Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-crowd-of-people-watching-a-woman-on-a-stage-sD8RRiYwm6A

A new study reveals Taylor Swift is the most searched-for celebrity in America and is the most Googled star in every state.

Swift amasses over 1.05 million Google searches each month, more than double the number of searches made by Kanye West, the next most Googled celebrity.
Kanye’s average monthly searches are over 389,800, with Elon Musk following in third place with an average of over 374,400 searches.

A new study has uncovered the celebrities Americans are most obsessed with, naming Taylor Swift as the most Googled star this year.

The study, conducted by the online casino comparison website OnlineKajino, examined over 100 celebrity names on Google to determine those with the highest average monthly searches between January 2024 and September 2024. Additional data was scraped on the states with the highest searches per 100,000 residents for each top celebrity, as well as comparing the average number of searches this year to the average for all of 2023.

Taylor Swift is the talk of the town this year, ranking as the most Googled celebrity in every state. Swift averages over 1.05 million monthly searches, with the highest search volume for her being in Nevada, where residents search for all things Swift-related at a rate of 3,403 searches per 100,000 residents.

The most popular search phrase is related to her net worth, with over 572,000 average monthly searches for 'Taylor Swift net worth' on Google. Swift has managed to keep her popularity with roughly the same average monthly searches this year compared to last year, seeing only a small drop of 1.6%.

The next most popular celebrity is Kanye West, with over 389,800 monthly searches so far this year. Kanye’s biggest fans are in New York, with 1,344 searches for all things Kanye per 100,000 people. According to the data, though, interest in Kanye has dropped by 8.2% this year compared to 2023.

The third most popular is Elon Musk, who averages over 374,400 monthly searches, a high figure still, but a 9.4% drop in searches this year compared to last. Musk is searched most often by Nevadans. Musk’s largest peak in searches was back in January 2023, when he was searched over 558,000 times.

In fourth place is LeBron James, with an average of over 299,500 monthly searches. His biggest fans are in Georgia, and LeBron has managed to marginally increase his interest, with searches rising 1.2% since average searches in 2023. So far this year, LeBron’s peak searches were in July, amassing an average of over 412,800 Google searches then.

Selena Gomez ranks fifth most searched-for this year, gaining an average of 265,162 monthly searches, an increase of 16.3% since 2023. Selena’s biggest searchers are in California where there are over 1,100 searches per 100,000 residents for her.

After beefing with Kendrick Lamar earlier this year, Drake ranks as the sixth-most searched-for figure. The rapper saw over 264,400 searches on average each month this year, a rise of 41% compared to 2023’s average number.

Following him is movie star Tom Cruise, with over 249,000 monthly searches on average. Cruise is followed by upcoming Wicked star Ariana Grande with over 233,300 searches - an increase of 14% compared to last year.

Finishing off the list are Keanu Reeves, with over 229,900 monthly searches, and Rihanna, with over 226,600 average monthly searches. Both stars have seen a dramatic drop of over 40% in searches compared to last year.

Commenting on the findings, Hekima Yoshida, head editor at OnlineKajino, said, “Celebrity lives are more accessible than ever through social media, and so fans and even non-fans are captivated by the glimpses of glitz and glamour in the everyday lives of big stars. Yet, it is important to remember that celebrities are human too and they deserve a right to privacy.

“The study highlights just how fascinated we are by public figures, with Americans making millions of Google searches related to celebrities each month. These searches help keep stars relevant, and it’s interesting to see how the world’s relationship with celebrities evolves. For instance, after this year’s Met Gala, many people began unfollowing influencers, leading to stars like Kim Kardashian losing hundreds of thousands of followers. While most audiences remain captivated by celebrities still, we may be entering a new era in how we approach them and the parasocial relationships we develop with them online. “

“People often search for relatability in celebrities - they want to know about their daily life, their heartbreaks, love stories, and more. But it is important to remember that celebrities are paid to maintain an image. Even when they share regular updates or when news outlets claim to reveal their ‘real’ lives, much of it is carefully curated and the whole picture is never seen. While it’s fascinating to peek into their world, it’s key to remember our own lives are just as interesting too.”

Sources:

Google Keyword Planner

Methodology:

1. A list of 955 search terms was generated by combining the names of the 100 most Googled celebrities, alongside news sources such as ‘TMZ,’ ‘Celebrity Insider’ and ‘E! News’ and general search terms such as ‘celebrity news.’ Templates for celebrity-specific search terms include ‘[celebrity] + news,’ ‘[celebrity] + net worth,’ ‘[celebrity] + wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend’ and ‘[celebrity] + height/age.’ Searches were collected from January 2024 to September 2024.

2. The total average monthly search volume for all combined search terms was collated.

3. From this, information on the most searched-for celebrities was collected and then ranked, with additional information on the top 5 states that are most interested in the top celebrities gathered (based on the highest number of searches per 100,000 residents).

4. Additional information was gathered on each celebrity’s peak average monthly search volume since January 2023, with data collected including all months from January 2023 to September 2024.

5. The change in interest since the 2023 average monthly searches for each celebrity was then calculated and included in the final table.