This many MS folks will spend Christmas alone, study shows. It may be more than you think
More than 14 million Americans say they will be spending Christmas Day alone this year, with about 260,000 of those people having a solo holiday in Mississippi, a recent study found.
The study by A Mission For Michael, a mental health care provider, underscores loneliness in the United States by ranking states based on where people plan to be alone the most during the holidays.
In 2023, former U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy declared loneliness an epidemic, describing the feeling as “a subjective distressing experience that results from perceived isolation or inadequate meaningful connections,” according to the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
While many in Mississippi are expected to spend the holidays alone, it’s actually one of the states where people plan to be alone the least, the study found.
Here’s which states have the lowest and highest numbers of people spending Christmas Day alone.
States with fewest people alone on Christmas
These states have the least amount of people planning to spend a solo Christmas Day, according to A Mission For Michael:
1. North Dakota
2. Hawaii
3. Mississippi
4. Alabama
5. Arizona
States with most people alone on Christmas
These are the top five states where people will spend Christmas Day alone, according to A Mission For Michael:
1. Wisconsin
2. Tennessee
3. Louisiana
4. Minnesota
5. Maryland
Why are people spending Christmas alone?
These are the reasons people are having a solo Christmas Day in 2025, according to A Mission For Michael:
- 29% live far from family or friends
- 20% are staying alone due to family conflict
- 17% say travel is too expensive
- 16% say they prefer to spend Christmas alone
- 11% say they have too much work
- 7% don’t celebrate Christmas at all
How do people feel about a solo holiday?
The plurality of survey respondents said they felt indifferent about spending Christmas Day alone, according to A Mission For Michael.
Here’s how people responded to the question of how they felt about a solo holiday, according to the survey:
- 37% are indifferent
- 25% feel lonely
- 22% feel sad
- 9% feel overwhelmend
- 7% feel anxious
How did mental health care provider come up with ranking?
The survey of 3,001 U.S. adults was conducted in December 2025. Then, analysts used survey results and U.S. census data to compare survey results by state population and come up with the ranking.
