As 2020 came to a close, the coronavirus pandemic continued to spread throughout the United States. The CDC recommended that Americans postpone their holiday travel plans and stay home in order to protect themselves and their loved ones. Although holiday travel was down significantly compared with the previous year, the Wednesday before Christmas was the busiest travel day at airports since pandemic restrictions began in March, exceeding the previous high set during Thanksgiving. In this study, AdvisorSmith examined anonymized records from mobile devices around the country to find the U.S. states and counties where people took the most trips over the Christmas holiday.
In this analysis, we considered trips of at least 100 miles or further. To determine the counties and states with the most Christmas travel, we counted the number of trips on a per capita basis taken by residents of each county and state as measured by anonymized mobile device data. We considered all trips taken between Dec. 20, 2020, and Dec. 26, 2020, in our analysis. Nationwide, there was an average of 36 trips taken per 1,000 people per day during this period.
Large Counties With the Most Christmas Travel
In large counties with over 100,000 residents, the average number of trips per 1,000 people per day taken over the week of Christmas was 37. Wisconsin had the highest number of large counties in the top 50, with six counties, followed by Georgia with five, and Texas and Missouri with four each.
| County | State | Trips per 1,000 People | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Woodbury County | IA | 106.0 |
| 2 | Coconino County | AZ | 102.5 |
| 3 | Lowndes County | GA | 94.5 |
| 4 | Webb County | TX | 93.6 |
| 5 | La Crosse County | WI | 87.4 |
| 6 | Navajo County | AZ | 81.7 |
| 7 | Washington County | UT | 80.6 |
| 8 | Houston County | GA | 76.1 |
| 9 | San Juan County | NM | 74.6 |
| 10 | Midland County | TX | 74.1 |
| 11 | St. Lawrence County | NY | 72.5 |
| 12 | Winnebago County | WI | 72.3 |
| 13 | Minnehaha County | SD | 70.9 |
| 14 | Doña Ana County | NM | 69.6 |
| 15 | Lackawanna County | PA | 68.9 |
| 16 | Imperial County | CA | 68.7 |
| 17 | Tom Green County | TX | 67.8 |
| 18 | Shasta County | CA | 67.6 |
| 19 | Onondaga County | NY | 66.9 |
| 20 | Brown County | WI | 66.5 |
| 21 | Sheboygan County | WI | 65.9 |
| 22 | Cass County | ND | 65.6 |
| 23 | Deschutes County | OR | 65.6 |
| 24 | Greene County | MO | 64.8 |
| 25 | DeSoto County | MS | 64.6 |
| 26 | Lexington County | SC | 64.3 |
| 27 | Franklin County | MO | 63.0 |
| 28 | Coweta County | GA | 62.3 |
| 29 | Boone County | MO | 61.7 |
| 30 | Kern County | CA | 61.2 |
| 31 | Smith County | TX | 61.2 |
| 32 | Cumberland County | PA | 60.8 |
| 33 | Marathon County | WI | 60.4 |
| 34 | Mohave County | AZ | 60.0 |
| 35 | Hamilton County | TN | 59.9 |
| 36 | Shelby County | TN | 59.2 |
| 37 | Elkhart County | IN | 59.1 |
| 38 | Faulkner County | AR | 59.1 |
| 39 | Blount County | TN | 58.7 |
| 40 | Eau Claire County | WI | 58.7 |
| 41 | Hanover County | VA | 58.3 |
| 42 | Douglas County | GA | 58.1 |
| 43 | Douglas County | OR | 57.7 |
| 44 | Jefferson County | NY | 57.6 |
| 45 | Iredell County | NC | 57.4 |
| 46 | Sarpy County | NE | 57.3 |
| 47 | Sebastian County | AR | 57.0 |
| 48 | Washington County | AR | 56.7 |
| 49 | Jasper County | MO | 56.7 |
| 50 | Bibb County | GA | 56.4 |
Midsize Counties With the Most Christmas Travel
The average number of trips in midsize counties was 53 per 1,000 people over Christmas week. For midsize counties, Wisconsin and Missouri had the highest number of counties in the top 50, with five counties each. These states were followed by New Mexico and Kansas, with four counties each in the top 50.
