Last year, Father's Day spending reached an all-time high of almost $15.5 bn. Although the number pales in comparison with the amount that is spent each year on Mother's Day, Americans seem to be spending more every year -- so we wanted to find out how much effort goes into finding the perfect Father's Day gift online.

By looking at online search queries around Father's Day gifts, we tracked down differences by holiday and by state and discovered where the most thoughtful gift-givers live.

We also found out where Father's Day gifts for first time dads and for grandpas are the most popular, as well as which states like to get ahead of themselves by making gifts for soon-to-be-dads.

Keep reading to uncover the results and find out if you live in one of the winning states!

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Study Methodology

To find out what the search data revealed about Americans' gift-giving habits around Father's Day, we first looked at how many times people searched for Father's Day gifts and related terms in every state.

The collected data reflects searches made in the peak gift-searching period for this occasion - March - May. Generic Father's Day gift searches as well as very specific queries (e.g. 'father's day gifts for the dad who has everything') with at least 100 monthly searches were included in the count.

The total number of searches in each state was then adjusted per 1,000 inhabitants so that a comparison can be made. A more in-depth qualitative analysis was carried out to determine the user intention behind specific search queries and to find out where in the US the most thoughtful gift givers live.

Thoughtful gift-givers were defined as those who show an intention to find extraordinary Father's Day gifts, for example by searching for 'unique father's day gift ideas'.

All the Father's Day gifts searches that included the words meaningful, thoughtful, useful, personalized, fun, original, unique, awesome, funny, cool, and amazing were attributed to thoughtful gift-givers.

Besides looking at thoughtful gift givers, we also wanted to find out:

In which states first time dads are most likely to get a Father's Day present this year

Which states get ahead of themselves, in other words, where searches like 'father's day gifts for father to be' are at their highest

Which states cherish grandfathers the most, by looking at where the most searches for 'father's day gifts for grandpa' come from

What does the Data Reveal about Father's Day Gift-Giving Habits?

The States Most and Least Interested in Father's Day Gifts

The highest number of 'Father's Day gifts' searches per thousand people are performed in the District of Columbia (10.09), North Dakota (4.74) and Wyoming (4.63).

The states with the fewest 'Father's Day gifts' and related searches per thousand inhabitants are West Virginia, Wisconsin and Oregon, with 1.99, 2.62, and 2.79 searches respectively.

The States Where the Most Thoughtful Gift Givers Live

Thoughtful gift givers are those users who don't just look for random Father's Day gifts. They want something meaningful, unique, cool or useful - and these are exactly the search terms that they are using.

Although Mother's Day is more popular, so more people look for Mother's Day gifts than for Father's Day gifts in general, we found that the percentage of thoughtful 'Father's Day gifts' searches is higher than that of thoughtful 'Mother's Day gifts' searches across all states.

The most thoughtful Father's Day gift givers live in Vermont (11.15%), West Virginia (9.97%) and Wyoming(9.70%).

At the other end of the spectrum, Californians have the lowest percentage of meaningful Father's day gifts searches of all states, with only 6.47%. Massachusetts does only slightly better, with 6.54% and in Utah 6.72% of online Father's Day gifts queries are for meaningful gifts.

First Father's Day Gifts Are ~50% More Popular Than First Mother's Day Gifts

Despite what numbers tell us about total national spending, and despite the fact that there are more online searches for Mother's Day gifts than there are for Father's Day gifts overall, there are some kinds of dads who are more spoiled on this special day than their female counterparts.

At national level, the number of online searches for 'first Father's Day gifts' is 49.2% higher than that of 'first Mother's Day gifts' - 34,290 vs 22,980.

The top three states with the most searches of this kind per capita - and the only places where these searches make up more than 5% of the total volume - are Vermont, South Dakota and Alaska.

These States Like to Get Ahead of Themselves and Love Making Gifts for Future Dads

Not only are gifts for the first Father's Day celebration more popular than those for the first Mother's Day, it turns out that, even before the baby is due, dads-to-be get more gifts than future moms.

In West Virginia, South Dakota and Vermont, gift searches for fathers-to-be make up 3.88%, 3.55% and 3.46% of the total search volumes for that state, respectively. In comparison, gifts for moms-to-be represent only 2.22% of all searches in the top state for Mother's Day's presents for future moms (Vermont).

These States Give Grandpa Special Attention on Father's Day

Sometimes, when you have kids of your own, you start seeing yourself purely as a parent and forget you are also someone's child. But grandpas are, before anything else, great fathers, which is why they deserve to be treated with love and attention as much as any other dad.

These are the states that do it right when it comes to pampering elderly parents on Father's Day: Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois have the most searches for Father's Day presents for grandpa (0.92%, 0.79 % and 0.76%).

Wherever you are this Father's Day, be sure to give dad a chance to smile. Whether it's a handmade card, a heartfelt letter or a shared Father's Day experience that will bring you closer, give a gift that shows him how deeply you care and make this Father's Day one to remember.