Full sourcing & methodology
Bigfoot sightingsBFRO database (Class A/B reports, as of Jul 2025).
Waffle HousesLocation counts via Waffle House locator / World Population Review (parsed Nov 2025); 25 states have zero — that's real.
UFO reportsNUFORC cumulative civilian reports since 1974, pulled from the NUFORC location index Jul 2026 — all 50 states.
Dollar Generalsstorelocators.com store list (Jul 2026); AK and HI have zero — also real.
Highest / lowest pointWikipedia "List of U.S. states by elevation" (Jul 2026); California and Louisiana dip below sea level, that's real too.
Craft breweriesBrewers Association state stats, 2025 season.
Roller coastersRCDB (Roller Coaster DataBase) census, Jul 2026; DE/HI/RI show zero currently operating.
Max interstate speed limitIIHS rural interstate figures, 2025.
National ParksWikipedia, Jul 2026 — 20 states have none.
Federally listed speciesUS Fish & Wildlife Service ECOS report, Jul 2026.
Fire departmentsUSFA National Fire Department Registry — summed from the full 27,117-department national CSV, not a summary page, Jul 2026.
Counties & land areaWikipedia, Jul 2026; average county size, population density, and fire-dept density are computed from these.
PopulationUS Census Bureau 2024 estimates (approx.).
Area codesNANPA (North American Numbering Plan Administrator) geographic area code assignments, compiled Jul 2026 — counts active geographic area codes per state, not overlays counted separately from splits.
Colleges & universitiesIPEDS (U.S. Dept. of Education), academic year 2024–25 data via univstats.com — includes all degree-granting and vocational institutions, public and private.
Chick-fil-AOfficial location count via World Population Review, Jul 2026; Alaska and Vermont are confirmed zero.
Sonic Drive-InCompany locator data via VinePair; the underlying table dates to a 2022 report even though the chain's total has grown since, so treat counts as directional rather than exact — Hawaii and Vermont are inferred zero (absent from the source, not independently confirmed), Maine and New Hampshire are confirmed zero.
CostcoLocator data via storelocators.com, Jul 2026; West Virginia, Wyoming, and Rhode Island are confirmed zero.
In-N-Out BurgerWorld Population Review (company locator data), Jul 2026 — only 8 states have any locations (CA, TX, AZ, NV, UT, CO, OR, ID); the other 42 are confirmed zero, matching the chain's well-documented West-only footprint.
IKEAWorld Population Review, updated Mar 2025 — counts full stores only; several additional states have pickup-point-only locations, which are not counted here and read as zero stores.
Buc-ee'sBrilliant Maps, sourced from Buc-ee's official site, Jul 2026, with an explicit full list of states without a location — 11 states have Buc-ee's, the rest are confirmed zero; the chain is expanding quickly, so treat as a snapshot rather than exact-to-the-week.
Cracker Barrel — droppedResearched but dropped for now — sources agree on the top-10 states and the ~6 states with none, but no single source gave a clean count for all 44 states with locations; will revisit if a full ScrapeHero-style table turns up.
Minor League BaseballWorld Population Review, 2026 season, sourced from MLB's own ballpark guide; counts full-season, named affiliate teams only (Jumbo Shrimp, Bulls, etc.) — excludes rookie-level complex-league squads that share a spring-training facility rather than a real ballpark, so this undercounts total MiLB rosters but reflects "teams you can actually go watch." 13 states are confirmed zero (AK, AZ, CO, HI, ID, LA, MT, ND, RI, SD, VT, WV, WY), named explicitly in the source.
Fortune 500 headquartersFortune's own 2026 list (ranked by fiscal 2025 revenue), compiled via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — this is the first entry in Money & business. Twelve states have zero, confirmed by name in the source: Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming.
NCAA Division I schools1keydata.com's state-by-state directory, cross-checked by counting listed institutions per state (they matched the published totals) — the site doesn't post an explicit update date, so treat this one as directional rather than exact-to-the-week; only Alaska has zero.
Wineries & distilleries — droppedResearched but dropped — the TTB's own permit database only ships as a bulk downloadable file, and third-party summaries (WineAmerica, etc.) only publish a top-10-states list, not a clean count for all 50.
Chase Bank branchesusasymbol.com branch locator snapshot, Jul 2026 — all 50 states have exact counts; Hawaii and Alaska are confirmed zero.
Gas stationsWorld Population Review, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — every state has at least some; Alaska has the fewest at 200.
Wells Fargo branchesWorld Population Review, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — 14 states are confirmed zero: Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia.
