America’s Friendliest States — 2026 Study 

The ways in which Americans connect vary widely by state. A range of factors contribute to a place’s overall character, but the time residents spend socializing, volunteering and helping people outside their own homes can shape how friendly it feels.

SmartAsset analyzed the 50 states by the number of minutes per day residents spend on these three “friendly activities,” using time and action as measures of how communities connect. The results offer a behavioral snapshot of where residents spend the most time engaging with others in their communities.

Key Findings

• The Mountain West leads the rankings. Montana (No. 1), Utah (No. 2), and Wyoming (No. 3) took the top spots in the study, with residents of Montana averaging a nation-leading 95 minutes per day socializing, volunteering and helping others.

• Mountaineers are the most likely to help others. Although West Virginia ranked No. 24 overall, its residents spent more time than any others providing unpaid help to people outside their own homes, about 30 minutes per day. 

• Rankings challenge some stereotypes. Despite its reputation for “Minnesota Nice,” Minnesota ranked No. 11, just outside the top 10. Washington, home to Seattle and its “Seattle Freeze” reputation, ranked No. 10.

• Three Northeast states in the top 20. Although residents of Northeastern states are not always seen as especially warm by outsiders, three states in the region made the top 20: Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maryland.

The 20 Friendliest States

1. Montana
   • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 43.36
   • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 35.62
   • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 15.89
2. Utah
   • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 38.24
   • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 32.46
   • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 20.95
3. Wyoming
   • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 35.57
   • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 40.49
   • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 7.07
4. Oregon
   • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 53.74
   • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 14.85
   • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 12.36
5. Illinois
   • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 32.37
   • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 14.12
   • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 28.43
6. Rhode Island
   • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 52.15
   • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 5.33
   • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 17.35
7. Nebraska
   • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 39.3
   • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 11.08
   • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 24.06
8. North Dakota
   • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 35.5
   • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 24.61
   • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 12.88
9. Missouri
   • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 43.44
   • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 16.05
   • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 11.86
10. Washington
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 30.59
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 24.04
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 14.92
11. Minnesota
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 30.33
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 11.75
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 25.18
12. Massachusetts
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 35.38
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 9.63
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 20.91
13. Wisconsin
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 36.51
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 8.46
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 20.86
14. Colorado
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 27.08
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 16.82
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 20.31
15. Maryland
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 26.05
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 25.72
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 12.39
16. Michigan
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 38.9
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 11.21
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 12.98
17. Tennessee
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 33.82
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 9.45
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 19.53
18. South Dakota
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 41.61
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 0.21
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 20.61
19. Hawaii
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 26.3
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 14.84
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 20.98
20. Virginia
    • Average Minutes Spent Socializing (daily): 38.96
    • Average Minutes Spent Volunteering (daily): 10.92
    • Average Minutes Spent Helping Others (daily): 11.97

Methodology

This study uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey, extracted from IPUMS, over the most recent available four-year period. For each state, SmartAsset calculated the average daily minutes residents spent socializing, volunteering, and helping people outside the household. Those three measures were then equally weighted and summed to produce a total time value used to rank the states. Source data providers are not affiliated with, and do not endorse or sponsor, this study or its findings.

Sarah M. Flood, Liana C. Sayer, Daniel Backman and Annie Chen. American Time Use Survey Data Extract Builder: Version 3.3 [dataset]. College Park, MD: University of Maryland and Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2025. https://doi.org/10.18128/D060.V3.3

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/Liudmila Chernetska