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Montana
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
North Dakota
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Washington, D.C.
Wellness retreat
Vermont
Wyoming