UFO culture used to live on the fringes—late-night radio, grainy VHS footage, the guy at the party nobody wanted to get stuck talking to. That era is over. The government has acknowledged unexplained aerial phenomena, the Pentagon has released footage, and 65% of Americans now believe intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. The skies got a lot more interesting.
BetUS analyzed data from the National UFO Reporting Center dating back to 2015 to rank the cities with the most concentrated sightings. Before you pack your binoculars, the data offers a few useful starting points: sightings peak at 9 p.m., November is the most active month nationally, and the following cities are where your odds are highest.
1. Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix leads the country with 272 reported sightings since 2015, which surprises nobody who’s spent time in the Arizona desert. The skies are enormous, light pollution drops off quickly outside the city, and the area has been reporting unexplained aerial sightings since at least the famous 1997 Phoenix Lights incident. November is peak season, though the conditions are good pretty much any time of year.
2. New York, New York
There’s a reason Men in Black is set in Manhattan. New York comes in second with 266 sightings since 2015, which is remarkable given how much light pollution the city emits. July is the peak month, so apparently whatever’s up there has no problem with the humidity.
3. Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas has had 250 sightings since 2015 and sits less than 100 miles from Area 51, which is either a coincidence or not. July is the best month for sightings here, and the surrounding Nevada desert offers some extremely dark skies once you leave the Strip behind.
4. Portland, Oregon
218 sightings since 2015 and a city motto that actively encourages weirdness. Portland’s reputation for taking the unconventional seriously likely means the reporting rate is higher here than most places—if someone sees something, they’re going to say something. July is peak season.
5. Los Angeles, California
LA has had 211 sightings since 2015, which raises the reasonable question of how many of those were drones, film shoots, or someone’s mushroom trip. Still, November is peak month, and if anywhere on earth is going to be a destination for extraterrestrial tourism, it’s probably Los Angeles.
The Full Top 10:
- Phoenix, AZ – 272 sightings
- New York, NY – 266
- Las Vegas, NV – 250
- Portland, OR – 218
- Los Angeles, CA – 211
- Boise, ID – 210
- Albuquerque, NM – 162
- Chicago, IL – 148
- Seattle, WA – 147
- Denver, CO – 143
For the complete top 20 and an interactive tool to explore sightings by state, the full study is available at BetUS.
If none of these cities work for your schedule, the data suggests your best universal strategy is to step outside at 9 p.m. in November and look up. It won’t cost anything, and the worst-case scenario is a nice night outside.
The post The 10 U.S. Cities Where You’re Most Likely to See a UFO, Ranked appeared first on VICE.
