The New UFO Rankings
Delaware has officially taken the #1 spot in the latest UFO sightings per capita analysis. The study, released on March 11, 2026, examined 150,000 National UFO Reporting Center entries alongside social media data to calculate the odds of encountering a UFO sighting in each state. Delaware residents now report 1 sighting per 928 people. That’s a remarkable jump from fourth place in last year’s analysis.
Washington state held the crown for years, but it’s slipped to second place with 1 sighting per 977 residents. The state still boasts an impressive 7,595 documented sightings since 1974, but Delaware’s density is harder to ignore. New York rounds out the top three at 1 per 1,003 residents, with 8,314 total sightings on record. These numbers are based on rigorous analysis from casino.ca, which compiled decades of NUFORC data and cross-referenced it with contemporary social media reports.
What Are People Actually Seeing?
Delaware’s residents have been reporting some fascinating details. Many describe “flying cylinders with beaming lights,” a description that echoes accounts from other hotspots. In New York, witnesses frequently mention “white tic-tac-shaped objects” and “silver orbs flying overhead,” observations that align with historical UAP descriptions.
Washington’s sightings have maintained similar patterns, which is why the state remains a hotbed of activity despite the ranking shift. Oregon sits at fourth place with 1 per 1,054 residents, followed by Florida at 1 per 1,102. The data suggests certain regions simply attract more unexplained aerial activity, though researchers are still debating why.
The Nevada Surprise
Here’s where things get really interesting. Nevada, home to Area 51 and decades of classified aerospace testing, ranks only 19th in the nation at 1 per 1,657 residents. If anywhere should be a UFO hotspot, you’d think it would be the desert state with the most famous military base. Instead, Louisiana places last among all states at 1 per 3,464 residents. The national average works out to roughly 1 sighting per 1,770 people, with reported abduction odds at 0.056 percent across the US.
A Shift from Last Year
The timing is worth noting. When Coast to Coast AM covered a version of this study in October 2025, Washington was still holding strong at number one with a ratio of 1 per 1,021 residents. The shift to Delaware’s dominance happened in just the last few months, suggesting either a surge in Delaware reports or a recalibration of the methodology. Either way, it’s a remarkable reshuffling of the UFO hotspot hierarchy.
Canada’s rankings also shifted, with Alberta claiming the top spot at 1 per 568 residents, making it the hottest zone on the continent. Newfoundland came in last at 1 per 7,451.
What It Means
The data doesn’t explain why these hotspots exist, only that they do. Whether residents in Delaware are more observant, more likely to report sightings, or simply in areas with higher UAP activity remains an open question. The rankings serve as a useful map for paranormal researchers and enthusiasts tracking unexplained phenomena across North America.
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