Bank of America — droppedResearched but dropped — only the top 10 states have exact published counts; the rest are listed as "has at least one" with no number, which fails the full-coverage bar.
Aldi storesWorld Population Review, via usasymbol.com, 2026 — 12 states are confirmed zero, all in the Mountain West or Pacific Coast.
Dunkin' DonutsDunkin' USA plus a supplementary count, via usasymbol.com, May 2026 — 7 states are confirmed zero: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington.
McDonald'sMcDonald's USA plus a 2021 247wallst.com count for non-top-10 states, via usasymbol.com — every state has at least one location; North Dakota has the fewest at 24.
SubwaySupplied store-count snapshot via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — covers 49 states; Iowa's count wasn't published by the source and is shown as no data rather than guessed at zero.
Data centersData Center Map database, via usasymbol.com, May 2026 — every state has at least 3; Vermont has the fewest.
Railroad milesAssociation of American Railroads, State Rankings 2021 — the most recent published edition; Hawaii is confirmed zero (no freight rail network).
Number of farmsUSDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture, via usasymbol.com/World Population Review — every state has farms; Rhode Island has the fewest at 1,000.
Major military basesMilBases.com catalog of active-duty installations, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — excludes National Guard and reserve sites; Minnesota and Vermont are confirmed zero.
EV charging stationsUS DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center, synced Jul 2026 (via usevchargingstations.info) — the federal system of record for charging infrastructure; every state has some, Alaska has the fewest.
Public libraries — droppedResearched but dropped — IMLS publishes the authoritative count, but only as a bulk data file or one-state-at-a-time directory pages, not a ready single-page 50-state table; will revisit with more time to parse the raw IMLS file.
Cattle inventory — droppedResearched but dropped — USDA's interactive query tool wouldn't complete without a registered API key.
Golf coursesNational Golf Foundation and USGA data, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — rounded estimates; every state has at least 20 courses, Alaska has the fewest.
CasinosWorld Population Review's Apr 2026 compilation of American Gaming Association and tribal regulator data, via usasymbol.com — includes commercial and tribal properties; Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont are confirmed zero.
AZA-accredited zoos & aquariumsAssociation of Zoos & Aquariums accreditation list, via usasymbol.com, Mar 2026 — Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Wyoming are confirmed zero; unaccredited zoos and roadside animal parks aren't counted.
Ski areasNational Ski Areas Association Kottke End-of-Season Survey, 2024/25 season, via usasymbol.com — 13 states are confirmed zero, including Texas, Florida, and Hawaii.
VeteransWorld Population Review's 2024 state table, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — raw veteran population counts; every state has veterans, Alaska has the fewest in absolute terms despite leading per capita.
LighthousesARLHS World List of Lights, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — active and historic lights; 15 inland states are confirmed zero.
National forestsU.S. Forest Service Land Areas Report, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — forest count (not acreage); 10 states are confirmed zero.
National monumentsNational Park Service designation list, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — 17 states are confirmed zero.
Amazon employeesAmazon's own investment data as of May 2025, via World Population Review/usasymbol.com — Vermont is not listed by the source and is shown as no data rather than guessed at zero.
Electoral votesU.S. National Archives, based on 2020 Census reapportionment, via usasymbol.com, Jun 2026 — applies to the 2024 and 2028 elections; every state has at least 3.
CoastlineNOAA general coastline measurement, via usasymbol.com, Jun 2026 — measures the outer ocean coast only; 27 landlocked states are confirmed zero (a matter of geography, not missing data).
Public land shareCongressional Research Service federal land ownership data (2018 baseline), via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — share of each state managed by BLM, Forest Service, Fish & Wildlife Service, NPS, or DoD; excludes state and local public land.
Farmland acresUSDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — every state has farmland; Rhode Island has the fewest acres, Alaska the smallest share of state land.
Median household incomeU.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2023, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — Maryland highest at $98,461, Mississippi lowest at $49,111.
Median ageWorld Population Review 2024 estimates based on Census Bureau data, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — Maine highest at 44.8 years, Utah lowest at 32.0.
Unemployment rateU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), seasonally adjusted, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — California highest at 5.5%, Hawaii and South Dakota tied lowest at 2.2%.
Poverty rateU.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2023, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — Louisiana highest at 18.9%, New Hampshire lowest at 7.2%.
Cost of living indexMERIC/C2ER Cost of Living Index, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — 100 represents the national average; Hawaii highest at 186.8, West Virginia lowest at 83.6.
Life expectancyCDC National Center for Health Statistics, 2021 state-level estimates, via usasymbol.com, Jul 2026 — Hawaii highest at 81.6 years, Mississippi lowest at 71.9.