Florida has a reputation for being the setting for some of the most unusual stories that make the headlines, but it’s also a frequent backdrop for true crime podcasters. An analysis by RSS of nearly 4,000 episode descriptions from ten of the most popular true crime series finds that no state had more attention from podcasters. The review finds that 8.9% of podcast episodes mention Florida, putting it well ahead of every other state.
“With a notorious reputation for wild stories, it’s no surprise that Florida tops the list,” RSS declares. “Well-known true crime stories coming out of Florida include the crimes of Ted Bundy and the events based around Tiger King.”
Texas ranks second as a go-to source of content for true crime producers. The Lone Star State was mentioned in 6.6% of the episodes analyzed. California ranked third at 6%, followed by New York (5.6%), Indiana (5%), Ohio (4.2%), Colorado (3.4%), Maine (3%), Alaska (2.9%), and North Carolina (2.9%).
But when looked at on a per capita basis based on a state’s population, RSS says Alaska has more mentions than any other state with 30 episodes mentions per one million people. Maine was next with 17 episode mentions per one million people, followed by Idaho with eight episode mentions per one million people.
The data is more than just podcast trivia. RSS says it sees a relationship between regional stories and listening behavior.
“In states like Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., the most popular true crime podcast is also the one that mentions the state most frequently in its episode descriptions,” RSS writes in a blog post. “This shows how typing a story to a specific location can resonate with listeners.”
That is backed up by Edison Research’s True Crime Consumer Report, which found that 45% of listeners who consume true crime stories on other platforms say they’d be “very likely” to listen to a podcast if it focused on their local area. But RSS also notes in its analysis that some podcasters could be missing out on that opportunity, with only one in five (19%) of the nearly 4,000 podcast episodes it analyzed mentioning a state by name in the descriptions.
Using Google Trends data from the past year, RSS also analyzed search interest to get a read on which true crime podcast is the most popular in each state. PodcastOne’s The Prosecutors was the most-searched show in eight states, including Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia.
SiriusXM’s Last Podcast On The Left ranked seven, topping the list in seven states including Illinois, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.
And Audiochuck’s Crime Junkie ranked third, as it was the most-searched podcast in six states, including Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, North Dakota, and Oklahoma.
