DENVER (KDVR) — It’s been more than a century since the legendary gold rush of the mid 1800s, and you can still find the precious metal in parts of the U.S. today — not just in California.
A survey conducted by the online metal dealer SD Bullion earlier this year identified the top 10 states where you’re “most likely to find gold in the ground.”
The company gathered data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Mineral Resources Program to analyze the regions in America where gold ore has been found or is currently produced.
Researchers then compared the total number of gold occurrences, prospects and producers in each state. That number was put up against the size of the state to determine the number of gold locations per 1,000 square miles.
The old pioneers and prospectors would be proud of themselves as they were pretty spot on with the locations in the West that they suspected produced gold.
The top states with the most gold-producing locations today include:
- California – 66.59 locations per 1,000 square miles
- Washington – 34.17 locations per 1,000 square miles
- Oregon – 31.41 locations per 1,000 square miles
- Nevada – 30.91 locations per 1,000 square miles
- Idaho – 28.44 locations per 1,000 square miles
- Arizona – 17.40 locations per 1,000 square miles
- Colorado – 14.89 locations per 1,000 square miles
- Montana – 13.21 locations per 1,000 square miles
- Alaska – 9.22 locations per 1,000 square miles
- Utah – 7.46 locations per 1,000 square miles
“The findings reveal promising areas in the United States where the likelihood of finding gold is notably higher,” Chase Turner, the CEO of SD Bullion, said in a statement. “These regions, known for their favorable geological conditions and historical mining success, stand out as prime locations for gold exploration.”
Out of all 50 states, 32 were found to have gold in them. Oklahoma ranked the lowest in gold production with only 0.01 locations per 1,000 square miles, followed by Arkansas (0.04 per 1,000 square miles) and Missouri (0.07 locations per square miles).
In 2023, domestic gold mine production in the U.S. was estimated at 170 tons, valued at about $10 billion, according to the USGS. Gold was produced at more than 40 lode mines across 11 states. Although the SD Bullion survey ranked Nevada fourth in gold-producing locations per 1,000 square miles, the state still yielded the highest volume of gold by far, accounting for about 73% of total domestic production. Alaska followed, producing around 13% of domestic gold.
If you’re curious about where the price of gold stands today, it hit a record high this week, closing Tuesday (Sept. 24) at just over $2,657 per Troy ounce, the Associated Press reported.
