True crime is one of the biggest podcast genres, yet much of its audio opportunity remains untapped. Edison Research says 48 million Americans consume true crime content and podcasts but have yet to marry the two into listening to podcasts about true crime. Now a report from PrivacyJournal identifies the parts of the country with the largest true crime obsessions.
One of the study’s key takeaways is the prevalence of true crime obsession in Northeastern states. “This interest may be influenced by the region’s history, culture and literature, which conjures thoughts of events like the Salem Witch Trials, haunted hotspots like the Lizzie Borden house and Hotel Chelsea, and horror authors like Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King,” writer Kip Copson says in the report.
It is the District of Columbia that is the most obsessed with true crime overall, with more than double the number of true crime searches per 100,000 people (8,846.62) than Massachusetts, the state ranking in second place with 4,157.52 searches per 100,000 people. They’re joined by several other east coast states that top the study’s ranking of the top states for true crime obsession. These include New York (third), Connecticut (seventh) and New Hampshire (tenth).
Georgia — the state with the lowest level of interest in true crime — totaled just 2,155.64 searches per 100,000 people. In fact, five of the bottom eight states in this ranking (indicating they are the least obsessed with true crime) are in the South: West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Georgia.
For the entire United States, the average number of true crime searches per 100,000 people is 3,428.98.
Celebrity Cases, Serial Killers, Unsolved Mysteries
What kinds of crime rise to the top among true crime aficionados? Celebrity cases, serial killers, unsolved mysteries, and mysterious disappearances top the bill. “It’s also interesting to note that there were patterns in the types of cases people search for the most, whether at the top or the bottom of our true crime rankings — cases that left legacies so dark they’re forever seared into the nation’s memory,” Copson writes in the report.
Searches related to O.J. Simpson in the “famous murder cases” and “celebrity deaths” categories are the highest across the board. Among the most searched for serial killers are Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy, Aileen Wuornos and Jack the Ripper. Four Northeastern states sit at the top of the ranking for interest in unsolved mysteries and disappearances, though North Carolina comes in at number two. And the disappearances of Amelia Earhart, Natalie Holloway and Asha Degree have the highest number of searches in the top states in this category.
Those who consume true crime content spend on average 3.8 hours per week doing so; however, Gen Z averaged 4.6 hours per week. True crime fans were most likely to watch Netflix (62%) for true crime content, followed by YouTube (42%) and Prime Video (36%).Women are 2.5 times likelier than men to watch true crime as a means of preparation for being faced with potential dangers.
Fans report their motivations to watch true crime include curiosity (73%), followed by entertainment (46%), mystery (45%) and storytelling (33%). Half of Americans report enjoying true crime content; 13% of this number comprises people who say it’s their favorite genre. TV shows are the most common medium for consuming true crime content, at 52%, followed by movies at 39%.
Edison’s True Crime Consumer Report, released in September in partnership with Audiochuck, found 17% of the population aged 13 and older are primed for true crime podcast content. It showed that 22% of true crime fans used podcasts to consume material from the genre in the past year. That compares to 68% that watched something on television, 37% who watched a YouTube video, and 29% who saw something on social media. To convert more of those consumers into true crime podcast listeners, Edison Senior Research Director Gabriel Soto said their research finds telling stories from a local region has the biggest appeal. Nearly half (45%) of the true crime consumers it surveyed said that would make them listen to a podcast.
View PrivacyJournal’s True Crime Obsession report HERE.