What is America’s favorite (and least favorite) month?
As cold winter days drag on for many parts of the country, Americans may be looking forward to the warmer days of spring. But at least the worst month of the year (for many) has already passed.
A new YouGov survey of more than 15,000 US adults shows that January is the most disliked month. About one-quarter (26%) of those who have a least favorite month chose the first month of the year as the worst one. February also doesn’t fare well, with 21% saying it’s their least favorite month. August comes in a distant third, on 11%.
As for the most popular month, October is top of the list among those with a favorite month. About one in seven (15%) say this is their most-liked time of year. May and December also tend to fare well, both getting 12% of the vote – although December is more likely to feature on the least favorite month list than May (9% vs 2%).
Americans’ favorite months may have changed slightly over time, though October and May have remained fairly popular. In a 1960 poll, 19% said May was their favorite month, while 18% chose June. July and October tied at 10%. February came in last, with just 1% saying this was their favorite month.
Another poll, conducted by Gallup in 2005 found May at the top of the list once again with 14% saying this was their favorite month. October (13%) was a close second, followed by a tie at 12% for June and December.
Previous polling from YouGov finds that Americans overall are about equally likely to choose spring (30%), summer (28%), or fall (28%) as their favorite season. Only 10% say winter is their favorite season.
See full results here.
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Methodology: 15,120 US adults were asked “Which of the following would you say is your favorite month of the year?” and “Which of the following would you say is your least favorite month of the year? with response options spanning 12 months, as well as options for “don’t know” and “N/A - I don’t have a favorite month” and “N/A - I don’t have a least favorite month.” The sample has been rebased to only include adults who had a favorite or least favorite month. The rebased sample of US adults who have a favorite month is 13,141 US adults. The rebased sample of US adults who have a least favorite month is 11,816. The survey was conducted between February 10 - 17, 2021. The responding sample is weighted to be representative of the US population.
Image: Getty