“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” ~ Harry, When Harry Met Sally…
Star-crossed soulmates, enemies-to-lovers, meet-cutes, childhood sweethearts, rags-to-riches, second chances, forbidden romance, fake dating, fairy tales, anti-fairy tales, donkey-dragon delights, and even swamp fever—there is a romantic comedy for every flavor of love story you can imagine. With another Valentine’s Day upon us, the team at PixlParade conducted a survey to determine the most popular rom-com by state as well as the most popular rom-coms overall. While many classic romantic comedies you might expect performed beautifully, there were also some amusing “layers” in the data (check out Louisiana’s 62.5% pick—I respect their loyalty to swamps). Without further ado, here are the United States’ most beloved rom-coms:
What Is the Most Popular Romantic Comedy of All Time?
According to our survey results, the most popular romantic comedy in the United States is When Harry Met Sally…, a 1989 film that delightfully delves into the age-old question: “Can men and women truly just be friends?” It received 21.78% of the total nationwide vote, narrowly beating Pretty Woman (1990) by about 3%.
So, what is When Harry Met Sally… about? Nestled in timeless New York City, this imperfect love story unfolds over a decade, letting us connect with characters who are relatable in their flaws and genuine in their personal growth.
Why is When Harry Met Sally… so popular? A comment from Reddit user AuntAvocado offers some insight into the enduring appeal of this iconic romantic comedy:
What I love about it is its authenticity—the characters feel like real people. And they should, because Nora Ephron and Rob Reiner (scriptwriter and director respectively) put a huge amount of themselves into Harry and Sally—various scenes and conversations are based on their own friendship.
The interspersed stories of how couples met are based on real interviews. The whole thing just rings true. And I think that makes it truly a romantic rom-com because it makes you believe that love is out there, that Harry and Sally’s story is just one of many everyday stories of how people fall in love.
But while it’s that core authenticity which I think makes it special, everything else is absolutely on point too. The screenwriting is just wonderful—you could watch almost any scene on its own and dialogue just sparkles with wit and warmth.
The award-winning classic is a dynamic experience that blooms in its own unique, relatable way, like wildflowers overtaking an empty lot. No fireworks, no sacrifices, no rivalries—just two people finding each other through the seasons of life.
The Second Most Popular Rom-Com of All Time
In second place is Pretty Woman (1990), a Cinderella story with a vivacious twist. Both of these classic rom-coms feature an unlikely pair, a beloved romantic comedy trope for many reasons. While When Harry Met Sally… provides a more grounded, slow-burning romance, Pretty Woman presents a glamorous fairy tale that feels like a wish fulfilled.
What Is the Most Popular Rom-Com by State?
Based on a nationwide survey of U.S. adults conducted by PixlParade, in which respondents selected their favorite romantic comedy movies from the past 50 years.
| State | Most popular rom-com | Percent of total state vote |
| Alabama | Pretty Woman (1990) | 35.00% |
| Alaska | Pretty Woman (1990) | 66.67% |
| Arizona | My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) | 26.32% |
| Arkansas | There’s Something About Mary (1998) | 35.71% |
| California | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 25.93% |
| Colorado | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 33.33% |
| Connecticut | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 23.53% |
| Delaware | The Princess Bride (1987) | 41.94% |
| Florida | Moonstruck (1987) | 18.37% |
| Georgia | Pretty Woman (1990) | 28.57% |
| Hawaii | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 24.32% |
| Idaho | La La Land (2016) | 42.50% |
| Illinois | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 28.89% |
| Indiana | Pretty Woman (1990) | 39.13% |
| Iowa | The Princess Bride (1987) | 14.29% |
| Kansas | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 34.15% |
| Kentucky | Say Anything (1989) | 17.65% |
| Louisiana | Shrek (2001) | 62.50% |
| Maine | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 25.00% |
| Maryland | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 42.22% |
| Massachusetts | Say Anything (1989) | 28.57% |
| Michigan | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 31.71% |
| Minnesota | Pretty Woman (1990) | 40.00% |
| Mississippi | Pretty Woman (1990) | 26.47% |
| Missouri | Pretty Woman (1990) | 20.51% |
| Montana | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 13.16% |
| Nebraska | Pretty Woman (1990) | 40.00% |
| Nevada | There’s Something About Mary (1998) | 62.86% |
| New Hampshire | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 65.79% |
| New Jersey | Pretty Woman (1990) | 20.83% |
| New Mexico | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 66.67% |
| New York | About Time (2013) | 19.30% |
| North Carolina | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 43.90% |
| North Dakota | Pretty Woman (1990) | 60.00% |
| Ohio | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 23.81% |
| Oklahoma | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 27.27% |
| Oregon | As Good as it Gets (1997) | 28.57% |
| Pennsylvania | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 19.15% |
| Rhode Island | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 67.65% |
| South Carolina | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 30.56% |
| South Dakota | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 58.82% |
| Tennessee | Pretty Woman (1990) | 45.45% |
| Texas | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 35.09% |
| Utah | Pretty Woman (1990) | 50.00% |
| Vermont | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 31.43% |
| Virginia | My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) | 18.92% |
| Washington | Pretty Woman (1990) | 27.03% |
| West Virginia | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 20.00% |
| Wisconsin | Notting Hill (1999) | 31.43% |
| Wyoming | Pretty Woman (1990) | 21.62% |
The Most Popular Romantic Comedy Movies in America
Ranked by percentage of total nationwide vote.