| County | State | Trips per 1,000 People | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lea County | NM | 142.2 |
| 2 | Monroe County | WI | 140.7 |
| 3 | Webster County | MO | 137.1 |
| 4 | McKinley County | NM | 134.8 |
| 5 | Adair County | MO | 126.1 |
| 6 | Ford County | KS | 124.3 |
| 7 | Sunflower County | MS | 118.9 |
| 8 | Buffalo County | NE | 112.4 |
| 9 | Sanpete County | UT | 112.0 |
| 10 | Oconto County | WI | 111.4 |
| 11 | Texas County | MO | 109.9 |
| 12 | Douglas County | MN | 107.4 |
| 13 | Howell County | MO | 106.9 |
| 14 | Laclede County | MO | 105.5 |
| 15 | Lyon County | KS | 104.9 |
| 16 | Finney County | KS | 102.9 |
| 17 | Apache County | AZ | 102.8 |
| 18 | Union County | MS | 102.4 |
| 19 | Trempealeau County | WI | 102.1 |
| 20 | Ellis County | KS | 101.3 |
| 21 | Iron County | UT | 100.5 |
| 22 | Grant County | NM | 100.4 |
| 23 | Laurens County | GA | 99.8 |
| 24 | Maverick County | TX | 99.8 |
| 25 | Plymouth County | IA | 98.6 |
| 26 | Lincoln County | WI | 97.6 |
| 27 | Gladwin County | MI | 97.3 |
| 28 | Monroe County | GA | 97.2 |
| 29 | Box Elder County | UT | 96.8 |
| 30 | Montgomery County | KY | 96.6 |
| 31 | Carter County | TN | 95.7 |
| 32 | Jefferson County | TN | 95.6 |
| 33 | Adams County | MS | 94.7 |
| 34 | Otero County | NM | 94.5 |
| 35 | Montgomery County | VA | 94.4 |
| 36 | Morrison County | MN | 94.2 |
| 37 | Brown County | TX | 93.2 |
| 38 | Laramie County | WY | 92.2 |
| 39 | Scotland County | NC | 92.2 |
| 40 | Glenn County | CA | 91.6 |
| 41 | Cerro Gordo County | IA | 91.2 |
| 42 | Calumet County | WI | 91.1 |
| 43 | Le Flore County | OK | 91.0 |
| 44 | Carter County | KY | 90.4 |
| 45 | Hall County | NE | 90.3 |
| 46 | Webster County | IA | 90.0 |
| 47 | Augusta County | VA | 89.5 |
| 48 | Wythe County | VA | 89.3 |
| 49 | Tift County | GA | 89.2 |
| 50 | LaGrange County | IN | 89.1 |
Small Counties With the Most Christmas Travel
In small counties with between 10,000 and 25,000 residents, the average number of trips per 1,000 people per day over Christmas week was 73. Minnesota led small counties in the top 50 with five counties on the list. Other states with a high number of small county travelers included Georgia, Iowa, and Missouri with four counties each.
| County | State | Trips per 1,000 People | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sevier County | UT | 246.8 |
| 2 | Oregon County | MO | 240.5 |
| 3 | Millard County | UT | 222.4 |
| 4 | Oglala Lakota County | SD | 190.5 |
| 5 | Ripley County | MO | 177.3 |
| 6 | Prowers County | CO | 173.2 |
| 7 | Bethel Census Area | AK | 168.5 |
| 8 | Reeves County | TX | 168.1 |
| 9 | Chickasaw County | IA | 166.6 |
| 10 | Roosevelt County | NM | 165.2 |
| 11 | Aitkin County | MN | 165.1 |
| 12 | Dakota County | NE | 163.9 |
| 13 | Cassia County | ID | 161.0 |
| 14 | Archuleta County | CO | 160.8 |
| 15 | Wayne County | MO | 159.6 |
| 16 | Pope County | MN | 153.6 |
| 17 | Pecos County | TX | 153.3 |
| 18 | Todd County | SD | 151.4 |
| 19 | Decatur County | TN | 150.9 |
| 20 | Bacon County | GA | 148.5 |
| 21 | Holt County | NE | 148.4 |
| 22 | Cottonwood County | MN | 148.0 |
| 23 | Adair County | KY | 144.2 |
| 24 | Crisp County | GA | 143.6 |
| 25 | Gooding County | ID | 136.4 |
| 26 | Keokuk County | IA | 135.9 |
| 27 | Grayson County | VA | 135.9 |
| 28 | Morrow County | OR | 133.8 |
| 29 | Missaukee County | MI | 131.3 |
| 30 | Kodiak Island Borough | AK | 130.8 |
| 31 | Poinsett County | AR | 130.6 |
| 32 | San Juan County | UT | 129.8 |
| 33 | Todd County | MN | 129.6 |
| 34 | Beckham County | OK | 128.2 |
| 35 | Bourbon County | KS | 127.9 |
| 36 | Macon County | GA | 127.7 |
| 37 | Trigg County | KY | 126.4 |
| 38 | Houston County | MN | 124.7 |
| 39 | Phillips County | AR | 124.6 |
