The Most Popular Beard Style in Each State

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Khosrork/iStock via Getty Images | Khosrork/iStock via Getty Images

Whether you’re planning to grow a beard to flaunt with flannels or protect your face from the soon-to-be crisp breeze, one thing’s for sure—you have plenty of options when it comes to choosing what it’ll look like. To give you an idea of what’s en vogue in your area, take a look at The Black Tux’s map of the most popular beard styles across the nation.

The breakdown is based on Google Trends data, which shows which style of facial hair is most often searched for in each state. And it’s not strictly beards: you can also find your favorite mustaches in the results.

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Now, just because hordes of people happen to be Googling the Fu Manchu mustache in Ohio and Pennsylvania doesn’t necessarily mean that all (or even many) of those people actually end up growing one, but we dearly hope that they do.

Bafflingly, Californians don’t go for the so-called Hollywoodian as much as they go for a good chin curtain beard, while Texans do choose it above all others. Soul patches apparently steal the hearts of many Kansas residents, but no other state seems particularly fond of them. And, though many of the balmy southern states shy away from heavy facial hair, Louisiana loves a full beard. The Black Tux thinks residents may be influenced by the legendary beards of Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family.

Flashy facial hair styles like the Fu Manchu and handlebar mustaches certainly make the map more fun, but the overwhelming takeaway from the statistics is that most people are pretty traditional when it comes to which designs they’re willing to sport on their faces. The most popular styles in the highest number of states were the classics: 15 chose the goatee, followed by 10 for a regular mustache, and five for a full beard.

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Regionally, the goatee reigned supreme in the south, northeast, and midwest, while the western states mostly went for the mustache.

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Will this autumn be the season you finally decide to fully partake in pogonotrophy—the act of cultivating facial hair? If this map didn’t convince you, maybe these reasons will.