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Americans name the most attractive accents - How each state ranked

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FOX Local
Entertainment
Published August 16, 2026 5:54 PM EDT
Published August 16, 2026 5:54 PM EDT
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A new survey asked Americans to rank their favorite U.S. regional accents. (Fox Television Stations)

The Brief

    • A new poll asks Americans to name the regional accent they find the most attractive.
    • The Southern accent took the top slot, finishing far ahead of the second-place Boston/New England region.
    • When it comes to individual states, Louisiana leapfrogs into first place.

A new ranking of most attractive U.S. accents is good news for folks who grew up in the South and even better news for those who call the bayou home. 

Big picture view:

The ranking was based on a survey of 2,551 Americans, and it asked them which regional accent they find the most appealing. More than one in six of the respondents looked to the South, describing the accent as "friendly," "authentic," and "like coming home," according to Preply, the company behind the poll.

What they're saying:

"I find a Southern drawl attractive because it sounds warm, unhurried, and genuinely friendly," one person explained, while another person said it "seemed to flow like a creek over smooth rocks."

The South’s famous drawl far outpaced the three following regions, New England, the Midwest, and New York, which each earned about 10% of the vote. After a brief detour to Texas, which took fifth place, the Louisiana/Cajun inflection came in sixth. 

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Yet, when you drill down to the state level, the Pelican State shoots right to the top of the list with 7.3% of the state-by-state vote, followed by Texas, California, Georgia, and New York. See the top ten regions below, followed by how every state ranked.

Top Ten Regional Accents

  1. Southern - 17.7%
  2. Boston/New England - 10.2%
  3. Midwest - 10%
  4. New York City - 9.1%
  5. Texas - 7.8%
  6. Cajun/Louisiana - 6.5%
  7. West Coast - 5.7%
  8. New Orleans - 5.6%
  9. Chicago - 2.5%
  10. Philadelphia - 2.1%

Language Barriers

Dig deeper:

In addition to seeing which accents people enjoy, the survey also tested respondents on whether they heard some of the regional terms that nearly everybody who lives in that part of the country knows, but could be brand new to someone visiting the area. Based on the results, more than two-thirds of people will want to look up "yinz" before heading to the Steel City. The term, which is an equivalent to y’all or you guys, topped the list of little-known regional terms.

Here are the top five terms, the area where they are used, and the percentage of people unfamiliar with them:

  1. Yinz - Pittsburgh - 67.7%
  2. Jawn - Philly/DC - 63.4%
  3. Packie - New England - 63.2%
  4. Ope - Midwest - 58.8% 
  5. Water Ice - Mid-Atlantic - 51.7%

The Source: Information for this article was taken from Preply. This story was reported from Orlando.

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