Which States Are Aliens Most Likely to Land (According to Movies)

Some parts of the U.S. are more likely to be visited by aliens than others if movies are any indication of what we can expect from extra-terrestrials.

A new map created at AtlasObscura.com charts where aliens have most commonly been seen to land in popular movies.

States Where Aliens Have Landed The Most

It’s probably not a surprise California and New York are the top two states featured as arrival points for aliens on the big screen.

Atlas Obscura lists 14 different instances of California being used as a landing spot in movies starting with 1953’s It Came From Outer Space. The state was most recently visited by aliens in 2013’s Dark Skies.

New York comes in second with seven different films including Men In Black, Batteries Not Included and The Day The Earth Stood Still.

The southwest also is a popular setting for movie aliens. Residents of New Mexico and Arizona can each claim four titles when they received a visit from another planet.

States Where Aliens Never Seem To Visit

Aliens apparently have no interest in visiting the Pacific Northwest. Atlas Obscura couldn’t find a single movie with an alien encounter in Washington, Oregon or Idaho. 

Parts of the Midwest also are waiting for their first on-screen alien life-form. The Dakotas, Nebraska and Michigan are all void of visitors from other planets

“Well, who ever heard of an alien craft landing in the rain?” Atlas Obscura asked “If it weren’t for two sightings in Montana and Wyoming each, that no-Ufo zone would extend all the way to Minnesota.

How The Rest Of The World Is Represented In Sci-Fi Movies

Movie aliens aren’t terribly adventurous outside of the U.S. London continues to be the most likely international location scenes.

Most of South America, Africa and Asia are encounter-free according to Atlas Obscura’s research.

The website did note 2016’s Arrival as being the movie to span the most locations on the map. In the film, contact is made in Montana, Russia, Pakistan, Greenland, China, Sudan and Venezuela. 

“In general, however, non-American aliens are more discriminating in their choice of landing locations,” Atlas Obscura reported.

To compare how states are represented in movies vs, real life, here is a breakdown of states with the most the most reported UFO sightings.