| 40 | O'Brien County | IA | 124.5 |
| 41 | Kewaunee County | WI | 124.4 |
| 42 | Yuma County | CO | 123.3 |
| 43 | Washington County | GA | 122.7 |
| 44 | Goshen County | WY | 122.5 |
| 45 | Douglas County | MO | 122.2 |
| 46 | Clay County | SD | 120.5 |
| 47 | Franklin County | ID | 118.1 |
| 48 | Garrard County | KY | 118.0 |
| 49 | Jackson County | IA | 117.9 |
| 50 | Converse County | WY | 116.7 |
States With the Most Christmas Travel
The amount of Christmas travel on a per capita basis among the states and the District of Columbia varied widely. States which had the most trips taken were Wyoming, South Dakota, New Mexico, Iowa, and North Dakota. Residents of Northeast states including New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Washington, D.C. took the least number of trips, while the state with the least trips per capita was Hawaii.
| Rank | State | Trips per 1,000 People |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 76.3 |
| 2 | South Dakota | 76.2 |
| 3 | New Mexico | 70.0 |
| 4 | Iowa | 64.8 |
| 5 | North Dakota | 61.7 |
| 6 | Nebraska | 60.1 |
| 7 | Arkansas | 57.2 |
| 8 | Kansas | 57.2 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 52.2 |
| 10 | Mississippi | 51.6 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 51.2 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 51.0 |
| 13 | Missouri | 50.4 |
| 14 | Montana | 49.1 |
| 15 | Georgia | 47.6 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 46.1 |
| 17 | Utah | 45.9 |
| 18 | Idaho | 45.7 |
| 19 | North Carolina | 44.7 |
| 20 | South Carolina | 44.1 |
| 21 | Minnesota | 43.7 |
| 22 | Alabama | 42.1 |
| 23 | Indiana | 42.1 |
| 24 | Louisiana | 41.7 |
| 25 | Virginia | 40.4 |
| 26 | West Virginia | 37.9 |
| 27 | Michigan | 37.8 |
| 28 | Arizona | 36.3 |
| 29 | Illinois | 36.0 |
| 30 | Texas | 35.7 |
| 31 | Colorado | 35.4 |
| 32 | Ohio | 34.5 |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | 34.1 |
| 34 | Maine | 33.2 |
| 35 | Oregon | 31.7 |
| 36 | Nevada | 31.6 |
| 37 | Florida | 28.6 |
| 38 | Washington | 26.3 |
| 39 | Alaska | 26.2 |
| 40 | Vermont | 26.2 |
| 41 | New York | 26.2 |
| 42 | Maryland | 26.1 |
| 43 | California | 26.0 |
| 44 | Delaware | 22.0 |
| 45 | New Jersey | 21.2 |
| 46 | Connecticut | 20.3 |
| 47 | Rhode Island | 17.9 |
| 48 | Massachusetts | 17.2 |
| 49 | New Hampshire | 16.8 |
| 50 | Washington, D.C. | 14.0 |
| 51 | Hawaii | 7.7 |
Methodology
To determine the U.S. counties and states with the most travel over the week of Christmas, AdvisorSmith used data published by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics. This data set included anonymized cell phone location data from multiple data sources that tracked the number of trips taken by county residents from over 3,000 U.S. counties. This data set counted a trip if a mobile device spent more than 10 minutes in a location away from home.
To find the counties with the most Christmas travel, we counted the average number of trips over 100 miles that were taken by residents of each county on a per capita basis. Counties with the highest number of trips per capita were determined to have the highest number of trips over Christmas week. We considered all travel between the dates of Dec. 20, 2020, and Dec. 26, 2020, to be Christmas travel.
Our analysis segmented counties into three categories based upon the population size of each county. Counties with between 10,000 and 25,000 residents were considered small counties. Counties with between 25,000 and 100,000 residents were midsize counties, and large counties were those with over 100,000 residents.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Trips by Distance (Data Provided by Maryland Transportation Institute and Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory at the University of Maryland)