| Rank | Movie | Percent of total nationwide vote |
| 1 | When Harry Met Sally… (1989) | 21.78% |
| 2 | Pretty Woman (1990) | 19.00% |
| 3 | The Princess Bride (1987) | 8.69% |
| 4 | Notting Hill (1999) | 5.00% |
| 5 | Say Anything (1989) | 4.85% |
| 6 | Moonstruck (1987) | 3.79% |
| 7 | There’s Something About Mary (1998) | 3.49% |
| 8 | As Good as it Gets (1997) | 3.18% |
| 9 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) | 2.63% |
| 9 | La La Land (2016) | 2.63% |
| 11 | Groundhog Day (1993) | 2.37% |
| 12 | Shrek (2001) | 2.02% |
| 13 | The Big Sick (2017) | 1.72% |
| 14 | Annie Hall (1977) | 1.62% |
| 15 | Palm Springs (2020) | 1.52% |
| 15 | About Time (2013) | 1.52% |
| 17 | Big (1988) | 1.41% |
| 18 | Knocked Up (2007) | 1.31% |
| 19 | Love, Simon (2018) | 1.21% |
| 20 | Rye Lane (2023) | 1.11% |
| 20 | What Women Want (2000) | 1.11% |
| 22 | Hitch (2005) | 1.06% |
| 22 | Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) | 1.06% |
| 24 | Midnight in Paris (2011) | 1.01% |
| 24 | Silver Linings Playbook (2012) | 1.01% |
| 24 | Defending Your Life (1991) | 1.01% |
| 27 | Broadcast News (1987) | 0.96% |
| 28 | Crazy Rich Asians (2018) | 0.76% |
| 29 | Shakespeare in Love (1998) | 0.61% |
| 30 | Much Ado About Nothing (1993) | 0.56% |
Methodology:
This ranking is based on a nationwide survey of 1,979 U.S. adults, conducted by PixlParade in January 2026. Respondents selected their favorite romantic comedy movies from a list of 30 English-language films released in the past 50 years.
To determine which films we included in our survey, we compiled and compared three romantic comedy rankings: Rotten Tomatoes critic scores, IMDb audience ratings, and the highest-grossing rom-coms of all time. We then ranked films by how many of the three lists they appeared on, prioritizing titles that showed up across multiple rankings. For movies that appeared on only one list, we used their average ranking within the list they appeared on to determine their placement in our final list. We then selected the top 30 films from our aggregated list for our survey.
Notes:
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- The list of top romantic comedies by IMDb user rating audience score was limited to the top 50 highest-rated English-language films that were released within the last 50 years and have at least 10,000 reviews.
- The list of top romantic comedies by Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic score was limited to the top 50 highest-rated English-language films that were released within the last 50 years.
- The list of highest-grossing romantic comedies was limited to the top 50 English-language films that were released within the last 50 years.
We hope your favorite romantic comedy made the list! If it didn’t, please let us know. We love conducting these surveys because they offer a fun and informative way to learn about how people consume entertainment. By showcasing preferences both by state and nationwide, we hope to spark discussion and provide inspiration for future media enjoyment. Please feel free to take part in our polls and give us more data to create from! If you enjoyed this survey, you may also want to check out our viral survey visualization of the most popular Christmas movies by state—you may have even seen it on your local news!
See more:
- What Is the Best Movie of All Time?
- The Top 50 Highest-Grossing Superhero Movies of All Time
- The 10 Best Netflix Movies of All Time
Sources: PixlParade, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Box Office Mojo
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