Which states partied the hardest this Independence Day? New HRV data reveals the winners
The Fourth of July is one of America's biggest celebrations, filled with fireworks, barbecues, travel, and late nights. But what did it actually do to people's bodies? To find out, Welltory analyzed anonymous nervous system data from 19,000 users, collected around the Independence Day (2026) weekend.
States that partied the hardest
We also ranked the states that appeared to celebrate the hardest by measuring how much people's nervous systems were activated compared with their normal baseline during the holiday.
This captures excitement, stimulation, staying up late, socializing, fireworks, alcohol, crowds, and celebrations, making it the closest physiological proxy for "partying."
| Rank | State | Activation above baseline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | +6.62 |
| 2 | Connecticut | +6.32 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | +5.83 |
| 4 | Michigan | +5.58 |
| 5 | Indiana | +5.39 |
| 6 | Utah | +5.06 |
| 7 | New York | +4.97 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | +3.46 |
| 9 | Missouri | +2.76 |
| 10 | Virginia | +2.73 |
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States That Felt It the Most
Higher activation doesn't always mean people finished the day feeling the most exhausted. We also ranked states by energy drain—how much energy people had lost by the end of the day compared with their normal baseline.
| Rank | State | Energy drain above baseline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | +1.51 |
| 2 | Georgia | +0.91 |
| 3 | Florida | +0.82 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | +0.48 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | +0.38 |
Methodology
The analysis is based on anonymous HRV (heart rate variability) data collected by Welltory users during the Independence Day holiday period.
For the "States That Partied the Hardest" ranking, we measured Activation—how much more activated the nervous system was compared with each person's normal baseline. Higher activation reflects a greater amount of excitement, stimulation, staying up late, socializing, fireworks, alcohol, crowds, and celebrations.
For the "States That Felt It the Most" ranking, we measured Energy Drain—the difference between users' average morning and evening energy levels. Higher values indicate people finished the day feeling more depleted than they normally would.
States were ranked by their average deviation from their normal baseline. States with insufficient data were excluded from the analysis.
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Written by Mariia Ermatova
Project manager and brand advocate at Welltory. She helps turn complex health data into engaging stories and meaningful user experiences.