6 States Where Holiday Spending Has Grown the Most

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Whether it’s tariffs, inflation or simply more people to buy for, it seems holiday spending is increasing. In fact, the National Retail Federation predicted that holiday spending will be up between 3.7% and 4.2% in 2025.

But how does holiday spending vary by location? SmartAsset recently looked at holiday shopping trends by state. Here are six states that SmartAsset ranked as the states where holiday spending grew the most last year.

Also see the 10 states most likely to overspend this holiday season.

1. Nebraska

Year-over-year holiday spending between 2022 and 2023 actually declined by about 14.6% in Nebraska. But the state made up for it in 2024, with a 31.7% increase. Additionally, shoppers in Nebraska are nearly 16% less likely to shop online than they are to shop in-store.

2. South Carolina

Annual change in holiday spending between 2022 and 2023 rose just 3%, so 2024’s increase was substantial. Shoppers in South Carolina spent 23.4% more in 2024 than in the previous year and were almost 23% less likely to shop online versus in-store.

3. Nevada

With a 10.5% year-over-year increase in 2023, this state’s growth in 2024 wasn’t as astounding as the growth in the top two states, but it’s still worth noting. Last year’s spending grew 17.8% compared with a 10.5% increase the year before. 

4. Maryland

This is where things start to level out a bit, with Maryland and the next two states seeing growth between 14% and 15%. Maryland specifically saw a holiday spending increase of 15.9% in 2024 compared with a nearly 3.1% increase in 2023.

5. Virginia

Though in contention for the No. 4 spot, Virginia’s year-over-year spending increased nearly 15.8%, keeping it in the top five, but just barely. Shoppers in Virginia were also 12.8% more likely to shop online versus in-store, which made it notably different from the first three states on this list. 

6. Mississippi

Rounding out the top states in holiday spending is Mississippi, with shoppers’ holiday spending increasing by 15.1%. These shoppers were also 35.8% less likely to shop online versus heading out to a store.

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